Forty years ago this year, twenty-seven young men from across the six towns that make up the Borough of Bury joined the task force ready to sail to the South Atlantic in response to the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands.
These brave young men answered the call to service in defence of British citizens on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. On 14th June 1982, the Falkland Islands were liberated from Argentine occupation after a hard-fought campaign across land, sea, and air.
These men are a link between our town and part of our nation’s armed forces history that sometimes fails to receive the recognition it deserves. Many of these twenty-seven men still live amongst us here in Bury, people you may have passed in the street going about their daily lives.
I believe there is no doubt about the significance of this conflict. That is why I was shocked to see research by Help for Heroes earlier this year that found one in four young people had never heard of the South Atlantic campaign. Further, half of those aged 18-34 did not know when the war happened; one in ten of that age group believed Britain started the conflict by invading the islands, and a similar number thought the islands were in the English Channel.
This is why, when one of these men came and spoke with me a few months ago, I was so interested to hear his plan for how to show our appreciation. Steve Butterworth had recently come across an article from this very newspaper back in 1982 which listed his name alongside the other 26 men. Since then, he has been searching across the country in an effort to bring together all 27 men, those who served in the Falklands and have since come to Bury and our wider Bury armed forces community.
On Sunday 11th, September, thanks to the hard work of Steve, Reverend Hugh Bearn, Owen Dykes and many others, our community will come together for a moment of remembrance at Bury Parish Church. The parade will start at 11:30, and the service commences at noon, with everyone welcome to attend.
The shocking statistics above seek to remind us of just how important remembrance services such as these are. We cannot allow the sacrifices of these men to be forgotten or ignored by those who were not yet alive to see it in the news, and we certainly must not allow that ignorance to proliferate the warped view that we were the invaders.
In a time when there is so much focus on what divides us, I believe it is essential to unite in remembrance and celebration of these brave men who left Bury to protect those Brits who call the Falkland Islands home.
