'Very proud' Falklands veterans honour 'dedicated' names of HMS Sheffield shipmates added to Havant memorial
.jpg?width=96&crop=1:1,smart)
The three personnel are finally being recognised for their service after dying in the 1982 conflict
Emotional Falklands War veterans paid tribute to three personnel whose names have finally been added to a memorial.
Kenneth Evans, Anthony Charles Eggington and Richard Charles Emly have were placed alongside their comrades on Havant War Memorial commemorating servicemen from across the borough. A small and poignant ceremony was held at St Faith’s Church in West Street today (July 22).
Multiple Falklands War veterans and members of the public gathered together to commemorate the trio. Anthony served as a Weapons Engineering Artificer aboard the Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield, while Richard served alongside him as a Sub Lieutenant. Kenneth was a Corporal in the Royal Marines with 45 Commando.
Warrant Officer Weapons Engineer Artificer Dave White lived three doors away from Anthony in Purbrook. He noticed his name was not on the war memorial during a previous service, so looked up Anthony’s service records and got in touch with the council.
He said he’s very pleased the trio are finally being recognised. “I started the action three years ago,” he told The News. “Due to people leaving the council and other things, it might have got overlooked, but eventually, we got there. I just hope that Anthony’s family, and the families of the others, get to know their names are now going on the list.
“I’m very proud of it. At a service of those who lost their lives from the First World War to the Falklands, Anthony’s name didn’t appear. I did some checking and found the others. I’m well pleased that on the day after I came back to Portsmouth on HMS Hermes, it all happened.”
“A privilege to be here to celebrate their names”
Reverend Canon Tom Kennar, rector of St Faith's Church, conducted the service. The naval hymn was read aloud and was followed by short speeches from Alan Mak, Conservative MP for Havant, Lord Mayor Councillor Paul Tansom, and others.
A short silence was followed by rounds of applause and the national anthem. Weapons Engineer Artificer Brian Williams, of Gosport, served alongside Anthony and Richard on HMS Sheffield. He said: “It’s an honour and a privilege to be here to celebrate their names being added to the memorial. We should remember them.
“I saw it on Facebook and I thought ‘I can’t not be there’. I’m glad that the people have decided to come out and show their respect.”
.png?trim=0,0,0,0&crop=&width=640&quality=65)
HMS Sheffield sank on May 10, 1982, after being struck by an Argentinian Exocet missile six days earlier. The attack left 20 personnel dead and another 26 injured. Approximately half of those who died did so on impact, with the remaining victims dying due to smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning as the fires spread through the ship’s decks.
The crew of the destroyer fought for almost four hours to save the destroyer before Captain James ‘Sam’ Salt ordered them to abandon ship. Flooding caused HMS Sheffield to roll over and sink. She was the first British ship to be lost in enemy action since the Second World War, and the first of four British ships sunk by the Argentine air force in the Falklands War.
“Each ship is a family”
WEA Williams was friends with Anthony in HMS Sheffield’s mess. He said: “Anthony and his partner in the computer room were always working. Always on watch. It cost them their lives in the end. They stayed down below to try and get the computers back online, and they could not get off. I have huge respect for them.
“Their dedication was above and beyond. The saddest moment of my life was being on HMS Arrow and watching the Sheffield drift away. We didn’t know if they were alive, or had passed away. It was so helpless just having to leave them there. There’s a huge sense of survivor’s guilt.
“Unless you have been in that situation, there is no way they can understand what survivors go through mentally. It’s absolutely soul destroying. Each ship is a family. It doesn't matter how long you served on the ship, you were family.”
His comrade John Young, of Fareham - who served in the Royal Navy for 20 years - said: “It’s an honour, and the time it has taken doesn’t matter. We have to remember them, and now they’re here, it makes you feel good.
“Richard was a nice gentleman, quite tall, and very much a skier. They were really nice guys. I suffered from guilt because of these guys, and had to have treatment for it. When we abandoned HMS Sheffield, I was still thinking of 20 of my shipmates. I thought I had to get back to them.”
“The Falklands will always be British”
The service comes at a time when the Falkland Islands has been under the international spotlight.
Portsmouth-based vessel HMS Medway is currently patrolling the area, and a recent visit to a Chilean port drew scorn from the current Argentine government led by the President of Argentina Javier Milei.
Foreign minister Pablo Quirno accused the Royal Navy of a “military incursion” shortly after Argentine footballers displayed a derogatory “Las Malvinas” banner after their World Cup semi final victory against England.
Commodore Adrian Nance OBE was the navigation officer aboard HMS Sheffield. He said he was delighted that St Faith’s Church blessed the memorial with the names of two shipmates. The veteran added that the Falklands War was a sad time for everyone, mostly for those in Argentina who the military junta murdered at the time.
“It’s always good that those who served quietly get remembered,” he said. “From someone serving at the time, we felt like we were liberating Argentina from a regime that both decided to kill its own people, and occupy land that they could have easily argued at the United Nations for. They choose to do that by force of arms. The people on the memorial served to stop that injustice, the seizing of somebody else’s land.
“Maintaining a sense of worldwide law and order is really important for the world as a whole. We’re not people trying to go out and fight. We’re people who are prepared to fight when necessary. We’re there to try and protect the rights of people to their own land.”
Mr Mak said it’s vital that all veterans are remembered properly and it was wonderful news that the new names were finally on the memorial. “There’s strong support for our veterans here, so I’m not surprised that the turnout has been good,” he added.
“The Falkland Islands are British and will always be British. I’ve been there and I’ve seen the sacrifices that many of the personnel have made to keep the Falkland Islands British. Long may that continue. We need to make sure everyone who served is commemorated properly. If there are new names, they should be on the memorial.”