It’s 40 years since the Falklands War, which lasted from April 2, 1982, to June 14, 1982, and Andy Rigsby of Ryde remembers it well.

He was a Royal Marine in 40 Commando Group, based in Plymouth. He was part of 3 Commando Brigade which was selected to spearhead the 1982 Task Force and he was in the unit's Recce Troop.

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He recalled: “Our task was to provide forward intelligence by observing and reporting enemy movement and dispositions. We operated in four-man sections from self-selected and concealed observation posts.

“On the April 9, 1982, we embarked in the requestioned P&O cruise liner Canberra and departed from Southampton. My brother Adrian was also on board in 42 Commando. Intense training programmes began immediately.

Isle of Wight County Press: Andy and his brother on Canberra en-route to the Falklands in 1982.Andy and his brother on Canberra en-route to the Falklands in 1982.

“On April 20, Canberra arrived off Ascension Island in the mid-Atlantic. On May 6, Canberra set sail with escorting warships — south.

“On May 19 we cross-decked by landing craft to the assault ship HMS Fearless. The assault forces had to be embarked in ships that could land them. We were accommodated in landing craft Foxtrot 4 in the ships’ stern dry-dock area.”

In the early hours of May 21, they loaded into the landing craft for the assault at San Carlos. They emerged under a starlight night sky on a calm sea. Three weeks later Foxtrot 4 was bombed and all her crew were killed.

Andy recalled: “We could hear the explosions of diversionary raids in the distance. As we cruised past HMS Antrim she opened fire with her 4.5 inch guns. One could hear the metallic clank of spent shell casings being ejected from the turret onto the deck. The warship was firing at enemy troops on Fanning Head, a promontory ahead of us.

“We landed at San Carlos. Recce Troop assembled ashore, and we proceeded to climb the slopes ahead in darkness. As we reached the top in daylight we dispersed into cover. There was an eerie calm looking down on the assault fleet below, dispersed in The Sound. Helicopters clattered to and fro transporting stores.

“Suddenly the sound of heavy gunfire. A solitary jet came down San Carlos water, it was my first sight of the enemy. It was an MB 339 Aermacchi. The pilot had attacked a warship with rockets and fired his cannons at a stores ship. He attracted a mass of return fire but survived to file his report.

“This was the Argentine navy pilot, Lieutenant Owen Crippa. He would be awarded The Combat Cross, the Argentinian equivalent of the VC.”

The main air attacks soon followed. A frigate, HMS Ardent exposed in Grantham Sound was relentlessly attacked.

Andy continued: “As bombs hit her the explosions sent pieces of superstructure into the air that glinted and twisted in an eerie choreographed dance in the sunlight. Smoke poured from her stern. She bravely returned fire with her guns and missiles. HMS Ardent sank and over 50 of her crew were killed and wounded.

“That evening we moved south east into the exposed hinterland towards our planned positions. The battle for San Carlos raged behind us for four days.

“On May 28/29 we listened to 2 Para prosecute their attack down the narrow Darwin and Goose Green isthmus to the south. Days later we observed an enemy helicopter and a four-man patrol in broad daylight. An artillery fire mission was unavailable. We deduced it was the Argentinian 602 Commando Company. Their deluded action and naïve lack of tactical awareness was shocking. They were lucky to survive.

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Andy continued: “We were extracted by helicopter after ten days to San Carlos. Wreckage from downed enemy aircraft was in the valleys below us. San Carlos was a mass of trenches and positions. There were bomb craters and cannon damage to buildings. Our observation post insertion tasks and short R&R periods to San Carlos continued.

“During the morning June 7, HMS Exeter suddenly fired two Sea Dart missiles. It was a clear day and we were not under attack. The second missile climbed out of view. A smoke trail then appeared and the glint of structural material falling. The ship had detected an enemy reconnaissance Learjet flying at over 30,000 feet.

“The push towards the mountains skirting Port Stanley saw heavy fighting. My brother fought in the battle for Mount Harriet. He saw HMS Glamorgan hit by the land-based Exocet missile that killed 13 crew.

“On June 14 the Argentine forces surrendered. After clearing settlements on West Falkland we were flown on board Canberra anchored off Port Stanley. We berthed at Southampton on July 11 to a welcoming that we didn’t anticipate and one we will never forget.”

Are you an Isle of Wight resident who served during the Falklands War? If so, we would love to hear from you. Email: katey@iwcpmail.co.uk

Like reading memories from Isle of Wight people, or tales of the Island in bygone days? Click here to visit our Looking Back section for more!