Muted farewell for a veteran of Falklands
Falklands veterans have accused the navy of disrespecting their sacrifice as HMS Exeter came home to a muted final welcome.
More than 100 people crowded the Round Tower in Portsmouth to salute the return of Britain's last warship from the 1982 conflict.
But they were also there yesterday to highlight the lack of ceremony for the now mothballed Type 42 destroyer.
Ron Hearn, 54, who was a Leading Seaman radar operator during the war, said: 'This is a sad, sad day and I wish there could have been more to mark it.
'We all know she's not going to go out any more and that's the last of the Falklands warships out of the navy.
'Surely we should have had the chance to say goodbye!'
Exeter will be formally decommissioned in May after spending the winter in Portsmouth with a skeleton crew and command.
The navy says she still might be used, which is why a fly-past from two jets was the only ceremony this time.
But that is not enough for the men who faced Argentine missile fire in the South Atlantic.
Paul Harvey-Hunter, 55, a former Leading Seaman from Gosport who served in Exeter for three years, said: 'We were just finishing our trials in the Caribbean when we were called to go straight to the Falklands.
'We went straight into a war zone and there were several times when we were fired on, and it's a shame that protocol means the ship's bravery isn't being recognised.
'There were plenty of people who lost their lives in the Falklands and we want the navy to mark that.'
As well as anger there was pride from the dozens of ex-servicemen and their families, as they held banners aloft and cheered the current crew home.
Former Leading Seaman Dean Deakins, 50, from Waterlooville, bugled the Last Post as his old ship passed.
He said: 'We are very proud of the camaraderie we had on Exeter.
'She had something no other ship had, and it's right that we celebrate the end of her time.'
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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