Hundreds of Royal Navy sailors join poignant service marking Falklands 40 at HMS Collingwood

A poignant service of Remembrance was staged at HMS Collingwood, in Fareham, with the base adapting its monthly training divisions ceremony.

Almost 600 sailors formed up on the parade ground for a short service, held in the presence of former First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Philip Jones, himself a Falklands veteran who served in HMS Fearless during the war.

Collingwood’s executive officer, Commander Terry Tyack outlined a brief summary of the conflict, and a verse from the famous poem “For the Fallen” by Robert Laurence Binyon was movingly read by Lieutenant Graham Martin, himself a Falklands veteran having served in HMS Glasgow and still working in Collingwood today.

A two-minute silence was then held before Admiral Jones gave a speech about his time in the war and the conditions many British personnel faced.

To mark the war’s anniversary, a new field of remembrance had been especially laid out with a cross laid for the 258 British servicemen, merchant seaman and civilians lost in the conflict.

Captain Catherine Jordan, Collingwood’s commander, said: ‘We aimed to honour our predecessors and ensure the history and lessons from 1982 are shared with the sailors of the future and I am extremely grateful for the whole force pulling together to achieve this in such a poignant way.’

The public will have a chance to see the field of remembrance during Collingwood’s open day on July 2.