Twenty five years on from the 1982 war three ex-servicemen have returned to the Falklands to complete a walk across the islands. In 1982 Royal Marine Troop commanders John Davies, Paul Denning and Andy Shaw were fighting to recapture the Falkland Islands from Argentina. The three, like many other British soldiers, were heading for Stanley on foot. John Davies, now Lieutenant Colonel in charge of the Royal Marines Reserve on Merseyside, was badly injured and never finished the yomp To mark the anniversary of the war John and his friends have returned to the Falklands to complete the trek. Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands on 2 April 1982. The British government dispatched a task force and after a series of bloody battles Britain regained the islands on 14 June 1982.  | | John Davies begins the walk |
When Atlantic Conveyor, the ship carrying the majority of the British task force’s Chinook and Wessex helicopters, was sunk on 25 May the troops were faced with no choice but to march across the islands. Different to 1982John Davies was 21 in 1982 and as he set out on the walk with the men he fought alongside, he said there were noticeable changes, “One thing that’s definitely different, apart from not carrying as much kit as last time is the weather. “It’s the most beautiful day and that certainly wasn’t the case in 1982.” During their journey across the island the men discovered their old trench position, where they had spent a week, complete with discarded kit. They also visited the sheep shed where they had sheltered during the battle.  | | A celebratory drink in Stanley |
The war cost the lives of 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen. Ammunition and shell cases still scatter the battlefield. At the scene of some of the most intense fighting John, Paul and Andy took a moment to remember their fallen comrades. “We lost two of our colleagues,” John recalls, “We wanted to lay a wreath for them on Two Sisters where they were killed.” At the end of the journey the three men entered Stanley and shared a drink John said they’d waited 25 years for, “It fulfilled a long ambition to go back and with my two closest friends, that was the best beer I’ve ever had.” | 
