Forgotten Voices of the Falklands: The Real Story of the Falklands War [Paperback]

There are a wealth of books on the Falklands, but this one claims to be the most sustained oral history available. It certainly comes with some impressive credentials, being part of the 'Forgotten Voices' series of oral histories sponsored by the Imperial War Museum, and also drawing on other archives held by Falklands civillians and the BBC.

I think this august comapny is part of the problem. The two World Wars are gradually turning into history, and recollections come to us over the distance of at least sixty years. The Falklands, for all the restrictions of the time, was comprehensively chronicled by print, radio, film and television. Retrospectives of the conflict have taken place as recently as 1992 and 2002. Publishing has served a constant stream of accounts and memoirs over the last 26 years.

This is a worthy book, well-edited and comprehensive. The civilian experience and the Argentine perspectives are given respectful room, but the British military stories dominate, as one might expect. Oral history has to be taken with a pinch of salt, as well-publicised accounts interact and achieve a life of their own. This is not to detract from the accounts here which are in many cases vivid and chilling testimony to modern warfare: just a reminder that history is an imperfect human activity like any other.

This is a sizeable and comprehensive oral history of the Falklands war edited with sensitivity by a distinguished veteran. For a clear, objective account of the fighting and the diplomatic context, there are other books available. The major flaw with it is the label 'forgotten'; there's not enough new material to warrant the description. What's here is familiar, but no less moving for that.

I don't normally do 5 stars so as I try to review this book, I will try to explain what makes it (in my eyes) so special.

Written in chronological order from before the start of the Falklands War this is a number of eye witness accounts so the perspective varies. This perspective is balanced with civilians and Argentines so all aspects of the conflict are presented.

I had a view of the Falklands war and specifically of the sinking of the Belgrano and I have to admit that I have changed my view upon reading this. I also learnt a great deal that I was not expecting to. Our politicians do not come out of this well (John Nott going to tell the Falkland Islanders that Britain would not come to their rescue if there was a problem - and there were Argentine officers in the room who would have taken the message straight back home) nor does Admiral Sandy Woodward who seems to have made some very poor decisions at the sharp end.

An emotional book too - the sailor who describes how he was blinded for life, the Islanders kept locked up for days, the Argentine conscript not understanding where he was being sent, or why. The injuries caused from burns because we had replaced cotton shirts with fabrics that melted into and onto the skin...The loss of life from the Paras, the Argentine civvie brothers lost on the Belgrano because they stayed on board despite the fact all they did was run a crew shop - many, many sad and brave tales that made me realise what happened all those many miles away in the middle of no-where.

I would have like to have heard from some of the Special Forces that were involved, but generally a very wide ranging and balanced view is presented.

So, why five stars? Well this is a very well written and presented account of war. It made me think and change my views and feel on an emotional level about many of the people involved. Fantastic stuff.

No doubt this book took many hours of effort and research, but did it live up to "what was written on the can"? My rating of this book varied from 1 star to 5 stars, depending on where I was in the book. There is no doubt that the accounts of the infantry battles are well documented, as might be expected considering the author's background. We also have a sub-set of the accounts by Sharky Ward - a key player in the air battle - that was one of the most important elements of the Falklands War.

However, I was frustrated (as previously reviewed) in a wholly inadequate map trying to make sense of the numerous places being mentioned that were not on the map: there is no point mentioning a location unless one can see where it is and put it into context. Likewise a simple table giving the timeline of key events would have been helpful. I (perhaps unwarrantedly) got a bit frustrated at the strong emphasis on the political backdrop and how the islanders felt - this information is widely known about/ or as the small boy once said "It tells me more about elephants than I want to read about." There was often an undertone of frustration at the commanders, but operators at the front end are often very strident in their views, and sometimes they are wrong as they do not have the full story, and that is a weakness in the book as on some occasions we seem to have only half the argument. On the other hand those in charge can ensure that any formal review always casts them in a good light!! Shortly after the war I went to a talk given by Sharky Ward - there were many anecdotes given then that could have been included, however the book seemed to dwell too long on his disputes with the superiors.

I felt that the air/ sea war was under-reported, especially as the outcomes of the air battle had major consequences on the land battle. e.g. Rapier gets a mention in passing at the end, casually stating that it took out several Puma helicopters with special forces (p428) - who presumably could have been a real problem. Although there is mention of the rapid turn-round of warships, there is no mention of the amazing support from industry to give so many crucial new tools to the military at break-neck speed, eg the installation of surveillance radars on the Sea King helicopters. Many post conflict statements of appreciation to industry were given, so something could easily have been squeezed in, especially as industry felt equally part of the battle line even if not being fired at. On a similar vein Sea Skua is not even mentioned - yet that played a key part in stopping the resupply of the Falklands by ships. Although the Vulcan bomber raids were of questionable value, I was disappointed not to have read an account from Wg Cmd Dave Castle (retd) of their diversion to Brazil - there is a tremendous story from him about this on one of the TV documentaries. Likewise there is a shortfall in the commentaries available from the very brave Argentinian airmen, eg no mention about how their dreadful losses were being withheld from them by their officers.

As always with retrospective books, there are questions raised about issues that one was unaware about. The Pebble Island raid was portrayed as a victory at the time, which is true, but this book brings out an alternative version indicating that with better planning complete control could have taken of Pebble Island; could this have changed the destiny for Coventry (p222), could the Sea Harriers have been based at Pebble Island etc etc. ?

An earlier review mentioned that there are a number of mistakes and self inconsistences (eg role of Lt Col Chaundler p392, p395). This is true, but where does one draw the line? The technical misapprehensions in certain areas do not detract from what the operators thought - it was their perception at the time. Such an update should wait until some formal papers are published (30 year rule). Perhaps then this book could then be updated to an issue 2.

In summary this book gives an excellent graphic account of the challenges, emotions and bravery of many on the front line. It is not meant as a blow by blow record of events, so some omissions are excusable, but I felt that a shift in emphasis would have served the aims of this book better.