BFBS Radio Sitrep

Commander Alan West was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his pivotal role in the Falklands war.

His ship HMS Ardent was sunk with the loss of 22 lives – but it helped the thousands of troops who liberated the islands get safely ashore.

Even as the crew battled fires and tended the wounded the ship sailed to more open waters, to draw out the Argentine fighter jets.

Now Admiral Lord West, the former First Sea Lord, tells BFBS Sitrep the full story of that day, the responsibility he still feels to his ship’s company, his pride at their bravery, and how 40 years on he still has occasional nightmares about it.