SAS Falklands dead remembered at service

Special forces soldiers killed in the Falklands War, have been remembered at the National Memorial Arboretum.

A Sea King helicopter crash on 19 May 1982 claimed the lives of 20 of them, with Capt John Hamilton dying days later from enemy fire.

Apple and pear trees were planted in a dedication service on Saturday to the SAS members, based in Herefordshire.

The fruit will be used to make cider to raise funds for the Allied Special Forces Memorial Grove.

Pete Scholey, a member of the Special Air Service (SAS) who served with the men, said they had previously been involved with a raid on Pebble Island, a remote spot on the north coast of West Falkland, in a bid to eliminate the threat posed by Argentine fighter bombers.

Speaking after the service in Staffordshire, Mr Scholey said: "On the airfield in the Falklands were a number of Pucara aircraft.

"They would have done devastation to the troops that were landing.

"It was those lads on the chopper that went in and destroyed... those aircraft.

"They did their job. I think they achieved their aim and they gave their lives doing that and we never forget them."