GCHQ book raises £5,585 for forces charity SSAFA

A book detailing intelligence stories from the Falklands War has raised £5,585 for veterans and their families.

The Country's Call, produced by GCHQ, has raised the money for former armed forces personnel in Gloucestershire through the armed forces charity SSAFA.

It has been released to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War.

Tracey McGrath, the Forest of Dean divisional secretary of SSAFA, said the money would make "a huge difference to veterans and serving families".

"Thanks to donations like this, we assisted a veteran at the beginning of the year who was sleeping in his car," she said.

"Now he's got his own place through a housing association and we were able to purchase all the things he needed.

"£5,585 could probably do two whole houses, or provide lots of smaller items for a dozen veterans... it's huge."

On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a remote UK territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 950 miles (1,500km) off the coast of South America.

Argentina said it had inherited the islands from Spain in the 1800s and wanted to reclaim sovereignty of them.

The UK, which had ruled the islands for 150 years, quickly chose to fight, leading to a brief but bitter war lasting 74 days.

In the fighting that followed, 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen lost their lives, as did three Falkland Islanders.

British forces regained control of the Falklands on 14 June 1982.

Ms McGrath said the charity had been helping more people with debt issues, as well as gas and electricity bills in recent months.

"More and more people need food vouchers," she added.

The book includes stories of the support GCHQ provided the government and Ministry of Defence during the conflict in the Falklands .

Intelligence agency GCHQ, based in Cheltenham, handed the cheque over to SSAFA earlier this month.

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