Falklands 40: Crowds flock to Queen's Gardens, Hull, to remember

Thousands descended on Hull's Queen's Gardens on Saturday to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands conflict.

Families enjoyed military pomp and looking at vehicles and weapons, as veterans of the 1982 war remembered their 255 fallen comrades.

Hull played a key role in the conflict, contributing nine vessels - including the passenger ferry MV Norland - to the naval task force.

Brian Lavender, the Norland's radio officer, was at the event with family.

He said: "It's right we remember."

Proudly sporting a veteran's t-shirt, Mr Lavender, 78, recalled the moment he received a Morse code message informing the crew that the Admiralty required the North Sea ferry to take paratroopers to the warzone.

"We were in the middle of the North Sea," he said. "As soon as we arrived into Hull and got the passengers off, the Royal Navy started prepping the ship."

For him, it did not come as a shock.

"I thought we'd get called up," said Mr Lavender. "We could carry 1,200 passengers and up to 500 people."

The ship's captain, the late Don Ellerby CBE, told his all-civilian crew they did not have to embark on the perilous journey.

"I had a wife and two young kids at home," said Mr Lavender. "But it was the right thing to do. Everyone felt apprehensive."

Reminders of the conflict were scattered around the city centre park, including two helicopters - a Lynx and Gazelle.

Brothers Harry, 11, and George, two, made a beeline for the dragonfly-shaped Gazelle, as parents John and Jenta looked on.

"We've had a great time," said Jenta, 27, from Hessle.

Paying tribute to those who liberated the Falkland Islands, John, 29, said: "They were very brave for what they did."

The 74-day conflict ended with the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982.

Veteran Keith Thompson, who organised the event with Hull City Council, said it had been been "a huge success".

"The only disappointment was the fact that the Spitfire we'd booked for a flypast couldn't fly because of cloud cover," he added.

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