Hartlepool power station security guard John Davis has finally a medal to mark his Army service in the Falklands. John, from Hartlepool, arrived in the islands aged 18 after the ceasefire was signed in June 1982. He was part of the Pioneer Corps who were supporting the Royal Engineers in clearing the island after the war. He had the task of collecting the bodies of Argentine soldiers which were then repatriated, the job of spotting mines and booby traps and also gathering armaments left by the retreating Argentine army.
As he arrived after the war had officially ended, John didn’t get a service medal for the campaign, but a recent change of heart by the Ministry of Defence has seen a medal given to those serving on the islands up to Christmas 1982.
John said: “I am very proud to receive the South Atlantic medal and it has now been mounted alongside my medal from Northern Ireland. There is now recognition that although the war was over, there was still some very dangerous work to complete in making the islands safe for those who lived there.
“Although as an 18-year-old it didn’t seem dangerous it was just what we signed up for. And at the end of each day we got to blow up all the guns and ammunition we had found.”
John left the Army in 1988 – after two more tours of the Falklands – and had a series of security jobs before joining Hartlepool power station’s security team in 2002. He is hoping to return to the Falklands, this time with a camera to capture some of the area’s wildlife.
“I have developed a real interest in photography over the years and have recently opened a shop in Hartlepool as well. So it would be good to go back in the future to get some pictures of the wildlife and landscape.”
Pictured are John Davis and EDF Energy Hartlepool station director Simon Parsons.
