And we all thought that the initial engagement of Argentine forces and their subsequent mishaps were all from Stuart’s imagination…
The First Casualty” offered a unique insight into the Falkland islands prior to the invasion, to include the actions of the Royal Marines, the Falkland Islanders and the Argentines as well.
It did this through primary sources to include interviews with all of the participants and witnesses and the official reports from both sides, plus private diaries and photographs from the day, and recorded at the time: this was something which had simply never been done before.
Hopefully, as the Historian and Author behind it, I can add some relevant context here.
However, the question asked specifically about British Special Forces, and whilst Royal Marines can be considered as such, the distinction between them and our own SAS/SBS special forces seems clear.
Yes, “The First Casualty” did indeed reference additional forces there on the night/morning of the April 2nd 1982 Argentine invasion, and that they were British Special Forces who were not a part of the garrison and who actually operated outside of the jurisdiction of either Major Mike Norman or the Governor Rex Hunt.
There were certain intercepted communications which Major Gary Noott even mentioned to Historian Roger Perkins who wrote the book “Operation Paraquet” and Perkins declined to use the information for whatever reasons, however pertinent and relevant they may have been. Certainly this also tied in with a section report sent in by Corporal Steve Black who spotted a submarine just off the coast; a report which was equally ignored… this gives an idea how little of the facts were reported at the time until I picked the history up.
The Argentines reported on three occasions during the landing that they had observed a section at Mullet Creek through their night-scope and had been forced to change their landing zone. They had even requested permission to circle around and engage the four-man group but were denied as it wasn’t the primary objective.
When the Argentine veterans asked me who it was after all these years, it was evident that there wasn’t a Royal Marines section within over a mile of that position, and I could place all of them perfectly… and they were seen later by the Argentines on several occasions, and by the Royal Marines (who thought they were Argentine) and by the Falkland Islanders themselves on several occasions as they watched the battle unfold: the Argentines also reported a fire contact from a place where there were no Royal Marines sections and moved in to find some abandoned equipment there at the old Balloon Shed at White City. My good friend Marine Captain Hugo Santillan of the Argentine BIM2 gave the order to engage and recounts it well.
Finally, after the ceasefire, one of the men tumbled into the back of KEMH (King Edward Memorial Hospital) in Stanley with some mangled fingers which had been run over by an Argentine LVTP-7 Amtrack APC on Ross Road. Nurse Blackley saw him and asked “Are you one of our new boys?” meaning the new NP8901 Detachment, as she didn’t recognise him, he replied, “No, I’m SBS and I can’t be found here!”
She quickly incinerated his kit and dressed him up in a gown as a farming accident. He stated that he had been in the gorse on Ross Road as an Amtrack came along too close to him. She stitched his mangled finger back on and bound them. A few hours later, the man had vanished… a good friend of mine, a Doctor of History who is well connected, met him recently and even saw the scars on his fingers: his first name is Kevin, if you’re interested. My friend is also good friends with one of the other SBS guys who was there on the day, who made the introduction. The man referenced is actually very well known in veteran circles… naturally, I’m being slightly mercurial on identifying them right now, for obvious reasons.
Since I wrote “The First Casualty” which was published in 2017, I have never really stopped looking for further evidence to corroborate a whole history which was denied or lost, especially regarding this element. The questions - Who were they? How did they get there? Where did they come from? - and more, needed answering, and whilst I was not afraid to say what I knew in “Casualty” I also knew that there was more to it.
A sort of ‘nudge-wink’ comment from someone who was in on-the-ground intelligence at the time left me stumped until I made a connection and the history dropped into place. Several of those involved have passed on their congratulations on working it out: I am hoping to meet directly with said people in the next 1–2 years by arrangement. Due to this, I don’t want to say exactly what I know and how, as I would like to ask them directly what I can say and what I shouldn’t.
However, it is a fact that there were some British Special Forces there on the day, and I am following up a lead from an additional source currently, who was there at the time and knows someone else who was there. Until I have this first hand and investigate it, I can’t say anything more, which would be irresponsible and silly. All we can say is that yes, they were there, and yes, certain things ascribed to them in the book have been confirmed, however much Argentina might deny them.
I do hope to be able to update this as I know more, so all I can say right now is yes they were there, and I know who and how and why, but would be silly to blurt it on social media and risk PERSEC / OPSEC as well as anything which might be misleading or simply unwise to say.
