A Falklands War veteran who is originally from Machynlleth has paid tribute to his comrades who lost their lives on the 40th anniversary of the conflict's end.
Pte Nigel McNeilly, 61, who served in the machine gun platoon of 3rd Battalion (3 PARA) the Parachute Regiment, attended a "very emotional" service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire with his grandson Riley Jak Roberts, from Machynlleth.
He said that on the day of the surrender, the platoon had "loaded up with ammunition ready for the advance on Stanley" when the soldiers' radio sparked into life with welcome news.
"Radio communications came through to say that there's a white flag flying over Stanley and that they had surrendered," he said.
Mr McNeilly worked as a milkman in Machynlleth before joining the Army in 1980 and now lives near Walsall.
He said the anniversary was a "double-edged sword" because he had "compartmentalised" what he experienced, and had kept it "boxed away for many years".
He added: "I've been getting flashbacks and weird nightmarish sort of things."
"But I felt it was important to come here to commemorate comrades who lost their lives (and) those who got injured."
He was at the Battle of Mount Longdon and remembers two comrades being killed by Argentinian artillery, while a man in his section got hit with shrapnel
He recalled setting up their machine gun positions "on our bellies", because "when you stood above waist height you got shot up by the enemy because they had night sights, decent night sights".
Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid tribute to the "incredible daring and bravery" of armed forces personnel on the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War.
Veterans, civilians and bereaved family members attended a service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, on on Tuesday (June 14), along with senior members of UK defence staff, to remember the conflict.
Mr Johnson, who laid a wreath at the service, said: "The first thing is remember what an incredible thing it was that they achieved back in 1982.
"To make an opposed landing, to take back territory in the way that they did.
"The incredible daring and bravery of those young men and women.
"And we salute that – we remember that today."
Mr Johnson, who spoke at the service as military helicopters carried out a fly-past, said the "greatest tribute" to those who had laid down their lives was that the Falklands Islands had since "thrived in peace and freedom".
The undeclared war claimed the lives of 255 British forces personnel.
The attack came on April 2, as Argentinian forces targeted the islands located 8,000 miles from the UK mainland, deep in the South Atlantic.
Just three days later, a vast combined arms British task force – Task Force 317 – steamed from Portsmouth intent upon re-taking the British overseas territory.
The British effort eventually involved 26,000 troops and 3,000 civilian personnel.
The conflict claimed 907 lives in total, including 649 Argentines and three Falkland Islanders.
More than 2,000 were wounded during the fighting, and many more suffered – and still live with – the unseen injuries of conflict.
During fierce fighting on land, in the air and at sea, a total of seven British ships were lost, including the Sir Galahad, HMS Coventry and HMS Sheffield which was struck by an Exocet anti-ship missile.
Meeting veterans before the service, Mr Johnson heard from one sailor who had been aboard the Coventry the day it was sunk during a bombing raid with the loss of 19 crew, replying "that was a terrible thing, what a thing that was".
San Carlos Water, where the Coventry went down, became known as Bomb Alley by British troops, such was the frequency of low-level bombing raids by Argentine pilots.
But after 75 days, it was on this day in 1982 that British forces advanced on the capital of Stanley and enemy troops fled in disarray, with prime minister Margaret Thatcher informing the House of Commons the Argentinians had surrendered by 10:15 BST.
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