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Through Fire and Water
The average age of the 199 men on board HMS Ardent was 23 in May 1982 when she made a lonely midnight run into Falkland Sound, an hour ahead of the British amphibious group about to retake the Islands. In the crucial hours that followed, her naval gunfire support kept enemy troops and aircraft pinned down at Goose Green and Darwin. Despite a few scares it all looked good. Until 5.44 p.m.
At that precise moment, close to the sanctuary of darkness, Ardent came under the most concentrated attack of any ship taking part in the landings. She was hit 17 times in the space of 22 minutes and one in four of her ship's company was either killed or wounded. She lost a greater proportion of her men than any other fighting unit in the entire war. So why has the British public forgotten her name?
Through Fire and Water tells the frigate's story, from Christmas 1981 in Amsterdam, to her sinking in Falkland Sound - and beyond. It follows the families who waved off sons, lovers, brothers, husbands and fathers as Ardent left the dockyard. It explains what it was like for British soldiers in the Falklands and what it was like for the families waiting at home for the news. It describes the sickening fear of being in a defenceless warship singled out for destruction, the feeling of despair as those on board tried to save their ship and their mates - in that order - while bomb after bomb came crashing down. It is the story of men from the classrooms and factories of Britain who joined up to see the world, but instead became the focus of its short-spanned attention.
In a war so well documented, this book is the first to tell their story, the first to explain why it all happened, the first to tell the true story of the forgotten frigate.
At that precise moment, close to the sanctuary of darkness, Ardent came under the most concentrated attack of any ship taking part in the landings. She was hit 17 times in the space of 22 minutes and one in four of her ship's company was either killed or wounded. She lost a greater proportion of her men than any other fighting unit in the entire war. So why has the British public forgotten her name?
Through Fire and Water tells the frigate's story, from Christmas 1981 in Amsterdam, to her sinking in Falkland Sound - and beyond. It follows the families who waved off sons, lovers, brothers, husbands and fathers as Ardent left the dockyard. It explains what it was like for British soldiers in the Falklands and what it was like for the families waiting at home for the news. It describes the sickening fear of being in a defenceless warship singled out for destruction, the feeling of despair as those on board tried to save their ship and their mates - in that order - while bomb after bomb came crashing down. It is the story of men from the classrooms and factories of Britain who joined up to see the world, but instead became the focus of its short-spanned attention.
In a war so well documented, this book is the first to tell their story, the first to explain why it all happened, the first to tell the true story of the forgotten frigate.
- GenresNonfiction
402 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 14, 2015
This was a very long & detailed account of the few months in the life of a Royal Navy Type 21, prior to her sinking in May 1982. This action actually forms only a portion of the book. This bit is very good and very illuminating, if a little disturbing at times as the casualties were anything but fictitious. I found the protracted discussion of the thirty years (ish) since Ardent's sinking & the effect that this had on the ship's company somewhat tedious, but my biggest criticism was that there were so many references to naval slang, great if one is "in the know", but damned annoying otherwise, particularly when they are not explained. Also, there were a huge number of characters & I, for one, was totally confused most of the time. It could be argued that this was inevitable as the ship's company consisted of about 200 men.
June 18, 2016
Whilst I appreciated the idea of a very detailed and people-focussed history of the ship and its role in the Falklands conflict, I felt the result was sadly too long and hard to follow.
A huge amount of research has clearly gone into it, but I found the format of trying to tell so many stories made it very difficult remember who was who and what they did. It would have been better if the author had picked half a dozen crew and told the story through their eyes.
A huge amount of research has clearly gone into it, but I found the format of trying to tell so many stories made it very difficult remember who was who and what they did. It would have been better if the author had picked half a dozen crew and told the story through their eyes.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews