Themes

‘I can remember thinking, “Keep Driving Safely. Get back to the house".’

Mrs Jenny Lippiett, on hearing the radio news that, ‘Five of our ships have been damaged …’ on 21 May 1982

On the front page, in the front room

Daily Mail headline '2 more British warships hit'

It was hard for naval families to escape the war. Newspapers put it on the front page and television broadcast it into the front rooms. However, accurate information about exactly where a ship was, or what it was doing, was scarce.

Sailors in the Task Force had few chances to contact home. Before mobile phones and e-mail, families relied on airmail letters known as ‘blueys’. Ships took every opportunity to transfer mail. Every time ships met, or a helicopter landed, they passed precious letters. Despite this letters could take three weeks to arrive.

Nor was the media always a useful source of news. Reporters in the Task Force saw events mainly from HMS Hermes and Canberra. Those in London reported from official briefings, but still released sensitive information. Some of this was potentially useful to Argentina during the conflict.

Many naval families lived close together and shared their experience of the war. Naval chaplains ashore set up a ‘Link’ service to put families, with men on the same ships, in touch with each other.