Our Falklands War: A Frontline Story

Episodes – 1 x 90mins

TX BBC TWO – Saturday 12th June 2022, 9pm. Available on iPlayer

Executive Producer – Zac Beattie

Director - Guy King 

Film Editor - Simon McMahon

Producer - Saskia Rusher

Assistant Producer - Adam Hagerty

Archive Producer - Paul Gardner

Production Manager - Libby Taylor

Head of Production - Melissa Hameed

Director of Photography - Guy Meachin

Additional Editing - Bradley Manning

Composer - Dominic De Grande

★★★★★ 

“Exceptional, breath-taking, humbling, honest and surprising. Outstanding TV.”

The Times

★★★★★

“Outstanding, visceral and brutal”

The Daily Mail

★★★★

“Powerful in its simplicity, this is a tribute”

TV Times

 “The trust between the filmmakers and the filmed was remarkable. Ninety minutes that will live long in the memory.”

The Herald

Forty years ago, British troops returned home victorious from a short and brutal war in the Falkland Islands. Our Falklands War: A Frontline Story is the story of ten ordinary men who fought on the front line, alongside one another. This is the story of their war.

Reporting of the war was censored at the time and very little of the frontline fighting on the islands was captured on film. Tasked with liberating the Falkland Islands from Argentina, British troops set sail from the south coast of England in April 1982, returning ten weeks later. In that time, their lives were changed forever.

The landing of British troops on the Falkland Islands on 21st May 1982, marked the beginning of a cold and bloody 25-day land war. The story of these ten men takes us from the beginning to the end, taking in the battle of Goose Green, the catastrophic attack on the British ship the Sir Galahad and the final night of fighting that led to the Argentine surrender. 

Told by them in their own words, with unflinching honesty and detail - some speaking for the first time - their stories revisit some of the most dramatic, impactful, bloody and life changing moments. As we follow their stories, we begin to understand the ways in which war leaves its mark. For 40 years since, these men have had to come to terms with their experiences. For some it’s a badge of honour fortifying their every step, for others it’s a trauma that tore them apart and haunts them still. Society’s understanding of combat related PTSD was hastened by their return to Britain. 

Told with four decades of perspective – from a very different world, many of these men are barely at pension age. You could pass them in the supermarket and never know. But all have been altered by the fire through which they passed; and many still carry the weight of what they witnessed. This film documents the cumulative impact of violence and loss and the losses they inflict on the enemy. Some are made stronger by it and for some it left a dark and heavy shadow. 

This film gives the storytelling back to the men who fought on the frontline and reveals the human truth, beyond history books and headlines. At times with dark humour, at times profoundly moving, these men reveal a reality of war rarely heard. If the memory of the Falklands War has faded for many, for these men it remains as vivid as they day they fought it and their testimony stands as a record for generations to come.

Press

“There have been several documentaries to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands conflict and some have been excellent. But wow, Our Falklands War: A Frontline Story, two years in the making, was exceptional. It was breathtaking, humbling, honest and surprising, and I say this as someone who has watched umpteen hours of Falklands stuff lately.” - The Times

“Without pictures, most of us can’t imagine what the fighting was like. We need to hear it described — and Our Falklands War: A Frontline Story (BBC2) did an outstanding job of coaxing ten veterans to recount their memories in explicit detail.” - The Daily Mail

“The trust between the filmmakers and the filmed was remarkable. None of these men were the sort you would want to offend with insensitivity or ignorance, and fortunately there was none of that. Ninety minutes that will live long in the memory.” - The Herald

“Our Falklands War: A Frontline Story, airing on BBC2 on Sunday, will see a Royal Marines Commando and the comrade whose life he helped save emotionally reunited for the first time since 1982” - The Mirror