A veteran of the Falklands War has presented a soldier’s letter he found 40 years ago to the Argentinian Ambassador to the UK in the hopes of finding its original owner.
Jim Phillips, who lives in Ripon, was serving with the Royal Engineers in Port Stanley when he found a “bluey” – a blue-coloured airmail letter often used by soldiers posted overseas – which had been written by an Argentinian soldier to his wife or girlfriend back home.
Knowing how much soldiers and their families in all countries value hearing word from each other, he wanted to return the letter, but it was lost during a house move.
Fortunately, the letter came to light again just before Christmas 2022, when Jim was looking for something else. He said:
“I instantly sent an email to the Argentine embassy in London to help me get this letter to either the sender or recipient, or either of their families. I informed the embassy as I was coming down to London I could pop it into reception. No, they said, the ambassador will come to Ripon to accept the letter from me personally.”
So last week, Jim met the Argentinian Ambassador to the UK, Javier Figueroa, over lunch at Grantley Hall, near Ripon, to hand over the lost letter.
Mr Figueroa, who has long taken a special interest in the Falkland Islands and last year said the war had been “stupid”, promised to do everything he could to ensure the letter got back to its rightful owner, a Corporal Balbuena.
In an Instagram post on the embassy’s account, Mr Figueroa called the the episode a “heartwarming story”, and said he “appreciated Mr Phillips’ gesture“.
The Argentinian soldier’s letter
Jim said:
“Hopefully, the Argentine soldier concerned is still alive and this letter will find its way back to him and perhaps he can then deliver it personally.
“On a personal note, I would like to thank Ambassador Figueroa for taking the time to come to Ripon to accept the letter, also to thank him for his hospitality, friendship and help in getting this letter home.”
The Falklands War was fought over 10 weeks in 1982 and began when the right-wing military government of Argentina sent a surprise invasion force, which took possession of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia on April 2.
The UK, then led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, dispatched a task force of ships, aircraft and soldiers to take back the islands, which are internationally recognised British Overseas Territories.
The conflict, which ended on June 14 with a British victory and the capture of more than 11,000 Argentine soldiers, claimed more than 900 lives, over 70% of them Argentinian.
Read more:
- Royal Engineers to remember the Falklands dead at Ripon ceremony
- ‘We felt apprehension, but not fear’: Harrogate seaman remembers the Falklands War
- Ripon man auctions 255 bottles of whisky for Falklands veterans
