Falklands War veterans reunite at new factory build

1 hour ago

Hannah Roe,in Aylesfordand

Josh McLaughlin,South East

Simon Weston (left) and Steve Hammond, who both served on the bombed Sir Galahad ship, reunite after 42 years

Hannah Roe/BBC Simon Weston and Steve Hammond stand in front of a Royal British Veterans Enterprise flag on the site where a new factory will be built in Aylesford. They are both wearing suits, shirts and ties. Steve has his armed stretched out while pointing to something as Simon follows his gaze. — Simon Weston (left) and Steve Hammond, who both served on the bombed Sir Galahad ship, reunite after 42 years

Two veterans who survived an attack on their regiment during the Falklands War in 1982 have reunited to mark the next stage of a £15m factory building project.

Simon Weston, 61, a former Welsh guardsman who suffered life-threatening burns during the bombing of the Sir Galahad ship, put the first spade in the ground at the Royal British Veterans Enterprise's (RBVE) site in Aylesford on Tuesday.

He was joined by Steve Hammond, who also served on the ship and went on to make road and rail signs at Britain's Bravest Manufacturing Company (BBMC) for 27 years.

"To see the new factory being built is going to be fantastic for the next generation of veterans," Hammond said.

Hammond told the BBC the last time the pair had met was about 42 years ago when Weston was in hospital with almost 50% burns.

"You join one cap badge and you stay friends and brothers forever," he added.

Forty-eight crew were killed when the Sir Galahad, a supply ship carrying British troops to the Falklands, was hit by Argentinian air force bombs on 8 June 1982. It was the biggest loss of British life during the war.

Weston says the charity helps to give veterans hope

Hannah Roe/BBC Steve Hammond is joined by Lisa Farmer and others as he puts the first spade in the ground on the Aylesford site. He is holding the handle of a metallic shovel, with its head resting against the ground. — Weston says the charity helps to give veterans hope

As a national charity that helps veterans and disabled people, RBVE said the new factory would replace its current "outdated" one and create up to 80 new jobs.

More than 70% of BBMC's factory workforce, which is a social enterprise division of RBVE, are veterans or disabled, the charity said.

Weston, who was appointed CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2016 for his charity work, said: "I think it's incredible to see the difference that it can make to people's lives - and for a long time.

"They're giving people hope, aspirations and changing the trajectory of people's lives."

'A broken man'

Hammond was one of those beneficiaries. After leaving the Armed Forces in 1989, he went back to Shropshire with his wife and two children.

He said they stayed in a bungalow with his parents before he got a job and a mortgage, but felt desperate after being made redundant.

"RBVE brought me down here, I was a broken man and they built me up," he told the BBC.

He later went on to become mayor of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council from 2024-25.

Lisa Farmer, chief executive officer at RBVE, said the new factory aimed to offer independence to its workers.

"Veterans don't want charity, they want opportunity," she told the BBC.

"This is providing meaningful work that gives them independence and structure back to their lives after service."

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