FLYING geese, sculpted in steel by Herefordshire blacksmith Bromley O'Hare, have been unveiled in memory of the British civilians killed in the Falklands conflict.

Over fifty Falkland islanders from the south Atlantic and the United Kingdom were among the attendees of a special ceremony at the National Arboretum on June 12. Bromley’s sculpture was to be installed in remembrance of three civilians, tragically killed by friendly fire in 1982.

Playing their courageous part in the Falklands, Susan Whitley, Mary Goodwin and Doreen Bonner were the only British civilian casualties in the conflict of over 40 years ago. They lost their lives when a house they were sheltering in was hit by friendly fire. Buglers and pipers were on hand for the emotional event in the Allied Special Forces Memorial Grove.

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Plans for the sculpture were drawn up by friend of the Allied Special Forces Memorial Grove and former SAS soldier, Mike Colton. “Bromley was an established artisan blacksmith working in stainless steel while I was running my stained glass and leaded window business in Hereford many years ago,” said Mike.

Mike and Bromley worked together to produce the three symbolic waterfowl, inspired by the Magellan geese that rarely leave the Falklands. The Falkland Islanders Resistance Memorial commemorates those who helped UK troops during the battles and in the aftermath of the conflict.

Islanders spied on, sabotaged, and disrupted enemy activities before the British Task Force landed: bravery eternalised in the stunning statue of remembrance for the only civilians that lost their lives in the Falklands War.