Thread by @FAB87F

I found a 4-month-old baby under floorboards in the Falklands Battle of Goose Green – now 40yrs on we’ve been reunited

thesun.co.uk/news/18211547/…

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As the noise of battle subsided and hundreds of Argentine troops surrendered, Paratrooper Jimmy Goodall looked at the handful of farm buildings in Goose Green and found himself suddenly overwhelmed with doubt.
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Why had they been fighting for the Falklands, a group of small islands in the South Atlantic 8,000 miles from the UK?
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What had all the death, terror and struggle of the previous three days been for? His commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel H Jones and 15 of his comrades from 2 Para lay dead, along with a commando sapper and Royal Marines helicopter pilot.
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Then Jimmy witnessed the joy of freedom in the eyes of the 114 Islanders who had been held at gunpoint for almost a month, crammed by their Argentine captors into the local community centre.
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The battle-weary lance-corporal also saw the sheer relief on the face of mum June McMullen, who was cradling her baby son, Matthew.

At that moment he knew why he was there.
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Jimmy, now 67, recalls: “I was absolutely knackered and, of course, after the battle you see all the devastation, with bodies everywhere, and bits of bodies too, and you think to yourself, ‘What the hell is this all about?’
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“At just four months old, Matthew was the youngest of the internees and he had actually been kept under the floorboards for safe-keeping during the battle.
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“I was stinking and in rag order. I hadn’t had a wash for a week and when Matthew was handed to me, I just looked at him and thought, ‘This is it — this is what it’s about’.

“From that moment on I was absolutely OK with what we were doing. It all fell into place.”
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As one of the first liberators into Goose Green, Jimmy had his photo taken with Matthew.

“We were milling around and these civilians were absolutely ecstatic because they had just been released from this tiny community centre.”
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“And we could not believe that they had been kept cooped up like that for a month while the Argentines kept pulling them out for mock executions and that kind of thing.”
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“Then, in the general melee, I ended up holding Matthew and one of the lads said, ‘I’ll take a photo of you’.”
That picture, taken on May 29, 1982, was even more poignant because back in the UK, Jimmy’s wife Mary was heavily pregnant with their third child.
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And by the time Jimmy arrived in Falklands capital Stanley on June 14, his son had been born.

 Jimmy says: “I got home before his birth was registered and I named my new son after baby Matthew at Goose Green.”
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Years later, Jimmy, from Stockton-on-Tees, Co Durham, returned to the Falklands and to the cemetery above San Carlos Water where his comrades are buried.
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It was here he discovered that baby Matthew had grown into a strapping young farmer who now owns the Kingsford Valley Farm on which the cemetery is sited. On his return to England Jimmy made contact via the internet and told Matthew about the remarkable photo.
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The two men stayed in touch over Facebook and they met up when Jimmy recently returned for a second time. 
His fellow veterans decided they should recreate the photo, with Jimmy holding Matthew.
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But when they met it was clear this was not going to happen.
Jimmy says: “He’s huge now! I couldn’t pick him up. He could pick me up.”

With the help of his 81-year-old father Tony, Matthew runs the 20,000-acre sheep farm which leads down to Blue Beach
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where Jimmy and his   comrades from 2 Para Assault Engineers had come ashore on May 21, 1982.

Jimmy recalls: “When I came off the landing craft I was carrying the radio, ten pounds of PE4 [plastic explosives] in eight-ounce sticks, bandoliers across my chest
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and a Blowpipe missile strapped on my shoulders.

“We were carrying them for the artillery and were supposed to drop them off at the bottom of Sussex Mountains, but they couldn’t carry them up the mountains so we had to.
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In one of the decisive battles of the Falklands War, the 450 men of 2 Para overwhelmed an Argentine force almost three times as big to seize the settlements, and took more than 950 enemy troops captive.
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When the battle was finally won, Jimmy was among the first British troops into Goose Green, a handful of houses, farm buildings & sheep sheds. The Paras were amazed when 100+ islanders came out of the small centre where they had been held captive for almost a month.
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It was not until the settlement was taken back by paratroopers that the 114 captives were able to leave — a debt the Falkland Islanders of that era will never forget.

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450 British troops vs 1,200 Argentine troops, outnumbered 3-1

2Para ‘tabbed’ – jargon for Tactical Advance to Battle – 13 miles to the forming-up point at Camilla Creek House

British losses 18 killed 64 wounded

Argentine losses 55 killed 140 wounded 961 captured
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Matthew said: “It was very touching to meet Jimmy and I was so moved.
“I cried when he first told me the story. I’m crying just thinking about it now.
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“He was the first Para into the hall, which I didn’t realise. I can’t even bear to think about what they went through to be there and liberate us.

“I’m proud to own the farm near to the memorial because it feels like I am protecting their graves.
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