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Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies
Previous Events
Book Launch - Down South: A Falklands War Diary
18:00, 29 Mar 2012RUSI, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2ET
Link to map: multimap
About the event:
A presentation by Chris Parry CBE, Associate Fellow, RUSI, to launch his new book entitled 'Down South: A Falklands War Diary'.
Chris Parry was a 28 year old officer on a Wessex III helicopter on HMS Antrim during the Falklands War. Built in the 1960s, Antrim was primarily designed to deal with the threat from Soviet missiles. In the early months of 1982, she found herself heading south to spearhead the operation to recover South Georgia from the Argentinians.
Within days, Parry and his crew were trying to land SAS members on the formidable Fortuna Glacier in a near white-out. Buffeted by storm force winds and driving snowstorms, they managed to disembark the men - only to be forced to return the following day when it was clear they couldn't survive the extremely hostile conditions. A few days later, a sombre Parry was releasing the depth charges which disabled an Argentinian sub lurking in the freezing waters of South Georgia. He went on to take part in the landings at San Carlos and experience the intensity of 'Bomb Alley'.
Chris Parry's diary is published now for the first time to coincide with the anniversary of the war. In his presentation, Chris will provide a vivid account of the dangers and hardships endured by our forces during the conflict.
Chris Parry CBE joined the Royal Navy as a Seaman Officer in 1972 and then became an Observer in the Fleet Air Arm in 1979. He was mentioned in despatches for his part in some of the actions during the Falklands War. As well as several operational tours and Ministry of Defence appointments, he commanded HMS Gloucester, HMS Fearless and the UK's Amphibious Task Group. On promotion to Rear Admiral in 2005, he became the MoD's Director of Developments, Concepts and Doctrine. Now retired from the armed forces, he is an Associate Fellow of RUSI and heads a company which specialises in geo-strategic forecasting.
The presentation is followed by a drinks reception from 1900 to 2000. Chris Parry will be on hand to sign copies of his book, to be published by Viking on 1 March, which will be on sale.
This event is open to all RUSI members. To become a member, please click here.
To attend this event, please register online using the "Book your place" button above. If you have any queries please contact Sophie Cordes, Events Manager, at sophiec@rusi.org or call +44 (0)20 7747 4971.
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