Leeds Falklands War Royal Navy veteran relives the moment his ship came under attack

Sean Lloyd was a Royal Navy chef and is seeking to raise money to mark the 40th anniversary of the conflict.

The conflict began on April 2, 1982 when Argentine forces invaded the overseas British territory of the Falkland Islands.

The war raged for 74 days before Argentina surrendered, on June 14, 1982, with both sides having suffered heavy casualties.

Sean served aboard the HMS Endurance and while extremely grateful to have survived, the fighting left an emotional toll.

"I just felt numb for about 10 years and I was fortunate enough not to see too much combat so you can only imagine the impact it had on the Paratroopers and Royal Marines." he told the YEP, in an exclusive interview.

"You come home and everyone makes such a fuss, which is great but while everyone is so grateful your brain is trying to process everything.

"You've got these contrary things going off subconsciously in your mind and you are starting to question whether what happened to you was real or not."

For Sean he found the whole experience somewhat surreal as what he described as the "calming influence of the sea" was broken.

"I remember looking out at lads just relaxing around the ship, getting a tan and that tranquillity that you get and that surreal harmony from the sea sort of contradicts your circumstances." he said.

"Then suddenly the skipper is blacking the ship out and you are hiding among the icebergs then you hear him give the order, ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK.

"We were very lucky not to be sunk."

Sean is now leading the charge to raise funds for the Falklands Veterans Foundation charity, through the release of a new single, Memories Of You.

In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War, Memories Of You, is described as "a very fitting, reflective song", which has been recorded and released to raise much-needed funds.

Memories Of You, by classical-crossover singer Carley Williams, is a beautifully written ballad, composed by Christopher Bevan, with lyrics by Micki Stokoe, that speaks of loss in all its guises; be it personal and in times of conflict.

The song was originally composed as a tribute to injured service men and women.

It is now available from Amazon for download at £0.69, with all royalties going to the Falklands Veterans Foundation charity.