CHAIRMAN

John Parker

Tel. 07970 568425

DEPUTY CHAIRMAN

Martin Harris

Tel. 07720 823364

SECRETARY

Allan (Mac) Black

Tel. 07512 022949

TREASURER

Duncan Pickard

Tel. 01334 870203

TALK CONVENOR

Graeme Hogg

Tel. 01334 653043

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Jim Lawrence

David Martin

Maurice Shepherd

David Sinclair

ASSIST. TALK CONVENOR

Bill Bowman

TALK RECORDERS

Jim Lawrence

Tony Miklinski

Brian Murray

Graham Pirie

MEMBERS PAGE

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Next Meeting...

Wednesday

13th May 2026

10.00am

'Violin Maker'

Presenter - Linda Colston

Club News

Secretary email: macblack.author@gmail.com

Pleasant spring weather encouraged a good turnout of members to the Castlehill Community Hall on 22nd April where Chairman, John Parker, was pleased to welcome today's speaker, one of our own members, Tony Miklinski. Tony, currently on the board of Cupar Development Trust, and who has been a senior figure in Defence Training at MOD, today is talking as an ex Commando about his involvement in the Falkland War in 1982.

Also, two visitors joined us at today's meeting. We are always happy to have to add extra chairs!

Would you like to join us?

New members will be very welcome, so, if you are someone who has retired and you are looking for something to do on Wednesday mornings, please contact our Secretary or, better still, pop-in to one of our meetings. If you know of someone, encourage them to attend.

Our next meeting will be on 13th May and the speaker will be Linda Colston. Her talk is entitled 'Violin Maker'. We hope to see you there!

The FALKLANDS.

On April 2nd, 1982, communications came through that a unit of Argentinian Special Forces had landed on South Georgia, taken over the local populace and raised the Argentinian Flag. They also landed invasion troops at the capital, Stanley, on the main island. PM Thatcher declared the invasion an act of war and set in progress a response to the invasion by sending a force to free the Islands.

Tony Miklinski was a 1st Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and was imbedded in the Royal Marines force with 42 Cdo.  He had just completed a Winter Exercise in Norway and became a Communications Watch Keeper with 3-4 radio channels to handle on a four hours on and eight hours off schedule. He set sail on the Canberra with Marines and Paras on board.

 On 20-21st May, the ships arrived in San Carlos water which was a fjord where the enemy aircraft could only attack north to south. Various ships along with the Atlantic Conveyor were sunk so they were left with one Chinook and the realisation that all forces had to yomp across the island in wet boggy terrain with trench foot and rocky defended hills to overcome. Goose Green, Mount Kent, Mount Harriet and Mount Tumbldown and others were overcome until Port Stanley was entered and the Argentinian forces formally surrendered on 15 June, 74 days after the invasion.

Weather was a deciding factor in the Falklands with the land force leader, Major-General Jeremy Moore stating that it was “bloody awful” but the mantra which the Marines and Paras held, “train hard and fight easy,” proved decisive.

Brian Murray