The Falklands War: the veteran's tale

Falklands veterans returning to a heroes' welcome

By any standards, Les Standish is a brave man.

He's a former soldier with Two Para - the small group of men who fought at Goose Green, where Colonel H Jones died.

Standish: re-lived the war during therapy

He watched two of his colleagues die, and rescued another soldier who'd had a leg blown off.

He says he was happy to do his duty for his country, just as he'd been trained.

But nothing prepared him for the shock of civilian life, after the horrors of the Falklands War.

A heroes' welcome

"For the first six months after we came back I couldn't put my hand in my pocket for anything, " he tells Breakfast.

It ruined my marriage. It shattered my life ten years on.

Les Standish

"It was the same for everyone. We'd done a good job out there and we became national heroes.

"We were proud soldiers. We were very young and were proud of what we did."

Going downhill

Les' troubles started when he left the army four years later.

British soldiers raise the Union Jack over Port Stanley

He joined the prison service as a PE instructor, but found it harder than he'd imagined to adjust to life outside the forces.

Things came to a head during the prison riots of 1990.

He began drinking heavily, started having flash-backs and found himself unable to eat or sleep.

I was very violent, aggressive. I drank a lot and I just didn't care about anybody. Looking back, I'm ashamed

Les Standish

Eventually, Les was treated for post-traumatic stress disorder.

To fight his demonds, he found he had to re-live each step of the Falklands War.

He says :" My experiences ruined my marriage, it shattered my life ten years on and I was a different person up until last year.

Margaret Thatcher visits the Falklands Islands grave of Colonel H Jones

"I actually went back to the Falklands las year on my own personal pilgrimmage. It wasn't until then that I realised the type of person I'd become.

"I was very violent, aggressive, I drank a lot and I just didn't care about anybody.

"Looking back, I'm ashamed.

"But now I consider myself recovered and I dedicate a lot of my private time to helping everybody get to where I am."

This is the fourth in our Falklands series. To see Les Standish's story in full - or click on the watch/listen box at the top right hand side of this story