Description
Physical description
Beaker-shaped copper-coloured metal alarm bell, the surface of which is scorched and blackened and otherwise discoloured in various places.
History note
Alarm Bell taken from the bridge of the RFA Sir Tristram at Bluff Cove. Scorched, it bears witness to the heat onboard the ship while it burned after an Argentinian air attack on 8th June 1982. The attack killed two crew members and injured many passengers and crew. The accommodation area was burnt out and the vessel temporarily abandoned, but the vessel was saved, to serve as an accommodation hulk in Port Stanley for almost a year after the war ended, before being brought back to the UK and rebuilt.
The bell was mounted horizontally with an electric sounder inside (missing). It was used as a drinking vessel (for rum) by Naval Mine Clearance Diving Team Three, who inspected the ship for unexploded ordnance after the attack and before its reoccupation.
RFA's Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram were anchored off Fitzroy in Port Pleasant, near Bluff Cove, when they were bombed in a surprise raid by five Argentine Skyhawks. Sir Galahad burst into flames instantly, and nearly 200 soldiers awaiting disembarkation (mainly from the Welsh Guards) were killed or injured.
The ships had almost completed an operation to move support troops of the Fifth infantry brigade from San Carlos to join forces advancing on the capital Port Stanley when the attack occurred.
The decision to make the dangerous journey was taken after the discovery that the settlements of Fitzroy and Bluff Cove had apparently been deserted by Argentine troops.
Moving the soldiers round by sea in landing ships was intended to save a lengthy trek across the bogs and mountains, which would have delayed support reaching other troops.
The attack came before adequate air defences could be installed, and the ships, with the men on board them, were helpless before the Argentine attack.
'Bernie' Bruen was commander of a naval bomb disposal team in the Falklands War, responsible for defusing and removing bombs on several ships as well as dealing with floating sea mines, for which work he was awarded the DSC; his autobiography 'Keep Your Head Down' provides more detail.
