The battle for Goose Green was one of the most well-documented events of the Falklands War.

Nobody remembers it more clearly than Murdoch Skelton, who was mortar platoon sergeant for the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment.

Now a manager for a Fareham company, Murdoch recalls: `I didn't feel unduly worried as we sailed out of Portsmouth towards the Falklands.

`I was 31 years old and had already been in the Paras for 14 years.

`I had done numerous tours of Northern Ireland, where I had been shot at and seen plenty of action.

`There was also the feeling that the problem may be sorted out by the time we got there. We boarded the Norland North Sea Ferry at Portsmouth - the band was playing and hundreds of families and supporters were there to see us off.

`I didn't dwell too much about the possibility of getting killed or injured. I was a professional soldier being sent to do a job. With me fear doesn't generate itself until the action actually starts.

`On the way to the Falklands the sort of thoughts going through my mind were: `How will I perform? And how will my guys perform?' By the time the ship reached Ascension Island it was obvious that the Paras were going to go into battle. `We settled into a war-training routine, going through the basics day after day.

`The battalion doctor also gave us vital first-aid training, which certainly saved many lives.

`Many of the paras, myself included, had never even been on a ship before, so boat drills were needed.

`I remember one afternoon the sirens went off and we thought it was another drill but a voice came over the tannoy saying ``This is not a drill''. In about three minutes we had cleared the boat stations, believing that an Argentinian submarine was beneath us - it turned out to be a school of whales, but that certainly focused all our minds.'

Murdoch added: `We landed at Blue Beach Two and it was not an easy task, trying to get off the landing craft into freezing cold water with 100lb of kit on our backs.

`It was pitch black because it was very early in the morning, but at least the landing was not resisted.'

Once everything was unloaded from the ship, the Paras marched through the rest of the day and night to Camilla Creek House. `Conditions were very bad,' said Murdoch, `It was dark, musty and freezing cold. The ground was very marshy - in fact one soldier fell into a bog and within seconds we could only see his eyes - fortunately we managed to pull him out.'

Two hundred Paras reached Camilla Creek House and crammed inside to keep warm. The next day they were to fight for Goose Green.

`H Hour was 2am,' said Murdoch, `As mortar platoon sergeant I was about a mile back from the front line action. We were firing so many mortars that within an hour we had practically run out.

`A very brave pilot from the RAF flew more ammunition to me. His helicopter was loaded so full it could scarcely get off the ground, but he made sure we were kept supplied.'

He added: `In one hour I fired more mortars than I had done during a whole year of training.

`One of the most frightening moments of the battle for me came when two Argentinian fighter aircraft attacked the mortar line. One of the helicopters re-supplying us got shot down, but I was very lucky and was not hurt.'

The battle lasted more than 40 hours, and just as it was coming to a close Murdoch was told that his commanding officer, Colonel H Jones had been killed in action.

Col Jones was killed as he took personal command of a small group and led it against two Argentinian heavy machine guns sited directly in 2 Para's path - but the machine guns were silenced and the way ahead was open for the paras.

`He was a charismatic leader,' said Murdoch, `he knew every single man in the battalion by name. He was a commanding officer who firmly believed you led from the front at all times. This gained him enormous respect from the men, who would've followed him to the end of the earth.'

Major Chris Keble, the battalion's second-in-command took charge for the final assault. As the fierce infantry battle reached its crescendo, the cloud lifted and three Royal Air Force Harriers arrived to pound Argentinian positions with cluster bombs.

Slowly, the enemy was driven back - to eventual surrender. It soon emerged as an epic victory - for the 600-strong battalion of 2 Paras had been outnumbered by more than two-to-one.

Argentinian prisoners after British victory at Goose Green

In all, 17 paras were killed during the battle and about 250 Argentinian soldiers were believed killed and about 1,400 taken prisoner.

When the fighting was all over, and the Falklands had been won back by the British, Murdoch allowed himself time to think about his experiences. He said: `I flew home to Glasgow and a few days later went on holiday to Florida.

`Once or twice I did catch myself thinking `Yes, that was a close run thing'. I lost many friends along the way - I know how lucky I was.'

Murdoch stayed with 2 Paras until 1991 when he retired from the forces. He now works as an area manager for the Corps of Commissionaires, a company in Fareham which provides security officer jobs for ex-servicemen.

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