A VETERAN who spent decades at the Marchwood military port has praised Southampton’s “major part” in the Falklands War.

Brian Seggie was a young marine engineer diver living in Horton Heath when he was deployed on April 5 1982.

This was his first “full-scale conflict”, and he had never heard of the Falklands before.

The 63-year-old rolled back the years in an interview with the Echo to mark the 40th anniversary of the battle, which saw hundreds deploy from Marchwood and Southampton.

“I was absolutely knackered,” recalled Mr Seggie. “I’d just finished a four-week diving course!”

“But we were all excited. This was my first big, full-scale conflict and because this was British land, we had a sense that we were doing the right thing.

“The spirit of the dockers in Southampton was excellent. They played a major part in the whole conflict, letting us use the jetties when we didn’t have room and so much more.”

Mr Seggie, who spent 42 years in the Army, lived in Horton Heath for 25 years.

He is now a Ringwood resident and was forced to retire from his duties due to combat-related injuries, some of which were sustained during the Falklands.

“We had to get the amphibious vehicles from ship to shore,” Mr Seggie explained.

“They were used when there wasn’t a port, so the ships would anchor and the vehicles were very low profile in the water.”

Mr Seggie also remembers seeing military HGVs, loaded with ammunition and cargo, travelling along the M271.

He said that the Marchwood facility had a high-level explosive licence and that it had been at the forefront of amphibious vehicle deployment since WWII.

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“It was lovely to be part of the Southampton community,” Mr Seggie said.

“Although I spent the best part of 16 years overseas, Marchwood was my home port and Horton Heath had my family home.”

On April 2 1982, Argentinian forces invaded the British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands.

The South American country had claimed sovereignty over the islands for many years and their ruling military junta did not believe that Britain would attempt to regain the islands by force.

The war ended on June 14 of the same year.

In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders died during the hostilities.