:00:06. > :00:11.in Afghanistan. It is a privilege to be standing among then today. We
:00:11. > :00:19.remember people who were killed in the two world wars and a complex
:00:19. > :00:22.that followed. -- the conflicts. Coming up on today's programme: A
:00:22. > :00:31.World War Two pilot remembers sinking the largest German warship
:00:31. > :00:37.of its time. I saw a huge ship with guns blazing. We follow a Falkland
:00:37. > :00:41.veteran as he retraces the steps he made 30 years ago. It is special
:00:41. > :00:44.for me to come back to this location where comrades lost their
:00:44. > :00:51.lives. And we hear how one battlefield rescue mission did not
:00:51. > :00:59.go as planned. We had to keep going and get them out of there as soon
:00:59. > :01:02.as possible. We could not hang around. We all know that Camp
:01:02. > :01:05.Bastion is the hub of operations here in Afghanistan but thousands
:01:05. > :01:08.of our servicemen and women are making a difference miles away from
:01:08. > :01:18.here. So I'm heading south to Nad- e-Ali, where it is a true family
:01:18. > :01:21.
:01:21. > :01:27.I am heading to a Forward Operating Base called Shawqat on the edge of
:01:27. > :01:30.the green zone and a brisk 20 minute helicopter ride away. But
:01:30. > :01:40.not long into the flight, a potential threat on the aircraft
:01:40. > :01:45.
:01:45. > :01:47.from the Taliban causes the pilot That was quite an unnerving
:01:47. > :01:57.experience because, during the flight, we let out some flares,
:01:57. > :02:05.which means we were under threat from the Taliban. Maybe we were
:02:05. > :02:14.being shot at or missiles aimed at the aircraft. Everything is OK. It
:02:14. > :02:18.was a scary moment but I suppose you get a few of those in
:02:18. > :02:21.Afghanistan. Welcome to Shawqat. Forward Operating Base Shawqat is
:02:21. > :02:24.an old British fortress, situated in the heart of Nad-e-Ali. It has
:02:24. > :02:28.all the mod cons, like a gym and even a radio station. For the past
:02:28. > :02:38.six months, it has been controlled and run by 1 Royal Anglians, which
:02:38. > :02:41.
:02:41. > :02:49.is a true family regiment. And met two very close knit soldiers. What
:02:49. > :02:56.is it like being father and son in Afghanistan? It is very different.
:02:56. > :03:02.On a couple of occasions I have bumped into him. That must be great.
:03:02. > :03:08.What happens? Is it professional? We are not scared to show up a bit
:03:08. > :03:12.of emotion. We have a laugh and a joke. Lots of mums and dads will be
:03:12. > :03:21.watching the show, particularly leading up to Remembrance Sunday,
:03:21. > :03:27.thinking about sons and daughters. I try not to think about it too
:03:27. > :03:34.much with the things he is doing on the battlefield. It can be nerve-
:03:34. > :03:39.racking. He will have seen your father. You are looking forward to
:03:39. > :03:42.seeing your mum! Also coming to the end of his tour is Captain Duncan
:03:42. > :03:45.Fraser, who knows just how dangerous this area used to be. It
:03:45. > :03:48.saw some of the most fierce fighting with the Taliban. He has
:03:48. > :03:58.kindly agreed to accompany me on a patrol to the local market to show
:03:58. > :04:00.how things have changed. We are going to the Nad-e-Ali local
:04:00. > :04:10.bizarre, the difference that's happened over the last six months.
:04:10. > :04:15.But we have got to have a briefing first. Always a briefing. I will
:04:15. > :04:21.show the route we are about to take. We are about to go out of the
:04:21. > :04:29.southern gate. Back up to the main bazaar. Make sure we spread out. Do
:04:29. > :04:33.not be scared to talk to the locals and interact with them. We are
:04:33. > :04:41.going to talk about a minor casualty on the ground. It depends
:04:41. > :04:51.on the severity. We will patch them up. The first person get straight
:04:51. > :04:58.
:04:58. > :05:07.This is the first time I had been an eight foot patrols so far away
:05:07. > :05:16.from the security of the base and it is unnerving. -- a foot patrol.
:05:16. > :05:20.A completely different environment. You immediately feel exposed. The
:05:20. > :05:29.locals are quite used to British patrols. It is clear a little
:05:29. > :05:38.effort from our guys goes a long way. They all know had to say hello
:05:38. > :05:48.and goodbye. -- how to say. If you take some time to learn their
:05:48. > :05:59.
:05:59. > :06:04.We are coming into one of the Is the dream one day maybe to walk
:06:04. > :06:12.down here are not only about the patrol? How important is it to have
:06:12. > :06:18.the guys around you? We still have soldiers here. The threat is small
:06:18. > :06:28.but it is still there. You can see the amount of people. You cannot
:06:28. > :06:36.keep tabs on everyone. We are taking the necessary precautions.
:06:36. > :06:42.You can see the shops are full. Varied produce. People are feeling
:06:42. > :06:46.free to trade produce. That is what is improved - getting this produce
:06:46. > :06:53.such a long way. Before it would have been almost impossible for the
:06:53. > :07:00.locals to take their produce from one place to another. Of exactly
:07:00. > :07:10.that. Some of these tomatoes may have come from as far away as Iran.
:07:10. > :07:50.
:07:50. > :07:54.I suppose a tomato is a sign of On the whole, it is a very friendly
:07:54. > :08:01.atmosphere. You can tell by the way the other soldiers are walking
:08:01. > :08:08.around the town. You only have another couple of days in
:08:08. > :08:16.Afghanistan. You'll miss this, went to? I will be in Edinburgh but I
:08:16. > :08:23.will miss the report I have with these kids. Hopefully they will
:08:23. > :08:28.carry on the good work we have done and we are on away to 2014. That
:08:28. > :08:32.was incredible. It is hard to believe that six months ago this
:08:32. > :08:41.was such a dangerous area. Let's hope the locals can live without
:08:41. > :08:44.any further threat from the Taliban. At the height of the Second World
:08:44. > :08:53.War, the Germans ruled the oceans with the largest battleship in the
:08:53. > :08:57.world, but Bismarck. It was not invincible, as our next better-run
:08:57. > :09:00.discovered. 93-year-old job Moffatt is turning back the clock over
:09:00. > :09:07.seven decades to remember his greatest achievement during World
:09:07. > :09:14.War II. I have never been on a warship. I had no idea what to
:09:14. > :09:22.expect. I had to feel my way. I did not know everything. You soon pick
:09:22. > :09:26.it up. You make mistakes and you do not make them again. By 1941, 21-
:09:26. > :09:34.year-old jock had mastered the art of flying but had never landed a
:09:34. > :09:40.plane on board a ship, much to the dismay of his captain. He could not
:09:40. > :09:50.believe it. He said, we will have to rectify that. As soon as we went
:09:50. > :09:56.to see, he took me up in the swordfish aircraft and I was in the
:09:56. > :10:01.pack. I was looking over his shoulder. He made a couple of
:10:01. > :10:09.circuits and a couple of landings and then got out and said, well,
:10:09. > :10:18.your turn! His last words were, do not forget, this aircraft belongs
:10:18. > :10:23.to me and do not bend it! Stationed aboard the aircraft carrier, HMS
:10:23. > :10:32.Ark Royal, job with pilot a swordfish aeroplane in battle.
:10:32. > :10:42.was an old fashioned by plane with double wings. 750 horsepower. It
:10:42. > :10:44.
:10:44. > :10:48.was not a little plain. It was an amazing size. -- aeroplane. The Ark
:10:48. > :10:53.Royal was carrying vital supplies to Gibraltar, making it a massive
:10:53. > :11:01.target for German bombers. With everybody on deck, it was not long
:11:01. > :11:11.before the Germans found their target. All hell let loose. There
:11:11. > :11:14.
:11:14. > :11:19.were dive bombers. They bombed and kept bombing. You do not feel
:11:19. > :11:28.anything. You just hope to God it did not fawning you. The only thing
:11:28. > :11:37.Jock and the crew could do was buy it back. -- fork near you. The guns
:11:37. > :11:47.may your ship were banging away all the time. -- near your ship. It was
:11:47. > :11:48.
:11:48. > :11:54.all day. It was horrific, it really was. On 24th May, 1941, shocking
:11:54. > :12:01.news reached the Ark Royal. The flagship of the British Navy, HMS
:12:01. > :12:07.Hood, had been sunk by the Bismarck. Spanning more than 240 metres, she
:12:07. > :12:17.was the largest German warship of her time. The captain told us a
:12:17. > :12:18.
:12:18. > :12:21.signal had been sent from Churchill, saying, Sink the Bismarck. It had
:12:21. > :12:28.been sighted in the North Atlantic so the Ark Royal set to cause for
:12:28. > :12:36.battle. The weather was taking its toll on the ship. It was pitching.
:12:36. > :12:44.60 feet. The sea was still coming over the front of the aircraft
:12:44. > :12:52.carrier. The wind was never less than about 70 miles an hour. It was
:12:52. > :12:57.phenomenal. Following orders from Churchill, today's later, on 26th
:12:57. > :13:05.May at 7:10pm, 15 swordfish planes miraculously took off. It was a
:13:05. > :13:15.treacherous blight. As Jock and his fellow pilots clear the clouds, it
:13:15. > :13:17.
:13:17. > :13:23.was Operation Kilo. I had to look to my right. -- it was go. I saw a
:13:23. > :13:32.big ship. All of a sudden all hell let loose. There were shells
:13:32. > :13:41.bursting around us. We thought, the Bismarck knows we are here! All I
:13:41. > :13:51.saw was this huge ship with guns blazing. Every gun seemed to be
:13:51. > :13:52.
:13:52. > :14:00.working from one end to the other. I turned towards it and looked but
:14:00. > :14:06.I could find nobody. I was on my own. I really was very scared. I
:14:06. > :14:11.could not think how they could possibly miss me. All I could do is
:14:11. > :14:18.what I had in my mind and that was to keep that aircraft as close to
:14:18. > :14:24.the sea as possible. The only way Jock could avoid the German anti-
:14:24. > :14:34.aircraft bombardment was to fly 50 ft above the sea. Seeing his
:14:34. > :14:37.
:14:37. > :14:43.opportunity, he prepared to launch My observer said, not yet, Jock,
:14:43. > :14:48.not yet... And I suddenly realised, when I looked to my right, that he
:14:48. > :14:55.was leaning out of the aeroplane, and now all I could see was his
:14:55. > :15:01.backside up in the air! His head was down somewhere. And I realised
:15:02. > :15:06.then, or in seconds, don't forget, if you drop a torpedo and it hits
:15:06. > :15:16.the top of a wave, it will not go in the direction that he wanted to
:15:16. > :15:19.
:15:19. > :15:24.go. So I realised, obviously, what he was doing was to see that I was
:15:24. > :15:30.picking a trough, as they call it, in the water. All of a sudden, he
:15:30. > :15:35.said, let her go! And I let her go, and the next thing I heard was,
:15:35. > :15:43.Jock, we have got a run-up. And that is when I did a runner, I got
:15:43. > :15:50.the hell out of it as fast as I could. I do not know whether they
:15:50. > :15:58.all managed to fire their torpedoes are not, I have no idea. But I am
:15:58. > :16:02.glad to say I got rid of mine! 15 Swordfish aeroplane has landed
:16:02. > :16:06.safely back on the Ark Royal and reports started to come through
:16:06. > :16:09.that the British attack on the Bismarck had been successful. But
:16:09. > :16:18.they were ordered to return the following day to make sure the
:16:19. > :16:25.German warship had sunk. And when we got to the Bismarck, it was
:16:25. > :16:33.absolutely belching black smoke. Just when we were about to drop our
:16:33. > :16:42.torpedoes, the Bismarck turned on its side, and it was not a nice
:16:42. > :16:52.thing to seek. Hundreds and hundreds of sailors in the City
:16:52. > :16:52.
:16:52. > :17:02.with no chance of survival. -- in this sea. That is what bothered me.
:17:02. > :17:07.
:17:07. > :17:15.Jock served with the Royal Navy for seven years, and his experiences
:17:15. > :17:23.aboard the famous HMS Ark Royal will stay with him forever. When I
:17:24. > :17:33.joined Ark Royal, I was just a young lad out of school. But after
:17:34. > :17:37.
:17:37. > :17:42.six months, I was a lot older. And I hope David wiser, too! -- I hope
:17:42. > :17:45.it a bit wiser, too! This year marks the 30th
:17:45. > :17:49.anniversary of the Falklands conflict, and for one veteran it is
:17:49. > :17:59.the perfect opportunity to step back in time and remember his first
:17:59. > :18:00.
:18:00. > :18:04.Located 8,000 miles away from mainland Britain, the Falkland
:18:04. > :18:10.Islands are today a haven of tranquillity with rolling hills and
:18:10. > :18:16.thriving wildlife. But this scene is a world away from the war which
:18:16. > :18:20.started here on Friday the 2nd April 1982, when Argentine forces
:18:20. > :18:25.invaded and occupied East South Atlantic islands, which were under
:18:25. > :18:30.British rule. -- these. Four Royal Marine George Wiseman, it is the
:18:30. > :18:39.first opportunity to retrace the steps he made when he landed here
:18:39. > :18:44.I mean, my feelings, as I was in the landing craft as I came round
:18:44. > :18:49.that corner, were mixed. There was a feeling of anxiety, we did not
:18:49. > :18:52.know where the enemy were, so has the ramp went down on the landing
:18:52. > :18:56.craft, an Argentinian aircraft skimmed across the ridge above us,
:18:56. > :19:00.which put a bit of panic amongst the marines in my own company,
:19:00. > :19:04.because we were completely caught out in the open. Very quickly we
:19:04. > :19:07.have to get off the beach, heavily burdened with equipment, and get
:19:07. > :19:12.into the hills, into defensive positions. I remember thinking at
:19:12. > :19:17.the time, we are now in a fight, and that not all of us are going to
:19:17. > :19:21.be coming back. One of the clearest memories for George, who was just
:19:21. > :19:26.17 years old at the time, was hearing about the bombing of the
:19:26. > :19:31.British military field hospital. must have been awful at night to
:19:31. > :19:35.try and deal with this situation. The roof collapsing around you,
:19:35. > :19:39.there were unexploded bombs still lodged in the roof. You know what?
:19:39. > :19:44.Our surgeons carried on. They decided they would take the risk,
:19:44. > :19:50.it was worth keeping the casualties in this building. Just amazing. But
:19:50. > :19:56.that is what happens in war, you know? This is the first time George
:19:57. > :20:01.has been able to pay his respects to lost friends. It is just special
:20:01. > :20:07.for me to come back to this location. The number of our
:20:07. > :20:12.comrades lost their lives here as a result of that bombing, and a
:20:12. > :20:18.number were also very seriously wounded. And this is where my buddy
:20:18. > :20:23.Paul lost his life. After leaving the beach, George and his unit
:20:23. > :20:29.moved at the hill to take cover. is incredible to say, but I am
:20:29. > :20:36.almost sure that this was my defensive position for the first
:20:36. > :20:42.five days after we landed. We stayed in shelters very similar to
:20:42. > :20:47.this. We would find old bits of wood or corrugated iron. Once it
:20:47. > :20:51.had been completed, it was actually quite cosy. It was out of the wind,
:20:51. > :20:58.that was the main thing. You can appreciate it was well, Plaid from
:20:58. > :21:01.above. It has been 30 years, but you genuinely shared this with a
:21:01. > :21:06.birdie or two guys. One thing you did not feel in this location was
:21:06. > :21:10.lonely, because you were with your mates. Nothing has changed, really,
:21:10. > :21:15.for me. When I close my eyes, the sounds of helicopters buzzing
:21:15. > :21:21.around, landing craft coming in, people giving orders. 30 years
:21:21. > :21:26.seems like nothing, it really does. As war raged around them, George
:21:26. > :21:32.had an extraordinary vantage point overlooking the ensuing carnage.
:21:32. > :21:37.During those six days, we were really spectators to an immense
:21:37. > :21:41.pair-sea battle that was a caring right in front of us in these
:21:41. > :21:44.waters of the bay. Argentinian jets were screaming along the ridges,
:21:44. > :21:49.attacking the shipping, watching bombs dropped, watching pilots
:21:49. > :21:54.eject as they were shot down. It was just the most incredible
:21:54. > :22:02.experience as a 17-year-old. days later, whilst laying in his
:22:02. > :22:06.strange, George witnessed a tragic sight, the bombing of HMS Antelope.
:22:07. > :22:10.I saw the explosion happened, because I was sentry the night
:22:10. > :22:16.before. I have got it noted down in the diary that I was keeping at the
:22:16. > :22:21.time, it was just an awful feeling, an image I will never forget. A few
:22:21. > :22:25.hours later, we started to see our first Mirage jets, and indeed one
:22:25. > :22:29.flew right across the position that we are sad that now to be greeted
:22:29. > :22:35.by a couple of hundred marines or firing their rivals at it. It
:22:35. > :22:41.probably did no damage to the aircraft, but it made us feel good.
:22:41. > :22:46.Whenever he had the chance, George wrote in his diary. I have got the
:22:46. > :22:53.entry for my 18th birthday here. What a birthday! Marched 17
:22:53. > :22:57.kilometres with over 100 lb on my back, really bad ground, very tired
:22:57. > :23:01.after a very hard day. George and his unit had completed the first
:23:01. > :23:11.day of an infamous Royal Marine yomp, a back-breaking long-distance
:23:11. > :23:13.
:23:13. > :23:18.The enemy was everywhere, and they were extremely well hidden. This is
:23:18. > :23:23.clearly one of the Argentine positions. There is still a lot of
:23:23. > :23:29.equipment. Whoever lived in this century position left in a great
:23:29. > :23:34.hurry or was killed in action. -- century. There is all his kit still
:23:34. > :23:40.here. The mission for George and his unit was to secure or two
:23:40. > :23:44.sisters, a mountain vantage point held by the Argentinians. -- Two
:23:44. > :23:49.Sisters. By remember thinking at the time, our enemy was about to be
:23:49. > :23:55.introduced to his worst enemy, 500 Royal Marine commandos with a score
:23:55. > :23:58.to settle. Just before midnight on 11th June 1982, George started his
:23:58. > :24:05.advance up the mountain and prepared for the biggest battle of
:24:05. > :24:11.his life. So my role that night was as a Rifleman in the point section,
:24:11. > :24:15.which meant that we would more than likely be the first people to have
:24:15. > :24:20.contact with the enemy. As we were moving silently towards the enemy
:24:20. > :24:26.positions, I noticed shadows moving in front of me. I heard voices that
:24:26. > :24:30.certainly were not English, they were definitely Spanish. One of the
:24:30. > :24:35.Argentine sentries must have heard something, because a flare was
:24:35. > :24:45.thrown out in front of him, and then suddenly from the rear of our
:24:45. > :24:48.
:24:48. > :24:52.location, somebody barked out the There was artillery fire and
:24:52. > :24:56.bursting all around us, shrapnel whizzing past our ears, as well as
:24:56. > :25:00.machine-guns. Remember, it was night, extremely dark, you could
:25:00. > :25:03.hardly say anything. At any moment we could be engaged by Argentine
:25:03. > :25:11.snipers or enemy that had in themselves within the cracks of the
:25:11. > :25:14.rocks. All of a sudden, there would be a burst of machine-gun fire,
:25:15. > :25:21.guys would be hitting the deck very quickly. It was an extremely tense
:25:22. > :25:31.time, as you can imagine. After a terrifying six-hour battle, George
:25:32. > :25:32.
:25:32. > :25:40.and his fellow commandos finally But as he had feared, some of his
:25:41. > :25:46.friends had made the ultimate sacrifice. During the battle, we
:25:46. > :25:49.lost two of our fellow commandos. So it is a great honour for me to
:25:49. > :25:59.be able to come back and retrace the steps and just reflect on what
:25:59. > :26:25.
:26:25. > :26:31.happened that night and pay proper Rest easy, guys. The island still
:26:31. > :26:41.bears the scars from 30 years ago, a war which claimed the lives of
:26:41. > :26:46.
:26:46. > :26:50.Every day this week, we are marking the build up to Remembrance Sunday
:26:50. > :27:00.by listening to the personal stories of strength and courage of
:27:00. > :27:02.
:27:02. > :27:06.those who march past the Cenotaph Now we hear the story of RAF gunner
:27:06. > :27:13.Jay Hudson, who was deployed on his second tour of Helmand province in
:27:13. > :27:17.2009. Afghanistan is very full on, obviously you are going out there,
:27:17. > :27:21.your workload goes through the roof 24 hours a day and a lot of
:27:21. > :27:26.stressful incidents happen there. Part of his job was to protect the
:27:26. > :27:34.helicopter used by the Medical Emergency Response Team, known as
:27:34. > :27:38.MERT. MERT is a casualty evacuation helicopter, a Chinook. It will
:27:38. > :27:44.evacuate wounded troops from the front line back to the hospital at
:27:44. > :27:47.Camp Bastion. The back of there has got the same amount of kit, if not
:27:47. > :27:52.better, as an accident and emergency department in the UK. The
:27:52. > :27:56.crew are a massive asset, they are doing the life-saving, so we have
:27:56. > :28:01.got to have something in place to protect them. This is where Jay and
:28:01. > :28:06.his team come in. When the Chinook lands in the heart of enemy
:28:06. > :28:10.territory, he is first off the back to provide covering fire. When the
:28:10. > :28:14.ramp goes down and we are off the back, I have got a hundred
:28:14. > :28:18.different things going on, where people are, what they are doing.
:28:18. > :28:23.From personal experience, you start to pick up where will be the dodgy
:28:23. > :28:28.areas. You have got to think about danger all the time, where you are
:28:28. > :28:31.going, what you are going to you, how you are going to get there.
:28:31. > :28:36.July 2009, a call came through saying there was a battlefield
:28:36. > :28:40.casualty in Sangin, one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan.
:28:40. > :28:50.need to get out there as fast as you can to save somebody's life, so
:28:50. > :28:56.We lifted, we got the initial casualty report in the air, and
:28:56. > :29:02.that led us to believe there was one casualty from an IED blast. But
:29:02. > :29:07.it is a tactic the Taliban is, a device that they put in the floor,
:29:07. > :29:12.two weeks later one of our guys stands on it. Within minutes, Jay
:29:12. > :29:16.and the medical team had reached their destination. When we landed,
:29:16. > :29:20.things started to go a little bit weird. We could not see anybody,
:29:20. > :29:26.usually there is somebody there waiting for us to the casualty
:29:26. > :29:30.handover on the ground. There was no one there at this point. Me and
:29:30. > :29:35.the lead paramedic got off the back, as usually happens, looking around,
:29:35. > :29:38.waiting for what felt like an age. You feel the pressure, because the
:29:38. > :29:43.helicopter pilot does not want to be there for any longer than he has
:29:43. > :29:47.to be. The Chinook turns into a bullet magnet. With no-one inside,
:29:47. > :29:52.Jay was about to give the pilot the OK to leave when he spotted an
:29:52. > :29:56.American marine. Someone came out of the bush, as such, it was not
:29:56. > :30:00.like a massive push, but it was a bit overgrown, and he was driving a
:30:01. > :30:06.casualty towards the helicopter. Alarm bells started ringing, why is
:30:06. > :30:10.he dragging a wounded marine? I ran over and put my hand on this guy's
:30:10. > :30:14.shoulder, just basically to find out what was going on. He looked up
:30:14. > :30:19.at me, and he was quite badly injured as well, and he was
:30:19. > :30:22.dragging a badly injured Marine from an IED blast. He managed to
:30:22. > :30:26.inform me that there were more casualties, several more casualties
:30:26. > :30:36.than we thought, more than we thought, and he pointed us in the
:30:36. > :30:44.general direction of these You cannot leave anyone behind, who
:30:44. > :30:50.is wounded. I think I must have got about 20, 30 metres before I came
:30:50. > :30:55.across another casualty. He was in and out of consciousness. I left
:30:55. > :31:00.one of my team with him and said, you'll going to have to look after
:31:00. > :31:08.him and I will look for more casualties. With time running out,
:31:08. > :31:14.Jay ran further into unknown territory. After about 100 metres,
:31:14. > :31:24.I came across a group of soldiers. A few of them were providing cover
:31:24. > :31:25.
:31:26. > :31:29.of fire. Instantly, I was like, what is going on? There are only
:31:30. > :31:37.two of us here. I tried communications with the helicopter
:31:37. > :31:41.but I have gone too far. It started to get a bit hairy. A patrol of
:31:42. > :31:49.American Marines had walked straight into an IED minefield -
:31:49. > :31:55.I've had lost limbs. I have never seen injuries like this in my life.
:31:55. > :32:05.Adrenalin just kicks in. U-turn yourself you have to keep going.
:32:05. > :32:12.You cannot hang around. -- you tell yourself. Jay picked up the most
:32:12. > :32:18.serious casualty. He was a double amputee. He returned to the
:32:18. > :32:28.casualties and then guided back a marine who had been blinded.
:32:28. > :32:30.
:32:30. > :32:35.realised there were multiple IEDs in the area. I did not trust him to
:32:35. > :32:41.watch where he was putting his feet. I thought it was better if I just
:32:41. > :32:49.carried him back. A lot of the time they do not understand what is
:32:49. > :32:58.going on. You need to tell them what is going on and where they are
:32:58. > :33:05.going. They need to know they're going to be OK. Eventually they got
:33:05. > :33:14.all seven casualties on to the helicopter. I made sure I was the
:33:14. > :33:22.last person back on the helicopter. I got all my guys and all the
:33:22. > :33:27.medics. I got on the back last. In the first 30 seconds, we were
:33:27. > :33:33.lifting. We did not know what would happen when we were lifting. Every
:33:33. > :33:41.pair of hands was used. Everyone knows what is in the back and where
:33:41. > :33:48.it is and how to treat certain injuries. In less than ten minutes,
:33:48. > :33:54.they had arrived at the hospital at Camp Bastion. When you get back and
:33:54. > :34:02.think that has just happened, it is scary. Thinking about what you have
:34:02. > :34:05.been dimming scares you a little bit. -- doing. Jay went over and
:34:05. > :34:12.above the call of duty and, without doubt, helped save the lives of
:34:12. > :34:17.these eight critically injured US Marines. I was really proud of the
:34:17. > :34:21.guys and what they did. It was the first tour for every man on the
:34:21. > :34:31.team. To jump on the back of the helicopter and their work to these
:34:31. > :34:32.
:34:32. > :34:35.types of injuries and deal with it straight away is awesome. -- and go
:34:35. > :34:41.out. For this incredibly brave 26- year-old, it was a mission he will
:34:41. > :34:48.never forget. It was really reporting. I am proud. I made a
:34:48. > :34:52.difference out there and I would happily do it again. The celebrated
:34:52. > :34:57.Dam Busters of the Second World War have been immortalised thanks to
:34:57. > :35:05.the film. It was a forgotten Army of experimental scientists, who
:35:05. > :35:08.develop the technology that unsure of the success of the operation. --
:35:08. > :35:11.ensured. Frances McLaren was just 18 years old when she began
:35:11. > :35:16.thinking of her career but little did she know she would end up
:35:16. > :35:22.working on one of the greatest feats of World War Two. I loved
:35:22. > :35:27.maths, physics and chemistry. I liked languages as well but dropped
:35:28. > :35:29.geography and history. In 1941, Frances became a scientific
:35:30. > :35:38.assistant at the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment, a
:35:38. > :35:43.British military research and test organisation. I had mine and
:35:43. > :35:49.manometer, my stopwatch and clipboard and ticks certain
:35:49. > :35:55.readings. There were photographs and I could analyse certain things.
:35:55. > :36:03.And there was only one thing that mattered. The basic experiments we
:36:03. > :36:10.did was to get the safety factor. In a lift, it will say, this can
:36:10. > :36:16.hold six persons. It probably can hold eight persons. That is the
:36:16. > :36:23.essence of the work. You analyse it. It is practice makes perfection.
:36:23. > :36:26.That is what it is. The more often you do it, you can do it more
:36:26. > :36:33.perfectly. Soon Frances put her hard work into practice when she
:36:33. > :36:40.took her first flight in a four engine sea plane. I remember that.
:36:40. > :36:46.I was so busy reading the instruments. All of a sudden I
:36:46. > :36:51.looked up and we were airborne. The airmen were all thrilled with me
:36:51. > :36:56.because I was four or five years younger than them. One of them have
:36:56. > :37:03.gone to the local bakery and have managed to get a box of cakes and
:37:03. > :37:10.they had a tea-party on the way back after Reid did the experiments.
:37:10. > :37:17.Other times, when we went, we did that were going out but coming back
:37:17. > :37:22.we used to play Solo. They used to say it I was cheating. Just half
:37:22. > :37:26.pennies we were playing for. It was fun. And, in a male-dominated world,
:37:26. > :37:33.Frances held her own. I was strong, I was willing. I was a survivor.
:37:34. > :37:43.There was no hanky panky either. I think the main thing was I was
:37:44. > :37:46.
:37:46. > :37:51.Frances's next challenge was the viability of dive bombing, which
:37:51. > :38:01.was crucial to ensure the British could attack German U-boats. It was
:38:01. > :38:06.to break up the wolf packs of the German submarines. The penalty and
:38:06. > :38:11.loss was extreme. Occasionally they sought a dinghy where they could
:38:11. > :38:14.land in the water and rescued a person. So, with dummy bombs
:38:14. > :38:23.attached to the wings of a Sunderland plane, Frances took to
:38:23. > :38:32.the sky again. The RAF took rubber dinghies and we would fly out and
:38:32. > :38:39.test the rockets by dive bombing them. They were all bombed with
:38:39. > :38:49.rockets on each side. I had test pilots next to me with the pilot.
:38:49. > :38:56.They did not know what to call me. He could not call me Frances. He
:38:56. > :39:03.called me honey. That was a typical Canadian remark. I said, how will I
:39:03. > :39:09.know when you fire of the rockets? He said, honey, you will note! You
:39:09. > :39:17.know how a rifle recoils when you shoot, the Sunderland, it actually
:39:17. > :39:26.stops in mid-air for about the second. The process is, at 2000 ft,
:39:26. > :39:34.he starts to die. At 1600 ft, he releases a bomb. At 1200 ft, he
:39:34. > :39:39.turns out from levelling off. Once we did not. We went right down. I
:39:39. > :39:44.could see it going down. We did not start to climb until 80 ft above
:39:44. > :39:54.the water. It was terrifying. It was as if someone had put a bucket
:39:54. > :39:57.of ice and found it on top of my head. I literally froze. Having
:39:57. > :40:02.proved she was more than capable, Frances was handpicked for an
:40:02. > :40:08.incredibly top secret mission. working down in the office and a
:40:08. > :40:15.senior scientist tells me to come with him. I went through the
:40:15. > :40:20.kitchen upstairs. That was the only access. I had a key to lock the
:40:20. > :40:27.door in and lock the door when I went out. I was given these slides.
:40:27. > :40:33.They were top secret. Frances analysed data for what would become
:40:33. > :40:41.known as the bouncing bomb. From the film I was able to take
:40:41. > :40:47.readings of the cylinder. It was not a ball. It was a cylinder. A
:40:47. > :40:57.board is too unstable. Once it drops, it is revolving all the time.
:40:57. > :41:00.
:41:00. > :41:02.It bounces and then it goes down and bent it explodes. -- then it
:41:02. > :41:05.explodes. The aim was to destroy German dams, which supplied vital
:41:05. > :41:14.factories and machine works. Therefore, it was vital Frances'
:41:14. > :41:22.calculations were 100% accurate. had to be specific from 60 ft at
:41:22. > :41:31.230 miles an hour. It blinder perfectly. If it was not like that,
:41:31. > :41:34.it damaged the top of the dam wall. -- it had to line up perfectly.
:41:34. > :41:41.Known as Operation Chastise, the bombs were dropped at the end of
:41:41. > :41:50.May 1943, and they were successful. This mission was later immortalised
:41:50. > :41:57.in the classic British film, The Dam Busters. It was one of the most
:41:57. > :42:05.momentous feats that have ever been performed. It was so exact. In 1957,
:42:05. > :42:11.Frances finally retired but she has left a lasting legacy. I think I
:42:11. > :42:21.was proud. Yes. I thought it was something wonderful. I loved my
:42:21. > :42:27.
:42:27. > :42:35.work and I loved the people. I will Join me tomorrow when we hear from