comaw Staff and hms Fearless 1982

Abstract

Combatant memoirs are a valuable source for historians of conflict in general and of the Falklands War in particular, revealing experiences of war that would otherwise be beyond recovery. This chapter provides a previously unpublished memoir (written in 2006) of the Falklands War by Lieutenant Commander Michael Ambler (d. 2009), who served on the staff of Commodore Michael Clapp on hms Fearless. Included in the footnotes are entries from the diary kept by the author day by day during the course of the war. The memoir is introduced by Professor Helen Parr, who places the account in the broader context of autobiographical writings on the Falklands War and draws attention to its potential value as a primary source for historians of conflict.