War heroes' families to make Falklands pilgrimage

The parents of a Falklands War hero from the Black Country are preparing to visit the battlefield where he was killed.

Private Mark Dodsworth was shot as he tended to an injured soldier during the battle of Mount Longdon in 1982.

Parents Bryan and Carole will go on the emotional pilgrimage to the islands for the first time, and attend a remembrance service in honour of fallen heroes.

The family, from Coalpool in Walsall, will also lay a plaque next to a tree planted in his memory at the capital, Stanley. Trees were planted by townsfolk to remember each person killed in the conflict.

Pte Dodsworth from Walsall was a paramedic with the Third Battalion of the Parachute Regiment when he was killed aged 24.

The former pupil of Manor Farm school in Rushall joined the Junior Leaders in Folkestone straight from school before joining the forces.

He also carried out training at Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire where he worked with sniffer dogs up to his 18th birthday, when he was deployed in Northern Ireland.

Married

He was based at Palace Barracks in Northern Ireland for four-and-a-half years, and went on to meet his future wife Caroline. They were married for 14 months before he died in action.

On his return from Northern Ireland he trained as a medic and was posted to the Falklands on his 24th birthday on April 5. He died on June 12, 1982.

The battle of Mount Longdon was one of the final engagements of the war. The battalion suffered the most losses for a single unit, with 23 killed during two days of shelling.

Pte Dodsworth's father Bryan, aged 74, also served with the Parachute Regiment for three years and was involved in the Suez Campaign of 1956.

He will be joined by Carole, aged 71, and will be among a number of other families at the service. They will go to Mount Longdon as part of their journey.

Mr Dodsworth said: "It is the first time we have been out there and we are going to pay our own tribute. Hopefully it will help bring some closure.

"Mark was a gentle giant, a quiet unassuming lad. He loved what he did and joined up straight from school.

"It will be quite emotional for Carole but as a former para myself I am curious to see what he was up against and where he was when he got there."

He added they had no regrets about Mark following his ambition to serve in the armed forces. "When you are trained as a soldier you want to put that into operation," he said.

"I had been through it myself and know how he was feeling — he wanted to serve his country." The trip has been funded through the Army Benevolent Fund but the family are looking to raise money in recognition of the gesture. They have held raffles and a quiz night.

The parents of another war hero who was killed during the Falklands conflict are also due to travel to the islands.

Adrian Anslow, from Wolverhampton, was an electrical mechanic with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. He was on board the Atlantic Conveyor when it sank after being hit by two

Argentine missiles. He was among 12 sailors who were killed. He was 20 at the time.

His parents Alf and Rose, of Compton, are expected to pay their respects at a special memorial for the Atlantic Conveyor's lost servicemen.

It will be the be the first time they have visited the Falklands since the year after his death.

Anslow Gardens in Ashmore Park, Wednesfield, was named after Adrian in a ceremony in 1996.