Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The important ‘Falklands War’ M.M. group of five awarded to Sergeant Desmond Fuller, 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, who at the time of the death of Sergeant Ian McKay, V.C. was serving with the Parachute Regiment Company Headquarters – Tasked with the job of going forward to take over from Sergeant McKay he was soon thrown into the fast-paced and bloody Battle for Mount Longdon, where he took command of the remnants of McKay’s platoon and led an ultimately successful assault on the Argentine sangars

Military Medal, EIIR (24093340 Sgt. D. Fuller, Para); General Service 1962, 1 clasp, Northern Ireland (24093340 Pte., Para); U.N. Cyprus; South Atlantic 1982, with rosette (24093340 Sgt., Para); Regular Army L.S. & G.C., E.II.R. (24093340 Sgt., MM, Para) generally nearly extremely fine (5) £50000-70000

M.M. London Gazette 11 October 1982.

The original recommendation states:

‘During the attack by 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment on the 11th/12th June it was reported that the Platoon Commander [Lieutenant Bickerdike] of 4 Platoon had been wounded and that the Platoon Sergeant [Ian McKay] was missing, believed dead. Sergeant Fuller was a supernumerary Senior Non-Commissioned Officer grouped with Company Headquarters. He at once volunteered to go forward and take command of 4 Platoon.

On arrival forward, he joined OC 4 Platoon where he had fallen wounded but ‘was able to get enough information from him to assess his tactical task. Sporadic enemy fire was being directed from positions east along the ridge and also from the base of the slope, where he was told were some enemy sangars. He understood that this was the position recently attacked by the Platoon Sergeant [McKay] and some members of 5 Platoon. Sergeant Fuller could not locate OC 5 Platoon and was told he was further up the ridge, engaging other enemy locations to the south.

Gathering 4 Platoon and the left section of 5 Platoon Sergeant Fuller organised a further assault on the enemy sangars. He positioned a gun team on the right and skirmished the assault group forward. They were soon again under effective fire, which caused a number of casualties in quick succession. Nevertheless, under his leadership, the group cleared the nearest sangars of enemy, some being seen to flee to the east. Enemy gunfire was still coming from further east along the ridge, and taking stock of the causalities with him, so that increased artillery bombardment could be directed on the remaining enemy positions.

Sergeant Fuller's action in taking command of a platoon under fire and in contact with the enemy, and subsequently leading them through a successful assault, was an example of the highest standards of leadership and courage.’

The following extract from an interview with the recipient is taken from the book, Green-Eyed Boys, 3 Para and the Battle for Mount Longdon, by Christian Jennings and Adrian Weale in which Fuller is extensively quoted:

‘Then the word came over that Bickerdike was down, that 'Sunray 21' was down and that 'Sunray Minor' -Ian McKay -'had gone off and was missing’. And that's when Mike Argue told me to go... words to the effect that I should meet up with Ian and discuss who was the senior and who would be the platoon commander and who would be the platoon sergeant. This was as I walked past, and I didn't want to get into an argument or anything like that, but I would have been quite happy for Ian to take over.. he was the platoon sergeant, so it would have been the logical thing for him to take over and me to take over as platoon sergeant. But as I walked past John [Weeks], he just very bluntly said, 'Des, you're fucking in charge.' That was it.

So there I was, wandering up and down the mountain, looking for them ... the only one I knew there was (Corporal] 'Ned' Kelly so I started shouting for Ned and listening for voices. I was a bit worried about making too much noise and giving the enemy my position, but eventually I got to the end of 4 Platoon and Ned came and met me. He briefed me very quickly that Bickerdike was down and Ian McKay had gone and I said, 'Well, let's go and speak to Bickerdyke and see what he can tell me.' He was just laying there in a lot of pain, shot through the thigh and couldn't tell me too much, and there was a Tom with him, and I just said to the Tom, 'Stay with him,' and got Ned and said, 'Fill me in more,' and he told me that Ian McKay had gone off on a recce, or whatever with Beetle Bailey's section and two of the guys who were actually stopgap guys, mess stewards or something. But apparently he was now between the enemy and us and he'd been shouting to the guys, and we were trying to find out where the enemy were 'cause there was no movement, they were not shooting at us at that time, apart from the sniper who was some distance away... and I just asked Ned to go and get all the section commanders together. Des Landers was the only one there, but he said, 'Scouse McLaughlin's up on the high ground just on the right side of us.' He was with his section, he'd kept his section totally together. I didn't know where John Ross was, I didn't know where Cox was, and so I called Scouse down; he didn't know either. So I made a plan to carry on going forward, it was as simple as that really. We actually couldn't see where the enemy were, the guys were saying: 'They're out in front,' 'They're over there,' 'They're there,' but it was pitch black. So I told Scouse to go back and give us covering fire; I told him what I wanted him to do; that we would continue to go forward until such time as we came upon them or they opened up on us; and Scouse was to give us covering fire all the way, through.

From the time we started moving, he started firing in, to the likely positions - that was the idea - and it was coming over our heads. Of course, as soon as we actually broke out into the open, then they started firing at us, and the only thing to do now, now that we were actually in the open, was to push on forward.

I'm not, sure quite how far we'd gone when Ned went down but I saw him hit - Ned was just in front - and I sort of ran past him and patted him on the leg and said - it was a stupid thing to say -'Stay there Ned, I'll come back for you’. He wasn't going anywhere.

Basically, once Ned had gone, I'd lost all my experienced guys, my section commanders, so I was running up left and right, pushing the guys into the sangars. The guys were top, excellent, superb. They had a job to do: they knew what they had to do; they'd been trained to be able to operate on their own, not necessarily with a guy screaming and shouting at them. Mine was just encouragement, I wasn't telling guys, ‘Take those two out!' 'cause I couldn't see what they were doing, or where they were. It was just, 'Keep going forward! Keep going forward!'

Following the action on Mount Longdon Sergeant Ian McKay was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. Originally buried in the Falkland Islands his body was subsequently exhumed and brought back to England where it was re interred with full military honours at Aldershot Military Cemetery. One of the pall bearers at this funeral was Sergeant Desmond Fuller.

Sold with the following original documentation:

i. Photograph of recipient outside Buckingham Palace following the presentation of his Military Medal.

ii. Letter of congratulation from Major M. H. Argue, MC, 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment:

‘… There is no doubt in my mind that it was a fitting tribute your sheer guts and determination throughout the events on Longdon and you can be quite sure that it was well deserved and truly earned.

Needless to say ‘B’ Company has much to be proud of and I think those of us who have been honoured more perhaps than others, will never forget the bravery and sacrifice over the battle for Stanley and what it cost us in friends and comrades.’

iii. Letter of congratulation from General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, GBE, KCB, DSO, MC, dated 8 October 1942.

iv. Letter of congratulation from Major General Jeremy Moore, Headquarters Commando Forces, Royal Marines, dated 11 October 1982.

v. Letter of congratulation from Major John Williams, DCM, Parachute Regiment, dated 10 October 1982.

vi. Letter of congratulation from Major R. Miller, Parachute Regiment, dated 11 October 1982.

vii. Letter of congratulation from Lieutenant General Sir Richard Trant, KCB, dated 7 October 1982.

viii. Letter of congratulation from Captain I. W. Smith, Parachute Regiment, dated 11 October 1982.

ix. Letter of congratulation from Brigadier M. J. A. Wilson, OBE, MC, dated 13 October 1982.

x. Certificate of Service ‘Red Book’.

xi. Junior Parachute Company end of term report, dated 2 August 1966.

xii. Army Parachute Centre, Netheravon, Wiltshire certificate for completion of basic free fall parachute course whilst a Junior Soldier.

xiii. Newspaper cutting reporting on Private Fuller and another Paratrooper’s efforts to rescue the crew of a Greek tanker while stationed at Malta.