MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands War: HMS Sheffield memorial to be unveiled at the National Arboretum

The memorial resembling the prow of the ship breaking through waves was designed by artist Peter Naylor. It is the result of the HMS Sheffield Association fundraising campaign

A memorial marking the 40th anniversary of the sinking of the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Sheffield during the Falklands War will be inaugurated next month at the National Memorial Arboretum.

Twenty crew members were killed when an Argentine Exocet missile hit the destroyer on May 4th 1982. Another 26 were injured.

The memorial resembling the prow of the ship breaking through waves was designed by artist Peter Naylor.

The memorial is the result of the HMS Sheffield Association fundraising campaign to raise £15,000.

A Royal Navy said the memorial is also dedicated to the crews of two other Royal Navy ships to bear the steel city's name, and is intended to create a focal point for veterans and their families to meet and pay their respects, a Royal Navy spokesperson said.

Penny Salt, the widow of Capt Sam Salt, Sheffield's commanding officer at the time, has been asked to unveil the monument, which will be anointed with sea water from the South Atlantic.

Mark Webber, from Tinsley Bridge Group, an engineering firm involved in creating the work, said it had been “an honor”.

“Particularly at this time with what's going on in Ukraine, it's very real to us what those sailors did for the country and what 20 people gave their lives for,” he added.