Tributes to last injured Falklands war hero - 'Kev' discusses their connection to Falklands

Rehearsals of 'Kev'

Alex Medlicott (director and co-writer - in production meetings)

Outta the Box presents ‘Kev’ the play follows a man who was a soldier during the Falklands war, how he drives himself to loneliness, and pushes everyone away from him who cares about him. Recently in the news, the last injured Falklands soldier ‘Ian Morton’ is to be laid to rest. Fitting to Kev’s journey, and how he is experiencing loss throughout his earlier life pre-Falklands at a point where he craves care and love. How the loss he has suffered earlier in life affects his thoughts and feelings towards the ones who care for him post-war, and as a result he pushes these people away, turns to temporary fixes including alcohol. Alex Medlicott, director and co-writer of the play says: “essentially it’s about loss, when Kev was younger his dad never wanted him, he lost his mum to cancer and goes into care, which is his reasoning for joining the army – he pushes everyone away post-war, and we start to see the breakdown of Kev.”

The Falklands war took place in 1982, a brief but bitter war, it began when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a remote UK colony in the South Atlantic. At the time of the war, Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of the UK, who sent the British troops out to reclaim the islands from the Argentinians. In the fighting that followed, 655 Argentine and 255 British soldier lost their lives.

Tributes were held last month as the last soldier injured of the Falklands war, Ian Morton, was laid to rest. He was described as an “unsung hero” as dozens of comrades gathered to pay tribute to him at Banbury Crematorium. The 52-year-old was found dead in his home in Upper Heyford, near Bicester, on January 1, a day after he suffered a heart attack. On the morning of June 14, 1982, he was hit by a grenade and shrapnel in ferocious fighting during the Battle of Mount Tumbledown.

‘Kev’ explores the life of a soldier who fought in the Falklands war, and how the choices that Margaret Thatcher made affected ‘Kev’ like many other soldiers who fought in the Falklands.

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By Alice Phillips