It was 30 years ago that Simon Weston suffered what he described as his “personal Hiroshima”. The former Welsh Guardsman was aboard the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Sir Galahad, preparing to go ashore in the Falklands, when the vessel was bombed. The intense heat flash and fire that followed caused devastating burns to Simon, but he survived. Next week he will be telling his story at the War and Peace Show, at the Hop Farm, Paddock Wood. Peter Cook met him at his Cardiff home…

Simon Weston admits there were times during his recovery, that he contemplated suicide. It was the psychological, rather than the physical pain that caused his despair.

“What I suffered produces a greater depth of pain than the physical experience of your skin being on fire, or your nerve endings disappearing and then growing back,” he said.

“Only people who have been through something like that would understand the desperation – the complete impotency you feel.

“Like lots of young lads I was totally focused on my career, playing rugby, chasing girls and drinking beer. Being in the Army was everything to me. Then all of a sudden rugby was gone, the Army was gone, chasing girls went for a long time, which only left me with drinking beer. That was something I became very good at.”

Because of a BBC documentary on Simon’s recovery, his scarred and damaged face became known nationally. But what the cameras could not show was the mental scarring that came close to driving him “over the edge”.

“You have to have the drive to move forward,” he said. “But what do you go forward to? You haven’t got the skills or qualifications you had before. What are you going to actually offer to the world? How do you find a direction in life?”

Today he has found that direction, or rather several directions, not through any particular incident but, as he puts it, “along a series of stepping stones”.

“I feel I have come through the other side,” he said. “But it’s taken me 24 years. I didn’t have any help though, at least not professional help. I had lots of support from family and friends. And I’ve had incredible encouragement from people all over the country who owe me nothing, but who have written to me.

“That’s what I love about this country. People who have absolutely nothing in common with you will do so much for you because they care.”

But he believes there should be far more psychological help for those suffering post traumatic stress, with more professionals being trained to provide that help.

“Around 9,000 veterans are in prison,” he said.

“There are about 30,000 on probation. Ex-service personnel make up a huge proportion of homeless people in this country

“Something is fundamentally wrong. There’s not nearly enough being done to help them psychologically.”

Although he now has a keen interest in mental health and continues to support charities that help ex-servicemen and women, Simon has moved on from relying on activities that derive from his Falklands experience.

He has developed a number of business interests, including investing in green products, working on a fire safety device and giving inspirational talks to business people. He is also developing his writing career and recently published a children’s book.

He also has an interest in military history and collects models and memorabilia from the Peninsular War.

“I’m very excited about coming to the War and Peace Show,” he said.

“To see so much military history spread out over such a big area will be fascinating. I love the enthusiasm of all those people who put so much effort and money into restoring military vehicles, or who take part in living history groups and people who dress up in military uniforms or the fashions of the 1940s.

“I think it’s wonderful.”

Show reaches 30th year

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War, this year’s War and Peace Show will stage what is thought to be the biggest display of weapons, vehicles, and equipment from the conflict since the war itself took place.

Created by former Royal Marine George Martin, from Frant, near Tunbridge Wells, the display will provide an opportunity for youngsters not even born at the time of the Falklands War, to hear about it directly from veterans who were there.

This year also sees the 30th anniversary of War and Peace which has grown to become the biggest attraction in Kent and the biggest military extravaganza anywhere in the world.

More than 5,000 military vehicles, some from as far away as Russia and Australia, will be on display. Many are from the Second World War, but other vehicles are representative of the First World War, the Vietnam War and more recent conflicts.

Among those used to create realistic displays on the Living History Field will be the First World War replica tank used in the Stephen Spielberg film War Horse. Living history groups will demonstrate how troops of different kinds and from a range of nationalities, lived on the front line in wartime.

A virtually non-stop programme of entertainment will feature bands, vocalists and comedians performing in the styles of the 1940s. And regular fashion shows will demonstrate how women managed to continue looking good even under a tight rationing regime.

Historic aircraft will fly over the show and on the ground there are full scale replicas of those iconic Battle of Britain fighters, the Hurricane, Spitfire and Messerschmitt 109.

The show’s small army of veterans, many of whom fought in the Second World War, have a large marquee of their own to relax with old comrades. They are happy to talk with visitors and have their own entertainment programme.

The War and Peace Show takes place at the Hop Farm, Paddock Wood, from Wednesday, July 18 to Sunday, July 22. Tickets from £17.40, children from £15.45. More details at www.warandpeaceshow.co.uk