Catch up TV

Series 1: 3. David and Darryl

Navy veteran David was just 20 years old when he found himself heading towards the Falkland Islands. He was aboard the SS Atlantic Conveyor, a hastily refitted container ship carrying munitions and aircraft but lacking defensive capabilities. On 25 May 1982, the Conveyor was struck by two deadly Exocet missiles, setting the ship ablaze and forcing David and his fellow crewmates into the freezing South Atlantic. Tragically, twelve men lost their lives in the attack, two of whom were from David’s unit. Almost 40 years later, David has struggled to come to terms with what happened and is desperate to reconnect with his fellow crewmen who survived alongside him, hoping to find out how they have coped with the trauma of that tragic event.\n\nDarryl is an author whose family came to the UK as part of the postwar wave of migration from former British colonies. Darryl was born in Kenya to Goan parents, who had moved from India to East Africa as citizens of the British Empire. But when Kenya declared independence from Britain in 1963, families like Darryl’s came under increased discrimination from the government. His parents made the difficult decision to move yet again, this time to Britain - but the welcome was not warm. Arriving in the UK in 1968, aged just four years old, Darryl experienced overt racism for the first time, and his family struggled to cope. When life at home became difficult, Darryl found a safe haven at his primary school in East Finchley, where teachers Mrs Shurmer, Mrs Snodgrass and Miss Tyrrell instilled in him a love of education and the confidence to succeed. Today, Darryl wants to thank his teachers for their kindness and inspiration, which made a huge impact at a critical time in his life.

Source: BBC 2