''A Message from the Falklands: The Life and Gallant Death of David Tinker'' is a book about
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
David Hugh Russell Tinker (14 March 1957 – 12 June 1982), a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
Hugh Tinker
Hugh Russell Tinker (20 July 1921 – 15 April 2000) was a British historian. He taught politics at Lancaster University for many years.
Biography
Tinker was born on 20 July 1921 in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, to Clement Hugh Tinker and Gertru ...
, published the book after Tinker's death as an edited collection of Tinker's letters.
David Tinker
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
David Hugh Russell Tinker (14 March 1957 – 12 June 1982) was a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
supply officer, appointed as captain's secretary in the . He was killed in action on 12 June 1982, shortly before the end of the Falklands War, when ''Glamorgan'' was hit by an
Exocet
The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Etymology
The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...
missile fired from a lorry by an Argentine Navy team in
Stanley
Stanley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film and television
* ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film
* ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy
* ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short
* ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
; he was on duty as flight deck officer on the
flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopte ...
, aft of the ship, within the helicopter bay, at the time. Twelve other sailors were also killed.
Tinker was born on 14 March 1957, the son of Hugh and Elizabeth Tinker. His father was a writer and
university professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...
. He was educated at St. Paul's C. of E. Primary School and
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
History
A committee of Nonconformist ...
, where he served as
coxswain
The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boa ...
in the naval section of the school CCF. After training at Dartmouth (Britannia Royal Naval College), he studied at
Birmingham University
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
. Tinker was married to Christine Daybell, who still lives in the cottage they bought together in Shropshire.
Publication
Following Tinker's death, his father privately published a book, ''A Message from the Falklands: The Life and Gallant Death of David Tinker'', which contained some of David's letters home, and
poems
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...
written earlier in his life. The poems are reminiscent of
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was much influenced b ...
's earlier work. The book was taken up first by the '' Sunday Times'', and then by
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Louise Page as a stage play titled ''Falkland Sound'', which was first performed at the
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...
in 1983. The book has also been published in Spanish in Argentina, and in German (as ''Das kurze Leben des Leutnants zur See David Tinker'').