''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 sub ...

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 F ...

supply officer who was killed in action during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. His father, Hugh Tinker, published the book after Tinker's death as an edited collection of Tinker's letters.

David Tinker

David Hugh Russell Tinker (14 March 1957 – 12 June 1982) was a

supply officer, appointed as captain's secretary in the . He was killed in action on 12 June 1982, shortly before the end of the

, when ''Glamorgan'' was hit by an Exocet 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, 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". Professors ...

. 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 me ...

, where he served as coxswain in the naval section of the school

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. After training at

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(Britannia Royal Naval College), he studied at Birmingham University. 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 a ...

written earlier in his life. The poems are reminiscent of Wilfred Owen's earlier work. The book was taken up first by the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', and then by

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, 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 Louise Mary Page (7 March 1955 – 30 May 2020) was a British playwright. Life Page was born on 7 March 1955 in London. Page studied at University College Cardiff (now Cardiff University) and at the University of Birmingham. She was commissione ...

as a stage play titled ''Falkland Sound'', which was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre 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'').

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

External links

Tinker, Lieut. David, R.N. Roll of honour
British military personnel killed in the Falklands War Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the Falklands War People who died at sea Burials at sea 1982 deaths People educated at Mill Hill School 1957 births Alumni of the University of Birmingham Falklands War books {{UK-navy-bio-stub