TONY BANK CONFRONTS FALKLANDS WAR PAST
TELEVISION viewers were able to watch Forfar business-man Tony Banks put the final piece of a jigsaw in place and draw a line under his personal experiences in the Falklands in a BBC documentary screened on Monday evening (August 30).
Tony, chairman of the Balhousie Care Group and an ex-Para who fought in the Falklands conflict, was shown returning to the Falklands to confront the painful war memories which continue to trouble him today.
He walked away from the Falklands with a war trophy which he has kept for the last 28 years – a trumpet taken from an Argentinian prisoner of war.
The BBC documentary – From War to Peace – followed his journey to Argentina where he was reunited with Omar Tabarez, the army musician who was forced to hand over the trumpet he was carrying.
Mr Banks is a keen supporter of Combat Stress, a charity providing support to former service personnel with mental health problems. There are more than one million war veterans in Scotland today and almost 100,000 of them are thought to have mental health conditions as a result of their military service.
The half-hour film followed the 48-year-old as he explored the issue of mental illness and whether the trip to Argentina will help him finally find closure.
Viewers relived his time in the Parachute Regiment, when he came into contact with Omar, as a 20-year-old prisoner handler.
Mr Banks said: "I had to put the Argentines on to their boats, making sure they left with nothing more than their clothes. One chap standing in line was holding a strange-looking box and I asked him what it was. When he told me it was his trumpet I was taken aback.
"I felt bad, but I couldn't let him take this away so I held on to it. There were all these other guys from my regiment standing around with swords and bayonets. I had a trumpet and I've had it sitting in my office ever since.
"I often wondered what happened to that guy and I am so pleased to have been given the opportunity to meet up with him after all these years, and hand back his trumpet. This is like the final piece of the jigsaw – like drawing a line through it all."
Now a father of two who is about to become a professor of history, the trumpet's owner Omar Tabarez said he had been "jumping for joy" since learning Mr Banks was hoping to return the instrument to him.
Tony Banks is an award-winning entrepreneur and philanthropist who cares passionately about issues affecting the care of the elderly.
In 2009, he became a national celebrity following his appearance in on Channel 4's "The Secret Millionaire" programme and his substantial efforts to raise awareness and much needed funds for Combat Stress, a charity providing support to former service personnel with mental health problems.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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