Falklands war hero, Rick Jolly, has died aged 71

Surgeon-Captain Richard (Rick) Jolly OBE, who  saved the lives of British and Argentine forces during the 1982 Falklands conflict has sadly passed away at his home. To the crew of HMS Ardent Rick Jolly was the man who rescued Able Seaman John Dillon and Chief Petty Officer Ken Enticknap from the sea as they escaped the stern of a sinking ARDENT.Rick’s funeral took place at HMS Raleigh on Saturday 10 February 2018, it was covered by the BBC here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-43015978"At that moment, a helicopter containing Surgeon Commander Rick Jolly passed overhead. Dr Jolly was on his way to take command of the field hospital at Ajax Bay, but he spotted Dillon in the water and realised that he was drowning. Despite lacking a survival suit or a static line to discharge electricity (helicopters accumulate powerful static charges), Dr Jolly insisted on being lowered into the freezing water to rescue the drowning sailor.‘He was an inert lump in my arms, and I knew he’d given up the struggle,’ recalls Dr Jolly, 63 – who has published a diary of his time at the Falklands field hospital, as well as a guide to British Navy slang. ‘I don’t think he knew much about the winch-up. The helicopter crewman pulled like b-----y to get both of us on board, and then I just jumped on John. He vomited a great gout of seawater and started coughing, so I knew he was alive. Then I had the chance to go back down and get Ken Enticknap.’ Ardent was sunk, and 22 of the 199-strong crew were lost – but thanks to Dr Jolly, Dillon and Enticknap were saved." (Forces TV, 2010)Surgeon Captain Rick Jolly, 71, who lived in Crafthole, near Torpoint, was uniquely honoured by both the British and the Argentines for his command of the field hospital at Ajax Bay, where around 1,000 wounded were treated. Social Media was quick to pay tribute to Rick led by other serviceman including Gulf Hero and former prisoner-of-war, John Nichol:https://twitter.com/JohnNicholRAF/status/952228244438372354https://twitter.com/Altern8rv/status/952197764024356864