Lt Col Hew Pike's DSO citation for actions in the Falklands

Lieutenant Colonel Pike commands 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment. From the outset of Operation SUTTON on the Falkland Islands his Battalion showed great spirit and an unstoppable urge to close with and kill the enemy.

His Battalion was one of the two units that marched every foot of the way from Port San Carlos to Port Stanley. Despite the hard going and unpleasant weather, Lieutenant Colonel Pike's Battalion pressed on relentlessly.

On their arrival at the Mount Estancia position, overlooking Port Stanley, Lieutenant Colonel Pike instituted a highly successful patrol programme. This added immeasurably to our knowledge the detail of the enemy positions. This was important in view of the absence of accurate air photographs of the objective.

In the ensuing night attack his Battalion's objective was Mount Longdon. This long craggy feature was infested with snipers and machine gun posts. Through a long night of close quarter battle, during which on several occasions the issue hung in the balance, Lieutenant Colonel Pike commanded his Battalion with consummate skill. Two of his companies took their bayonets to the enemy.

The dawn found Lieutenant Colonel Pike's Battalion in full possession of their objectives. However, for the ensuing 48 hours the Battalion was subjected to almost continuous harassing fire from 105 mm guns both by day and night.

Lieutenant Colonel Pike's cool example and inspiring leadership throughout the operation and particularly during the Mount Longdon battle, and its aftermath was outstanding.