Corporal David Hardman

David 'Chuck' Hardman was born in Hamilton, Scotland, the youngest of a family of four, and spent his early years on the Beechfield small holding in Meikle Earnock Road. Later, he enlisted into the Army on his sixteenth birthday in 1975 and joined the Junior Parachute Company as a boy soldier at Aldershot. After his recruit training he was posted to 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment in 1977 and completed a posting in Germany followed by a residential tour in Northern Ireland from July 1979 to Mar 1981.

Chuck Hardman served as the senior corporal of No 2 Platoon, A Company, 2 PARA from 1980 to 1982 and fought in the Falklands campaign.

The Battalion was first ashore on 21 May 1982 and dug in on Sussex Mountain above San Carlos, with a bird’s eye view of the continuous bombing attacks on the ships below. 2 PARA was ordered to capture Darwin and Goose Green and set off on a beautiful clear evening.

The Battalion attacked on the morning of 28 May but by dawn A Company became pinned down in a gorse gully below Darwin Hill by very strong Argentine defences .

Having previously taken part in the casualty evacuation of both Corporal Prior and Private Worrall, Corporal David Hardman, was killed by small arms fire, along with Capt David Wood and Capt Chris Dent , who with others had formed an ad hoc assault group tasked with securing a ridge dominating the gorse gully. 

See account of Goose Green co-edited by Colonel David Benest

Corporal David Hardman died on 28 May 1982, aged 22 years and is buried at West Cemetery, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.