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SIMON WESTON (born 1961) is a former Welsh Guards soldier who has become well known throughout the United Kingdom for his recovery and charity work after suffering severe burn injuries during the Falklands War. Born in Caerphilly, Simon joined the Welsh Guards in 1978 at the age of 16 at the insistence of his mother, after he "got into bother". In June 1982, he was with other members of his regiment on RFA Sir Galahad in Bluff Cove, just off the Falkland Islands, when it was bombed and set on fire by enemy Skyhawk fighters. The ship was carrying ammunition including phosphoric bombs and thousands of gallons of diesel and petrol. Twenty-two out of his platoon of thirty men were killed; and Weston survived with 46% burns, following which his face was barely recognisable. Weston has since become friends with the Argentine pilot who dropped the bomb. Weston endured years of reconstructive surgery, including over 70 major operations or surgical procedures to make eyelids and to form a new nose. He suffered psychological trauma, drinking heavily and becoming suicidal. His mother helped him to overcome this by reuniting him with his old regiment, who forced him to "face up to the unavoidable and to be positive about my future".