From the rugged life of the Falklands to comfort of Sussex

The Falkland Islands were very much on people's minds in 1983. The remote UK colony in the South Atlantic was still recovering from the 74-day conflict that had cost the lives of 910 military personnel and three civilians one year earlier.
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For Ivy Hambleton, of Henfield, the war had hit very close to home, as she was born at North Arm, East Falkland, in 1912. In 1983, members of the village’s Darby and Joan Club, wished her a happy 71st birthday.

Ivy’s husband, Harold, was based in the Falklands during the Second World War, serving aboard HMS Protector, and kept a couple of penguin eggs as mementos of his time on the islands.

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Speaking to the County Times in 1983, Ivy described life on the islands as “very rugged”, with no electricity, peat bogs providing fuel for fires, and homes lit my candles and oil lamps.

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When asked if she would ever return to her childhood home, she said: “Given half a chance, we’d go back there tomorrow. We have always had a hankering after going back. It would be a wonderful experience.”

Does anyone know if Ivy and Harold ever made it back to the Falklands.

While the Hambleton’s were sharing their tale, students at The Weald were welcoming one of the country’s finest athletes to their school.

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Steve Ovett, was there to officially open a £400,000 sports complex and met some former and current Weald students who had started to make their names in athletics.

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Among them was Phillip Timms, who had been named most promising shot-putter of the year in 1983. Then there was Ashley Ward, who held the national schoolboys’ discus record, basketball and netball player Carol Weatherall, and Tracey Jones, national 800 metres finalist.

While they were all impressive young athletes, they had some way to go to match Steve. In 1983, the Sussex-born lad secured his personal best at the 1,500 metres with a time of three minutes 30.77 seconds. It also happened to be a world record.

Our final picture shows the young men and women who were nominated for the Horsham Lions youth award.

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The winner was 16-year-old Wendy Jones who was working towards her Duke of Edinburgh gold award and wanted to become a teacher.

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She won a three-week holiday in Germany.

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