--- title: "This British crew sang a hilarious song as their ship burned" description: "People who serve in the military tend to develop a pretty dark sense of humor. These sailors even sang a song while their ship burned." date: "2021-03-09" modified: "2021-03-10" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/british-navy-ship-burned-song/" categories: - "History" - "Navy" --- # This British crew sang a hilarious song as their ship burned ![]() People who serve in the military tend to develop a pretty dark sense of humor. It comes with the territory. When a very large part of your life involves risking it for your country and for the guy next to you, the idea that your last moments could be closer than you think never fully leaves your mind. This can change a person. Veterans have a different outlook on some of the more serious aspects of life, laughing at things many others would never dream to, for fear of offending others or, worse, tempting fate. For the crew of the British destroyer *HMS Sheffield* during the Falklands War, this change became readily apparent and their darker sense of humor flourished. --- In 1982, the military junta that ruled Argentina decided that the nearby Falkland Islands, a series of small and strategically unimportant islands off the Argentine coast were going to belong to Argentina again. They had been held by Britain for about 150 years at that point. After a workers' dispute saw Argentine laborers raise the Argentinian flag on South Georgia Island, Argentina invaded. Soon, 10,000 Argentinian troops occupied the islands. The Argentines [thought the UK was unwilling and unable to defend their territories]() so far from the mainland. They were wrong. ![]() They thought the woman with the nickname "Milk Snatcher" was gonna just let them have the goddamn Falklands. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher dispatched a two-carrier naval task force to the area and declared a 200-mile war zone around the Falklands. Within two months, the British retook the Falklands and punished the Argentinian military, but their win was not totally without loss. One of the deadliest weapons the Royal Navy had to face was the new French-built Exocet anti-ship missile. The versatile weapon is capable of sinking enemy vessels with a single, well-placed shot. Nowhere was this more apparent than in sinking the HMS *Sheffield*. ![]() Exocet: the trump card of naval warfare. The *Sheffield* was on alert but was more concerned about the submarine threat from Argentina's navy. The crew was totally unaware of the incoming ordnance until they could see smoke from the sea-skimming missiles. The firing aircraft, two Argentinian Navy Super-Étandards weren't even detected. One missile hit the water, well away from the ship, but the other hit the *Sheffield* just eight feet above the waterline. The ship was set on fire and, because the missile hit *Sheffield's* water main, there was no way to put it out. Smoke and flames quickly filled the ship, beginning from the second deck where the Exocet missile struck. The crew could only gather and accept the ship's fate as it burned and they waited to be rescued. Some 20 British sailors died in the initial explosion. ![]() The HMS *Arrow* was on its way to rescue the *Sheffield's* crew, so they formed a chain to keep everyone together and a Sub-Lieutenant named Carrington-Wood [led the crew in singing]() *Always Look on the Bright Side of Life* from *Monty Python's Life of Brian*. To this day, it's [the most-requested funeral song]() in the UK. The *Sheffield* did not sink immediately. She was looked at to see what could be salvaged and only began to take on water as she was towed across the Atlantic. When she sank, she was the first Royal Navy ship to be sunk in action since World War II. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()