Falklands War survivor Simon Weston OBE heads to Chipping Norton for special theatre show

So how is he feeling? ”Bit sore, but I’m used to that now, I’ve done it once or twice before,” he chuckles.

There is no need to handle Simon with kid gloves. He may be the ‘poster boy’ of The Falklands, the ship Sir Galahad carrying his Welsh Guards unit, being hit by Argentine Skyhawk fighters and Simon suffering 46% burns as he escaped.

But he’s long since moved on from that, his physical injuries taking longer to heal than his mental ones.

“I hope that I’ll now be remembered for what I’ve done since then, rather than defined by what happened to me that day,” he tells me.

Happily married now for 25 years with three children and living in Cardiff, the last of whom is about to go to university, it gives you an idea of how long it is since the historic battle in 1982 and yet Simon is still being operated on and thinks he will be “for the foreseeable future”.

So that however much you respect him, it’s hard to mention Simon Weston without discussing his injuries, they were so severe.

Weston endured years of reconstructive surgery – skin from his shoulders was used to make eyelids and his nose was grafted on in a later operation .“My first encounter with a really low point was when they wheeled me into the transit hospital at RAF Lyneham and I passed my mother in the corridor and she said to my gran, “Oh Mam, look at that poor boy” and I cried out “Mam, it’s me!” As she recognised my voice her face turned to stone,” he remembered.

“But the surgery isn’t so massive now and having a good anaesthetist is the key to everything. I’ve only had one bad operation but generally it just gives you a sore throat because they have to keep your airwaves open so I’ll be at work tomorrow.”

Work involves numerous charities, TV appearances, public speaking, books, and his new tour, My Life, My Story, hosted with best friend and former Sky News anchor David Fitzgerald). “It wasn’t my idea, I’m not that arrogant,” Simon laughs, “I was just highly sceptical that anyone would turn up, or be interested in what I had to say.

“So we tried the show out in three venues and they were all sell-outs so here we are. And I think the show is actually very funny and positive. That’s how I live my life. You can sit around moaning if you want but we are all part of the problem and part of the solution and we all have something to contribute.

“I wasn’t willing to let life just pass me by after the accident. You can’t be a winner if you don’t buy a ticket can you? I mean look at the view,” he says pointing out of the window of his Cardiff home, “beautiful blue skies. It’s great to be alive.”

And yet there were years after the Falklands where Simon was acutely depressed and drinking heavily.

“The post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had kicked in so I was functioning very dysfunctionally,” he admits. “So I went to New Zealand for a year, got involved with a charity and I’ve been employed ever since, not that that makes me better than anyone else, but I was fortunate to carve a niche for myself.

“But from that very first day when I was told by the military that I was unemployable I knew I was worth more than that. I wanted to do something with my life.”

And where did this work ethic come from?

“My mother had two jobs, and my father did double and treble shifts, so as a family we worked our socks off so when I went into the army I was prepared and had the right mental fabric, although it did knock the rough edges off me. But then everything you do in life requires hard work and commitment. Whether you play professional rugby or act – talent alone doesn’t last.”

• Fighter: Simon Weston was told by the military that he was unemployable, but has conquered his setbacks

Neither have his injuries held him back.

“My oldest son is 24, then Stuart is 20 and Caitlin is off to uni in September. We can’t wait, it’s time to go and enjoy ourselves and get our lives back together. We have a grandson too whom we spend a lot of time with,” he says happily.

“My children are very resilient,” he adds as if glimpsing the unasked question, “but it’s what they grew up with.”

And didn’t his wife have to do the chasing at the beginning? He chuckles. “I don’t know how many hints she dropped but I never thought she thought of me in that way. She was so pretty and attractive and I’m not an arrogant man so eventually she gave up.

“Eventually though she took me out for supper and the relationship grew from there. That was 25 years ago.”

Lots of material then for his new show. So what was he worrying about? “Well firstly it is a big responsibility talking about the Falklands because I am the face, and there is a pressure that comes with that. We are the ones that people identify with.

“And I think people come along thinking it’s going to be a sad show, but my life has been so diverse since the Falklands that I hope people leave feeling uplifted that I do feel a great sense of pride and achievement.”

And then he adds: “This weekend I might even manage to watch Wales playing rugby because for once the show is on Sunday.”

Where and when
Simon Weston: My Life, My Story, Sunday,
February 28, The Theatre, Chipping Norton 
01608 642350 chippingnortontheatre.com