Sir Michael Henry Gordon Layard KCB CBE

Michael Layard was born in Sri Lanka in 1936.  He was educated at Pangbourne (49-53) and attended the Britannia Royal Naval College before being commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1954.  In 1970 he trained as a fighter pilot and took command of 899 Naval Air Squadron before becoming Commander (Air) on board HMS Ark Royal.

When Britain went to war with Argentina in 1982 regarding the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, Michael became the senior naval officer on board the Atlantic Conveyor, one of a number of merchant vessels sent to support the task force.  Captain Layard quickly forged a strong bond with the Conveyors Captain, Ian North, the two working seamlessly together to prepare the ship for war.  Finally loaded with tons of spare and supplies and also including eight Sea Harriers and sixteen helicopters the ship prepared to sail for Ascension Island.

Just six days after reaching the Maritime Exclusion Zone around the Falklands, the Atlantic Conveyor was struck by two exocet missiles and twenty minutes later the crew were forced to abandon ship with the loss of twelve lives including that of Captain Ian North, an event that would leave an indelible mark on Michael Layard.