THIS is going to be a very special Christmas for Tenbury Wells couple Richard and Pam Jones.

On Christmas Day, Mr and Mrs Jones will be 8,000 miles from home in the Falkland Islands where they will spend the holiday on an island they have bought in memory of their son.

Craig Jones was the final British serviceman to be killed during the Falk-lands War in 1982.

Last year Mr Jones, a former mayor of Tenbury, and his wife Pam, aged 73, bought the small piece of land which they have named Craig Island.

This week they travel to the South Atlantic to spend Christmas close to where their son died just hours before the end of the conflict.

Although the couple have visited the Falklands before, this is the first time that they’ve been together.

“It will be very special being able to be there at Christmas,” said 75-year-old Mr Jones.

“But it will also be poignant because we will be saying goodbye to so many friends that we have met over the years. Time passes and we are not getting any younger.

“This is going to be the last time that we will go to the Falklands.”

While some memories fade for Mr and Mrs Jones, the day that they learned of their son’s death could have been yesterday.

Having heard that the war was over they had been out celebrating only to return home to find a car outside their home and two Ministry of Defence officials waiting to tell them that their son had been killed in the final advance on Port Stanley – the Falklands’ capital.

During his two years as mayor Mr Jones raised money for Combat Stress – a charity which helps servicemen and women suffering from mental illness.

The importance of the charity’s work is highlighted by the fact that since the end of the conflict more people who fought in the Falklands have taken their own lives than were killed by the enemy.

During their time away, the Jones’ family home in Tenbury is being borrowed by friends the couple met in the United States.

They are spending Christmas in the Teme valley and will welcome the couple back for the new year.