Sandy Woodward Admiral Sir John Forster " Sandy " Woodward GBE , KCB ( 1 May 1932 – 4 August 2013 ) was a British admiral who commanded the British Naval Task Force in the South Atlantic during the Falklands War . Early life . Woodward was born on 1 May 1932 at Penzance , Cornwall , to a bank clerk . He was educated at Stubbington House School , preparatory school in Stubbington , Hampshire . He then went on to continue his education at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth , Devon . Naval career . Having graduated from the Royal Naval College Dartmouth , Woodward joined the Royal Navy in 1946 . He became a submarine r in 1954 . In 1960 he passed the Royal Navy ' s rigorous Submarine Command Course known as " The Perisher " , and received his first command , the T Class submarine HMS " Tireless " . He then commanded HMS " Grampus " before becoming the second in command of the nuclear fleet submarine HMS " Valiant " . In 1967 , he was promoted to Commander and became the Instructor ( known as " Teacher " ) of the The Perisher Course . He took command of HMS " Warspite " in December 1969 . He was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1972 . In 1974 , he became Captain of Submarine Training and in 1976 he took command of HMS " Sheffield " . He became Head of Naval Plans in the Ministry of Defence in 1978 . In July 1981 , he was promoted to Rear Admiral and appointed as Flag Officer First Flotilla . Falklands War . In 1982 , he commanded the Hermes aircraft carrier group , Task Force 317 . 8 , in the Falklands War under the Commander - in - Chief Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse . ( The task force containing the amphibious ships which launched the actual invasion TF 317 . 0 was commanded by Commodore Michael Clapp , with Task Force 317 . 1 being the landing force itself . ) He worked out the timetable for the campaign , starting from the end and working to the start . Knowing that the Argentine forces had to be defeated before the ( Southern Hemisphere ) winter made conditions too bad , set a latest date by which the land forces had to be ashore , that in turn set a latest date by which control of the air was achieved , and so on . Possibly the most well know single incident is sinking of the ARA " General Belgrano " . He knew that " Belgrano " ( and particularly her Exocet armed escorts ) were a threat to the task force and he ordered that " Belgrano " be sunk For his efforts during the war Woodward was knighted . His book " One Hundred Days " , co - authored by Patrick Robinson , describing his Falklands experiences , is a candid account of the pressures of high command in wartime and the impact on the individual commander . Later career . In 1983 , Woodward was appointed Flag Officer Submarines and NATO Commander Submarines Eastern Atlantic . In 1984 , he was promoted to Vice Admiral , and in 1985 he was Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff ( Commitments ) . Before retirement in 1989 he also served , from 1987 , as Commander - in - Chief Naval Home Command and Flag Aide - de - Camp to the Queen . Later life . The first edition of Woodward ' s memoirs were published in 1992 . They were well received and were updated in 2003 and 2012 with updated recollections as well as responses to the memoirs and responses made by Commodore Mike Clapp . In his later life Woodward wrote various opinion pieces for British newspapers regarding defence matters , particularly the Strategic Defence and Security Review . Woodward died on 4 August 2013 in Bosham , West Sussex , after a long illness . Honours and decorations . On 11 October 1982 , Woodward was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath ( KCB ) ' in recognition of service within the operations in the South Atlantic ' . In the 1989 Queen ' s Birthday Honours , he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire ( GCB ) .