"I would join the army again in a heartbeat,” declares Simon Weston, without a moment's hesitation.

Had he reconsidered and turned back that fateful day he enlisted at just 16, he may have escaped unscathed.

But, as history bore witness, four years later and a mere six days before Argentina’s surrender he fell victim to the deadliest single attack on British servicemen in the Falklands Ward.

Simon was on board the military transport ship Sir Galahad in the summer of 1982, when the vessel was bombed, claiming the lives of 48 people including 38 of his colleagues in the Welsh Guards regiment.

He survived miraculously despite suffering horrific burns to 46 per cent of his body.

During the years that followed he endured 70 skin grafts and re-constructive surgery.

And yet given the chance, he insists he would never attempt to rewrite the past.

"I remember most of it,” he says candidly. “You don’t know for sure what’s happening. You think you know what’s going on. Lots of people are dead, you think you’re getting burned.

“I don’t have nightmares anymore. The outcome was always the same, there’s no point reliving it or trying to eradicate bits of it.

“It was unbelievably awful for me. I was in hospital for 11 months. I could only watch the sun from a hospital window. I remember the joy of coming out of hospital. Being able to go back to your life, and to live, the joy was indescribable.”

This single event would determine the rest of his life and yet while most would have floundered, giving in to affliction, Simon never allowed himself to be cowed by a brief moment in time.

“That was only a flash, literally a moment that changed the course of my life,” concedes the 53-year-old. “But as far as I’m concerned it’s not about what happens in your life, it’s about what you’re prepared to do about it. You have to go on with your life. I’m not concerned with what’s gone but what is.”

He has since met and forgiven Carlos Cachon, the Argentine pilot who launched fire on the Sir Galahad.

“It didn’t bring closure; there is no such thing as closure. The pain of what happened had disappeared anyway. At the end of the day all it did was put a face to the person who did it and very weirdly and ironically we became friends. He was just doing his job and I was doing mine. It’s in the past.”

Since the end of Falklands War, he has devoted himself to championing the cause of those grappling with disability, fighting to batter down social barriers, among many other campaigns.

“I never thought my life would take this turn. For some people charity means nothing at all for me it’s a bit like the moth and the flame or Icarus with the sun. I can’t stay away.

“I think it’s important to have these issues about disability raised. There are difficulties but disabled people are very capable to contribute to life and society. People who may seem less able have a lot more if you look deeper.”

For the first time, Simon has embarked on a UK tour, sharing with raw honesty the pits and peaks of his journey with audiences in an intimate live show My Life, My Story.

“The thing with this show is that it has to be honest; it is what it is. Some of it is hard, some of it is funny, honest and frank. No matter how difficult it is for me professionally, it’s my story and it will be told in its true form. I’m committed to that.”

His work aside Simon may gloss briefly over his OBE, the numerous accolades showered on him over the decades and most recently his being voted the nation's most heroic figure.

“To be named something as noble as that is fantastic,” he admits humbly. “But I put my back out two weeks ago loading the dishwasher so the nation’s hero is starting to wear out.”

Simon Weston will be at the Swindon Arts Centre on Saturday, September 5 at 7.30. Tickets are £16.50. To book call 01793 524481 or visit swindontheatres.co.uk.