A long, long time ago, when my boyfriend and I were both young - he was a sailor, I had an eye for a lad in a Navy Blue Suit - there was a battle between two countries over a small group of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean - the Falklands.

Joe Legg Marching

The UK had them and the Argentineans wanted them.

This was an old dispute. I am indebted to Edward Spiers and his article The Falklands in History - Timeline of a Dispute published in Falklands 25, Official Commemorative Publication (published by Newsdesk Communications, 2007), for the background. In 1592 the islands were discovered by an English sea-captain, John Davies, although the Spanish had earlier sighted them. In 1690 Britain made the first recorded landing and the islands were named after the first Viscount Falkland, Anthony Cary, who was later to become the first Lord of the Admiralty. In 1748 Spain objected to Britain’s plan to send an expeditionary force to the islands and claimed them under the Papal Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494. Britain denied the claim.

Building the Drumhead

On 23 January 1765 the Falklands were claimed for King George III and 100 settlers formed the first British settlement in January 1766. However, Spain sent frigates to expel the settlers in 1770, although later apologised and allowed them to remain.

The settlers departed voluntarily in 1774 leaving behind a plaque and flag to uphold Britain’s claim to the islands. These were removed by Spain to Buenos Aires and its Viceroy there administered the island until 1810. In 1816 the new state of Argentina emerged from Spanish colonialism and claimed Spain’s territorial rights by inheritance. In 1820 the Argentinean flag was hoisted on the ‘Malvinas’.

In 1833 the British flag was replaced however, Argentina continued to claim the islands despite the fact that Spain had not renounced its claim in favour of Argentina. In 1845 the islands became a British Crown Colony.

All was quiet until 1946 when Juan Peron came to power in Argentina and raised the issue of sovereignty once again. Between then and 1980 sporadic negotiations were held to find a solution, with Britain leaning ever more towards closer links between the Falklands and Argentina. However, there was a military coup in the Argentine in 1976 and the following year Britain sent two frigates and a submarine to protect the islands in the face of a potential invasion threat from Argentina.

The islanders were then asked about a lease-back option in which sovereignty was transferred to Argentina but administration of the islands was leased back to the UK for a fixed period. Not surprisingly the islanders rejected this option outright.

On 8 December 1981 General Leopoldo Galtieri seized power in Argentina and on 28 March 1982 an Argentine invasion force sailed for the islands. They landed on 1st April and the conflict began.

The day the ‘Argies’, as the British tabloids of the day dubbed them, invaded, was the first day of my sailor’s Easter leave, during which we were to announce our engagement at a big party for family and friends.
My sailor’s leave, and our party, was cancelled, he was recalled to duty and he sailed on the assault ship HMS Intrepid with the rest of the taskforce. He was two months short of his eighteenth birthday.

The ‘conflict’, as it became known, was short in duration as these things go - 74 days - and by 14 June the islands were liberated at a cost of 255 British Taskforce, 3 civilian’s and 611 Argentine lives.
In August my almost-mother-in-law and I went to the naval base at Portsmouth, on the south coast of England, to join hundreds of families in welcoming our heroes home. I remember that day as being filled with the sounds of excited chattering. There was also a riot of colour, as people waved Union Jacks and red, white and blue bunting abounded. It was exciting to be there, to be part of all that was happening, to be part of history in the making.

Now, twenty five years later, Britain commemorated the Falklands Conflict with a series of events both in Port Stanley, the Falkland’s capital, and in London. Alan Huckle, Anguilla’s last Governor, now Governor of the Falklands, presided over a wreath laying ceremony at San Carlos Military Cemetery on Sunday 17 June, attended by HRH The Earl of Wessex and Adam Ingram, the Minister for the Armed Forces.

In London on the same day, my sailor joined over 8,000 other veterans in a drumhead service - a traditional religious service after a battle to remember the fallen, using an altar made from military drums - and march through the streets, culminating at Buckingham Palace with a fly-past of aircraft involved with the conflict and finishing with the Red Arrows, the UK’s beloved Royal Air Force display team trailing patriotic red, white and blue smoke trails. Wearing his South Atlantic Medal and Veteran Pin, he, his shipmates and other veterans marched proudly; erect, heads up - old sailors and soldiers to the last. Our son, Thomas, joined me on Horse Guards Parade, where we watched my husband, and his father, with pride.

For me, as I am sure for many other family members, the day brought back many vivid memories of long days of worry. This was a conflict that was relayed to the public as it happened, unlike previous wars where technology was not able to relay information so quickly. BBC reporter Brian Hanrahan’s famous words ‘I counted them all out, and I counted them all back’ when reporting all our aircraft safely home, still brings a lump to my throat and I honestly never thought I would be able to write about the conflict as I am doing now.

To this day the Falkland Islands remains British. The Argentine Government was invited to the Commemorations held on 17 June, but declined to attend.

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