Thirty years ago Britain went to war probably for the last time all on its own without allies. That extraordinary conflict which I reported as a journalist boosted Britain’s confidence at home and standing abroad. The Falklands Legacy with Max Hastings, BBC 2015
The Falklands’ legacy seems full of ironies. ibid.
For ten weeks of 1982 the Falklands conflict gripped the imagination of the world. ibid.
The Thatcher government’s brutal defence review caused morale in the sea service to plummet. ibid.
HMS Invincible sailed for the South Atlantic just days later, the deal with the Australians suspended. She was joined by Hermes. ibid.
That was a long long walk. God, it was rough. ibid.
Since 1982 British defence policy has been ever been closely locked into alliances. ibid.
British governments in future need to show better judgement about staying out of the wrong wars. ibid.
It caused the fall of Argentina’s military dictatorship. ibid.
On a remote island in the South Atlantic a battle hundreds of years in the making is underway. Edge of War: Thatcher’s War, 2012
Once ships sail it’s harder to call them back. ibid.
The Argentine economy is on the brink of collapse. ibid.
The crisis attracts international attention. ibid.
Two hundred and fifty-five British servicemen lose their lives retaking the islands. ibid.
The Belgrano: certain information suppressed by Margaret Thatcher should be made public. Richplanet TV: Belgrano with Nick Kollastrom
People are mourning on both sides of this conflict. In our prayers we shall quite rightly remember those who are bereaved in our own country and the relations of the young Argentinian soldiers who were killed. Common sorrow could do something to reunite those who were engaged in this struggle. A shared anguish can be a bridge of reconciliation. Our neighbours are indeed like us. Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury speech 26th July 1982
In April 1982 an invasion by Argentina provoked one of the most ambitious military undertakings in British history. Britain sent a naval task force and 15,000 men to fight for a small group of islands on the edge of the Antarctic. Britain was at war with Argentina. Peter & Dan Snow, 20th Century Battlefields s1e7: 1982 Falklands, BBC 2013
Home to only 2,000 people. ibid.
For two centuries both countries have claimed the Falklands. ibid.
Military rule had collapsed in Argentina. ibid.
The loss of the Falklands was a political and diplomatic disaster. Thatcher: The Downing Street Years II: Best of Enemies, BBC 1993
The Foreign Office counselled against sending the Task Force. ibid.
Sink the Belgrano – the ship’s destruction was the single most controversial action of the war. At the time of the sinking the ship was sailing away from the taskforce, outside the exclusion zone. ibid.
The story of Osvaldo Ardiles of the Argentina national team which won the World Cup in 1978. And in 1981 he was a champion in the most important league of the world at the time, the English league. White Blue and White, ESPN 2016
And in 1982, a year later, war breaks out and his life changes for ever. ibid.
‘25 years old and playing the World Cup: the pressure we had on our shoulders was overwhelming.’ ibid. Ossie
Argentina was under a military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. ibid.
‘We were the first South Americans to play in England.’ ibid. Ossie
FA Cup Replay: ‘That was his [Ricky’s] day.’ ibid.
Argentina and the United Kingdom have disputed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands since 1833. ibid.
Argentina Can Keep The Falklands. We’ll Keep Ossie. ibid. Spurs protest banner
‘He suffered a lot of harassment from the fringes of our society.’ ibid. Patrick Barclay
‘I felt every death acutely. From both sides.’ ibid. Ossie
This beautiful and rugged landscape was once the scene of a short but brutal conflict. In 1982 a small British overseas territory in the South Atlantic known as the Falkland Islands was invaded by Argentina. A task force set sail from Britain to reclaim the islands: over 100 vessels and nearly 26,000 men and women. Panorama: Back to the Falklands: Brothers in Arms, BBC 2017
A group of former Welsh Guards who have remained friends as they fly 8,000 miles back to the Falklands to confront their demons for the first time in 35 years. ibid.
Nobody dances like the British. They deserve the Falklands. Edge of Darkness I II III IV V VI, Darius, BBC 1985
By 1982 Margaret Thatcher is the most unpopular Prime Minister since polling began. Thatcher: A Very British Revolution III: Enemies, caption, BBC 2019
Argentina has seized the British Falkland Islands. ibid. BBC news
After 3 weeks at sea the Task Force approaches the Falklands. The Argentine Navy closes in. ibid. caption
British troops have gone ashore in a number of raiding parties. ibid. news report
4 British ships are sunk and 49 servicemen killed during the landings. ibid. caption
Ridley: Peter, we just can’t afford to keep those islands on indefinitely. Ian Curteis, The Falklands Play, BBC 2002
Carrington: Well I’d sooner face a herd of charging rhino. ibid.
Why can’t we simply leave things as they are? ibid. Thatcher
There’s a leader in La Prensa this morning which says that the only thing that holds this government now together is a war. ibid. Carrington to Thatcher
Can we leave Suez out of this conversation? ibid. Knott
The Government has now decided that a large task force will set sail as soon as preparations are complete. HMS Invincible will be in the lead and will sail on Monday. ibid.
It’s recognising the moment that justifies everything else. ibid. Willie Whitelaw
If in our hearts we really believe that Britain is dead, then it would be a crime of the direst and blackest sort to send in those men to fight, a crime of which the country would very soon find us guilty because their hearts were not in it. ibid. Thatcher
Mr [Alexander] Haig’s visit is perhaps the last opportunity to avoid a military confrontation but what real chance does he have? ibid. BBC news report from Argentina
In April 1982 Britain sent nearly 30,000 young soldiers, sailors and aircrew 8,000 miles to the South Atlantic to reclaim the Falkland Islands after they were invaded by Argentina. The hard-won victory would transform the nation. But success wasn’t guaranteed. Falklands War: The Untold Story, Channel 4 2022
The first objective was the recapture of South Georgia, 800 miles off the Falklands and part of its territory. ibid.
The British submarine Conqueror sank the battle cruiser Belgrano. 323 Argentine sailors were killed. ibid.
It is estimated that up to 28% of those involved in close quarters action suffered some form of trauma. ibid.
A group of islands sitting deep in the South Atlantic … On April 2nd Argentine forces invaded the Falklands and claimed them as their own. A British taskforce of over a hundred ships travelled south to take back the territory. Falklands War: The Forgotten Battle, ITV 2022
This battle happened the day that Argentina invaded … The only line of defence against a three-thousand strong invasion force … The garrison was just a collection of old buildings and Nissen huts and the small detachment of Royal Marines based there were known as Naval Party 8901. ibid.
They volunteered to immediately return to the South Atlantic and caught up with the Task Force that had been dispatched to retake the Falklands. ibid.
Welcome to the Falklands: a windswept group of islands off the coast of Argentina that has had an outside impact on British history. Falklands: Island of Secrets, ITV 2022
A police investigation has been launched into the death of a Humberside soldier who went missing in the Falkland Islands in 1980. ibid. television news
The secrets of a community that’s deeply suspicious of outsiders. In my journey to solve one mystery, I’ve also stumbled on a deeper and darker secret: a decades-long problem where victims are silenced or forced into exile. ibid.
Forty years ago British troops returned from a brutal 25-day land war to reclaim the Falkland Islands. Our Falklands War: A Frontline Story, caption BBC 2022
We had a respect for each other that we all went through the same thing. ibid. troop
Argentinian fighter bombers on a deadly low-level mission. A British warship tasked with being the bait. They are on a collision course that could cost hundreds of lives. And change the course of a war. Seconds from Disaster: Sinking the Coventry
The Falkland Islands, May 25th 1982: Britain and Argentina have been at war for 54 days … The pilots fly low in an attempt to stave off their enemy’ radar … A pair of outdated fighter bombers were able to sink one of the British Navy’s most technologically advanced ships. ibid.
Falklands War: Not a single Harrier was lost to enemy aircraft. Rob Bell, British Planes that Won the War, Channel 5 2022