1982 Points of Interest

1982 Points of Interest – On 2nd April 1982, Argentine forces invaded the Falkland Islands, sparking one of the largest major conflicts since WW2.
Lasting 74 days, the war was the first military action since the Second World War that utilised all elements of the British Armed Forces.
On 5th April, the British government dispatched a naval Task Force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the Islands.
The war ended with an Argentine surrender on 14 June, returning the islands to British control.
In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders were killed during the war.

1982 Points of Interest:

The 1982 Liberation Memorial is situated on Stanley seafront and directly in front of the Secretariat where the Argentine surrender took place. It commemorates all British Forces and supporting units that served in the Falklands War and helped liberate the Falklands from Argentine military occupation in 1982.

Blue Beach cemetery: (1.45hrs from Stanley via North Camp) at San Carlos holds the remains of 14 of the 255 British casualties killed during the Falklands War in 1982, and one other killed in early 1984. It is situated close to where 3 Commando Brigade had its initial headquarters after landing on 21 May 1982 and overlooks San Carlos water where HMS Antelope sank and also Ajax Bay the site of the British Army Field Hospital.

This route takes in views of key areas such as Estancia House, Top Malo and Teal Inlet.
Goose Green: (1.15hrs from Stanley) The Battle of Goose Green was the first and the longest battle of the War on 28/29th May. It represented a fourteen-hour struggle waged by the Second Battalion the Parachute Regiment (2 Para) and is seen as a pivotal event in the Falkland Islands War. By boosting the morale of British forces and, conversely, fatally damaging that of the Argentines, its result had a profound effect on both sides for the remainder of this brief, yet decisive, campaign. Victory at Goose Green established British forces’ moral superiority over the defenders, a position which maintained the momentum of the ground offensive until the moment of Argentine surrender on the Falklands as a whole, little more than two weeks later.
Battle areas, memorials, the hall where the civilian population and a small museum can be visited at Goose Green with the Argentine Cemetery also near to Darwin.
Fitzroy settlement, (40mins from Stanley), is home to six memorials associated with the 1982 war. Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram, were bombed in the waters on 8th June whilst the Welsh Guards were waiting to disembark, with serious loss of life. The memorials have inscriptions in English and Welsh.
All of these areas can be incorporated into a ‘Round Robin’ which involves a loop from Stanley to the North of East Falkland, returning via Goose Green and Fitzroy. Please contact us for more information and prices

Brief overview
Despite Argentine opposition, the Task Force landed 4,000 troops unopposed at San Carlos and Ajax Bay in East Falkland (from 21st May onwards). They faced a numerically superior but largely conscripted Argentinian army. Lack of cover and air superiority forced the British to attack Argentinian positions by night.
Goose Green was the first settlement to be retaken by British forces (28-29 May).
British troops faced an advance of 56 miles across East Falkland through difficult terrain, enemy minefields and hostile weather conditions to reach Stanley. Half of the troops completed the march on foot after the helicopters that were supposed to transport them were lost onboard the SS Atlantic Conveyor, which had been sunk on 28th May.
After fierce fighting in the mountains overlooking Stanley, Argentinian forces surrendered on 14 June. British troops arrived in Stanley the same day to an enthusiastic welcome from the Islanders.
Over 11,000 Argentinian troops were disarmed and repatriated to Argentina. The British also retook control of the South Sandwich Islands.
Argentina maintains its claim to the Falklands.
A referendum on political status was held in the Falkland Islands on 10–11 March 2013. The Falkland Islanders were asked whether or not they supported the continuation of their status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom in view of Argentina’s call for negotiations on the islands’ sovereignty.
On a turnout of 92%, 99.8% voted to remain a British territory, with only three votes against. Had the islanders rejected the continuation of their current status, a second referendum on possible alternatives would have been held. Brad Smith, the leader of the international observer group, announced that the referendum was free and fair and executed in accordance with international standards and international laws.