The Falklands are a part of the Empire but small and a long way away. So people forgot about them. But Argentina was much nearer and fancied taking over. An island with the 200 mile zone round it has fishing rights and oil rights. The economics are important.
But being managed by the Foreign Office makes a difference. It is not necessarily true that all of them are pinko poofters and traitors but a lot are, as Rhodesians found out the hard way. Getting rid of the Falklands meant less work to do. British interests and the Falklanders' interests came down the line. Withdrawing the Royal Navy was a clear hint to the Argentineans that the time to steal was upon them.
Argentinean politics came into play too. Peron was making a mess of running the place and told one of our diplomats, Bill Hunter Christie [ Marlborough, Coldstreams ] that he was going to invade. Bill decided that Peron and the Foreign Office were not going to get away with it. He made the moves and beat them.
Nobody bothered to tell us the truth at the time. We had to wait until Bill's obit came along. See the page 25, the Daily Telegraph 27 September 1997 and 31 December 1997. Unfortunately these things are not on line.
Falklands
It all started because the Foreign Office pinkoes wanted out and Peron wanted a victory to make him look good.
Palace Barracks Memorial Garden
Is dedicated to the men who lost their lives serving Queen and Country. Politicians make their moves. Men pay the price.
Updated on
Friday, 03 December 2010 09:40:43