"They [the Junta] could not even accept the premise that Great Britain, that for so many years had turned the other cheek on anti-colonialist movements, could be willing to risk all for a thousand shepherds on this windswept, barren pile of rocks."
US Secretary of State, General Al Haig
Royal Marine Commandos raise the flag at Government House, Port Stanley, 1982. NAM 1988-09-13-24
Outnumbered in the air and on the ground, the small task force of British service personnel sent to retake the Falklands were up against the odds. Theirs was the last conflict that Britain fought alone. Their victory changed the outlook of a nation and its international standing. Their victory was Mrs Thatcher’s election victory, theirs the war that, for many in Britain, defined the 1980s.
The exhibition aims to tell the story of the Falklands War from the perspective of those who lived and fought through it - in pictures, memories and media. Iconic photographs of the conflict are displayed alongside previously unpublished images. Visitors can listen to the stories of the soldiers who fought the battle for the Falklands, and the stories of the Islanders who lived through it, told in their own words. Another perspective is revealed through letters sent by Argentine school children to Argentine soldiers at the front.
Television news reports and newspaper coverage of the conflict aim to evoke visitors’ own memories of the war. Visitors, veterans and civilians alike are encouraged to add their recollections of the Falklands War online.
Almost a thousand people were killed during the Falklands War. Dr Massie believes the conflict had an impact that is still felt today. "Victory in the Falklands changed Britain’s view of itself and its international standing. It defined Mrs Thatcher’s reputation as the Iron Lady of the political stage, bolstered national pride after the doldrums of the Seventies, and marked the attitudinal change that would pave the way for the consumer confidence of the Eighties. Most significantly, it demonstrated to the world that the British government was prepared to counter aggression with determination, and that British Government policy would not necessarily be subject to compromise."
TASK FORCE FALKLANDS opens at 3pm on 2 April at the National Army Museum. Entry is free. To mark the launch, Major General Julian Thompson speaks at the Museum at 2.30pm. Tickets £15 from the Museum Shop on 020 7730 0717 x2240.
