South Atlantic Campaign 1982

[bigjarofwasps]

Hi Guys,

Watched a very interesting documentary on Sky yesterday. It was about the South Atlantic campaign, and the role played by the Islanders themselves. I had no idea they`d taken such an active role in the war. I was under the misguilded impression, that they were all kept locked in cattle sheds. But this certainly wasn`t the case, they kept the Paras on Longdon supplied with ammo, at considerable risk to themeselves, they carried the wounded to the Aid Stations, etc,etc.

My question is, were they issued with the SA Medal for thier efforts? Does anyone know.

Gordon.

[Kev in Deva]

I believe some of the Islanders were part of the Falkland Islands "Reserve" Force similar, if not the same as the T.A.

I do remember seeing fil footage showing them using tractors and trailers to move supplies to the Front, and returning with wounded both Argentinian and British back to the rear.

Kevin in Deva.

[geoff]

Hi Guys,

Watched a very interesting documentary on Sky yesterday. It was about the South Atlantic campaign, and the role played by the Islanders themselves. I had no idea they`d taken such an active role in the war. I was under the misguilded impression, that they were all kept locked in cattle sheds. But this certainly wasn`t the case, they kept the Paras on Longdon supplied with ammo, at considerable risk to themeselves, they carried the wounded to the Aid Stations, etc,etc.

My question is, were they issued with the SA Medal for thier efforts? Does anyone know.

Gordon.

Hi Gordon, in answer to your question I would like to quote from [spink] British Battles & Medals:

"Civilians played an important part in the campaign, and provision was made in the Command Paper for the medal to be granted to those who had served afloat or ashore while posted to, or attached to, or serving under the orders of units of HM Armed Forces. This ruling encompassed a wide range of recipients, the most numerous being men and women of the Merchant Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service" I will jump a couple of paragarphs "It might be thought that this clause would apply to certain other civilians who took an active role in the campaign: Mr Richard Baker, Chief Secretary to the Falkland Islands Government, who risked his life to negotiate the surrender of Port Stanley on 2nd April; Mr Stephen Martin, the Magistrate of South Georgia, who attempted on 3rd April to deter the Argentine invasion while under fire; some of his British Antarctic Survey colleagues who maintained a hazardous coast watch during and after the invasion; Captain Stewart Lawrence and the crew of RRS Bransfield, which provided an important radio link in April; and certain Falkland Islanders who rendered valuable and hazardous service. Despite representations to the Foreign Secretary none of these people received the medal. The only concession was that it should be given to Governer Rex Hunt in his capacity as local Commander-in-Chief, and to the thirty-six men of the Falkland Islands Defence Force who reported for duty on the night of 1st April and who performed guard duties during the night of the invasion".

So Gordon, from the above it would seem no other Falkland Islanders received the South Atlantic medal other than those mentioned above!

Hope this helps

All the best

Geoff.

[bigjarofwasps]

Cheers Geof, that seems a little unfair, but then again I suppose they were protecting their home land, and thus maybe it was their civic duty to assist in the fight? Just a thought. I do recall from the programme that one of the Islanders was made an Honourary Para, and was allowed to match with them on the Victory Parade threw Stanley, sorry but I don`t recall his name, but he had a huge beard and was wearing a very wooley jumper.

[Dave Wilkinson]

Whilst this thread is many years old, and no one has replied to the question posed in the last post, I can tell you that the Islander in question was Terry PECK CPM. Terry was a former Chief of the Falkland Islands Police and after the invasion assisted, in a number of ways, the RM's in the days leading up to the invasion. I think he was awarded the MBE for his efforts and possibly a SAM. He died several years ago. 

 

Dave.

 

[bigjarofwasps]

On 24/10/2022 at 11:00, Dave Wilkinson said:

Whilst this thread is many years old, and no one has replied to the question posed in the last post, I can tell you that the Islander in question was Terry PECK CPM. Terry was a former Chief of the Falkland Islands Police and after the invasion assisted, in a number of ways, the RM's in the days leading up to the invasion. I think he was awarded the MBE for his efforts and possibly a SAM. He died several years ago. 

 

Dave.

 

Thanks for the update Dave, very interesting and greatly appreciated!! 
 

Having watched the Remembrance Sunday parade, this year (40th anniversary), I have to say I was surprised by how many RAF veterans supported this medal. I can wasn’t aware that they had taken such an active roll in the campaign. I am of course aware of the Vulcan bombing of Stanley operation. But surely that alone couldn’t account for the vast number of medals evident during  the parade? 
Any thought?

[Dave Wilkinson]

Strange that you should mention the 40th Anniversary parade. I watched it this afternoon on Falkland Islands TV. I can't say that I noticed an unusually large number of RAF guys wearing the SAM. That said, I wasn't taking particular notice. I suppose that there was a largely unseen RAF support and logistics operation taking place both before, during and immediately following occupation/liberation. Also, I suspect that many of the helicopter operations were RAF led/supported in various ways. I seem to recall that the award criteria for the SAM was extended to include quite a period following liberation. The establishment of a temporary airbase (the forerunner of Mount Pleasant) must also have involved large numbers of RAF personnel. Perhaps this would be a possible explanation.

 

Dave.