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| Britain | |
| Thatcher's tribute to the Fallen of the Falklands | |
| 2007-04-03 | |
| Baroness Thatcher last night paid a silent and moving tribute to The Fallen in the Falklands conflict on the 25th anniversary of the invasion of the islands by Argentina. The former Conservative Prime Minister laid a wreath of yellow and white roses, lilies and orchids at the foot of the Falklands Memorial in the Crypt of London's St Paul's Cathedral in honour of the 255 British service personnel who died. Lady Thatcher, sombre in a long black coat and black shoes, stood back for a few moments in silent contemplation after laying the wreath which bore the words on a card: "In memory of those who have given their lives for Britain and for the Falklands Islands - Margaret Thatcher." The 74-day conflict of 1982 marked both the summit and greatest trauma of her premiership. She had worn black throughout. Immediately after the Argentine surrender she said: "There was a feeling of colossal pride, of relief, that we could still do the things for which we were renowned. And that feeling will stay with us for a very long time."
Some 350 miles away in Ushuaia, the capital of the Argentine province which claims the Falklands as its own, Daniel Scioli, the country's deputy prime minister, was equally defiant. "The war has not changed the reality: the Malvinas are Argentine, they have always been and they always will be," he said. At the National Army Museum in London, the Victoria Cross belonging to the Falklands hero Colonel "H" Jones went on public display. Lt Col Herbert Jones, the commanding officer of the Parachute Regiment, died leading the 2Bn, The Parachute Regiment to victory in the battle for Darwin and Goose Green on May 28, 1982. He was shot as he launched an uphill assault. Buried in the British cemetery at San Carlos on East Falkland, he is one of two servicemen - both from the Parachute Regiment - to be posthumously awarded the VC for bravery during the Falklands conflict. Sgt Ian McKay, of 3 Para, was honoured for his actions at the battle of Mount Longdon on June 11. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 God bless her. The free world owes her and Ronald Reagan a debt they can never repay. She and Winston Churchill were the only really good Prime Ministers Britain has had in the 20th Century. |
| Posted by: Mac 2007-04-03 17:50 |