The Falklands War Liberation Crown Coin Gift Set 1982

British Ambassador to Argentina lodges formal protest against unauthorised landing on South Georgia on 20 December 1981 by Argentine scrap-metal merchant Constantino Davidoff 

12th January

Argentine Joint Armed Forces committee beings planning military invasion of Islands

24th January

Junta's plans to capture Islands revealed in a series of articles in La Prensa newspaper

2nd February

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in a private letter to a Conservative Party activist makes clear that she regards the Royal Marine presence in Stanley as sufficient to prevent an Argentine invasion

3rd February

Britain renews its formal protest at Davidoff's unauthorised landing 

9th February

Thatcher confirms retirement of HMS Endurance

25th February

Deputy foreign minister Richard Luce begins sovereignty talks with his Argentine counterpart Ernesto Ros in New York

1st March

British and Argentine deputy foreign ministers issue a joint communiqué praising the 'cordial and positive spirit' of sovereignty discussions held in New York

2nd March

Argentine foreign minister rejects the communiqué and says that Argentina reserves the right to 'employ other means' if Britain keeps refusing to cede sovereignty

3rd March

MP Julian Amery asks if 'all necessary steps are in hand to ensure the protection of the Islands against unexpected attack' but receives an evasive reply

5th March

Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington refuses to send a submarine to patrol off the Islands and South Georgia

6th March

Hercules aircraft operated by Argentine military airline LADE, supposedly on a mail run to an Antarctic base, lands at Stanley Airport, falsely claiming a fuel leak, and carrying several senior Argentine officers whom the local LADE commandant takes on a tour of Stanley and its environs 

8th March

Thatcher asks the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence for contingency plans in case of an Argentine blockade or invasion of the Islands

19th March

Davidoff sends 40 workmen on naval vessel Bahia Buen Suceso to dismantle Leith whaling station on South Georgia - the workmen fail to ask permission to land from the British Antarctic Survey base at Grytviken and upon arrival hoist the Argentine flag - Britain lodges a formal protest   

20th March

Thatcher sends Endurance and 24 Royal Marines from Stanley to South Georgia

23rd March

Bahia Buen Suceso and 30 workmen sail from Leith

24th March

Endurance arrives at Grytviken but earlier instructions to remove Argentine workmen are rescinded;
Argentine naval vessel Bahia Paraiso puts a large quantity of stores ashore at Leith together with a marine detachment under the command of Captain Alfredo Astiz

26th March

Argentine government says it will give all necessary protection to the workmen on South Georgia;
British intelligence source in Buenos Aires warns that an Argentine invasion of the Islands is imminent but the British government dismisses the warning;
Argentine navy set out on scheduled manoeuvres with the Uruguyan fleet;
Argentine junta brings forward its invasion plans ('Operation Rosario') from a national holiday on 25 May or July 9 because of the South Georgia crisis and the worsening economic turmoil and civil unrest;
British Ministry of Defence advises the government against a military response 

27th March

Argentine missile boats Drummond and Granville sail south to join Bahia Paraiso

28th March

Argentina restates its claim to the Falkland Islands and Dependencies, tells Britain there will be no negotiations on South Georgia, cancels leave for military and diplomatic personnel, sends stores and equipment to the naval bases of Puerto Belgrano and Comodoro Rivadavia, and being overflights of Stanley;
5 Argentine warships are sighted near South Georgia;
Britain begins contingency planning for the sending of a task force to the Islands;
Carrington asks US Secretary of State Alexander Haig to intercede with the junta in an attempt to avoid military action

29th March

Joint Intelligence Committee reports an invasion seems imminent
Thatcher orders 3 nuclear submarines south to the Islands;
British submarine Spartan sails south to the Islands from Gibraltar;
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort Austin sails south to provide support for Endurance;
New Royal Marine detachment arrive Stanley aboard research ship John Biscoe

30th March

Daily Telegraph reports that a nuclear submarine is sailing south;
Former Prime Minister James Callaghan informs Parliament that in 1977 in response to Argentine pressure Britain secretly sent a nuclear submarine and two warships to the South Atlantic;
Carrington says a diplomatic solution is being pursued

31st March

Junta takes final decision to invade the Islands on 2 April;
Violent anti-government riots occur across Argentina;
British intelligence source warns that the Argentine fleet is at sea heading towards the Islands;
Chief of Navy Staff Admiral Sir Henry Leach advises a crisis meeting headed by Thatcher that Britain could and should send a task force if the islands are invaded;
Governor Rex Hunt is informed Britain believes Argentina is planning a submarine landing on the Islands as a means of increasing pressure over South Georgia;
Britain's US ambassador Sir Nicholas Henderson visits Haig in Washington and persuades him to take matters seriously;
Thatcher telegraphs American President Ronald Reagan asking him to warn the Argentines off;
Royal Marines commander Brigadier Julian Thompson is alerted to the crisis

1st April

British submarine Splendid sails from Faslane;
UN Security Council meets at Britain's request and calls for restraint and avoidance of force;
Reagan warns Argentine junta leader General Galtieri not to take military action;
Governor Hunt is informed at 3.30pm FI time that Britain now believes a full invasion is planned and summons an immediate meeting of government heads of department;
At 7.15pm FI time Governor Hunt in a radio broadcast warns Islanders of the impending invasion and mobilises the Royal Marines and Falkland Islands Defence Force;
Admiral Leach orders ships on exercise in the Mediterranean to prepare to sail south

2nd April

At midnight Argentina puts Operation Rosario into action by bringing ships into position off the Islands;
Governor Hunt advises Islanders that Galtieri has rejected Reagan's intervention, and declares a State of Emergency at 3.25am;
Argentine special forces land at Mullet Creek at 4.30am, more troops land at York Bay at 5.30am, and by 6am are engaged in battle with the Royal Marines - 3 Argentines are killed;
The main Argentine landing force begins disembarking at Stanley at 8am, by which time the airstrip is cleared and the 25th Regiment flies in;
Governor Hunt orders the surrender at 9.15am - by now the whole town other than Government House is under Argentine control;
Galtieri hails the "recovery" of the Malvinas, saying Argentina had been left no option other than military action, while Carrington tells Parliament "Port Stanley is now occupied by Argentine military forces";
During the afternoon Governor Hunt (dressed in full regalia), other Foreign Office officials and the captured Royal Marines are forcibly evacuated by the Argentines to Montevideo;
Brigadier General Mario Menendez is appointed governor of 'Islas Malvinas' and Dependenciesz;
Stanley renamed 'Puerto Argentino';
Argentines radio news of the surrender around Grytviken at 10.30am;
Royal Marines on South Georgia attack the Argentine forces at 12.30pm but after inflicting heavy damage surrender to a far-superior force at 2.30pm; 
Britain orders Argentine diplomats out of the country;
Bank of England freezes Argentine assets in Britain;
Emergency cabinet meeting approves the sending of the task force to liberate the Islands;
MPs are recalled for a special Saturday sitting of the House of Commons (first since Suez);
9 navy ships on exercise in the Mediterranean sail south;
Britain's UN ambassador Sir Anthony Parsons puts a draft resolution to the Security Council condemning the hostilities and demanding immediate Argentine withdrawal from the Islands

3rd April

UN Security Council passes Resolution 502 by 10 votes to 1 (with 4 abstentions) demanding immediate Argentine withdrawal from the Islands - Argentina refuses to comply;
Labour party leader Michael Foot backs the decision to send the task force;
Emergency session of House of Commons endorses the decision to send the task force but attacks the British Government for not foreseeing the Argentine attack;
The first RAF elements of the task force deploy to Ascension Island;
Argentina reinforces its troops on South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands;
52 schoolchildren are evacuated from Stanley in a convoy of 18 landrovers

4th April

British submarine Conqueror sails from Faslane;
Argentines occupy Goose Green and Darwin;
Lighthousekeeper and radio ham Reg Silvey makes radio contact with the UK and continues clandestine broadcasts throughout the occupation

5th April

Aircraft carriers Hermes and Invincible sail from Portsmouth with other ships;
Carrington resigns and is replaced as Foreign Secretary by Francis Pym;
Junior Foreign Office Ministers Richard Luce and Humphrey Atkins resign

7th April

Reagan approves Haig peace mission;
British Government announces it will impose a 200-mile exclusion zone around the Islands on 26 April;
Liner Canberra is requisitioned at Southampton upon her return from a world cruise;
Britain freezes $1.4 billion in Argentine assets held in British banks 

8th April

Haig and his team arrive in London

9th April

3 Commando Brigade sail from Southampton aboard Canberra;
European Economic Community approve economic sanctions against Argentina (Ireland and Italy veto)

10th April

Haig arrives in Buenos Aires;
EEC sanctions against Argentina come into effect (against wishes of Italy and Ireland)

12th April

200 mile maritime exclusion zone around the Islands declared by Britain to prevent Argentine reinforcements and supplies reaching the Islands from the mainland;
British submarine Spartan arrives on station off Stanley;
Haig returns to London

14th April

Argentine fleet leaves Puerto Belgrano;
Haig returns to Washington to brief Reagan;
Squadron of ships carrying Royal Marines and special forces sent to retake South Georgia rendezvous with Endurance;
Expatriate Chief Secretary Dick Baker is deported by the Argentines

15th April

British destroyer group takes up holding position in mid-Atlantic;
Haig returns to Buenos Aires

17th April

Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse chairs conference at Ascension Island with Admiral Sandy Woodward and 3 Commando Brigade which sets out detailed plans for the retaking of the Islands by force;
The main task force sails south from Ascension Island;
Haig presents Argentine junta with 5-point plan;
Argentine service councils debate Haig's proposals 

18th April

Argentine aircraft carrier Veinticinco de Mayo  returns to port with engine trouble

19th April

Argentina rejects Haig's plan unless Britain agrees to transfer sovereignty by 31 December 1982 and allow Argentine nationals to settle in the Islands;
EEC foreign ministers declare support for Britain

20th April

British War Cabinet orders repossession of Islands;
Canberra arrives at Ascension Island

21st April

South Georgia operation begins with failed landing by SAS on Fortuna Glacier

22nd April

Pym visits Washington with the British response to Haig's proposals;
Britain warns all British nationals to leave Argentina;
British task force arrives in Falklands waters;
Galtieri visits Islands;
Argentine navy commandeers trawler Narwhal for intelligence purposes

23rd April

Britain warns Argentina that any military or civilian ship or aircraft representing a threat to the task force will be destroyed

24th April

Admiral Woodward's task group rendezvous with mid-Atlantic destroyers

25th April

South Georgia recaptured by Royal Marines - Thatcher tells Britain to "rejoice";
Argentine submarine Santa Fe is beached on South Georgia after British attack

26th April

'Defence area' declared around British fleet;
Thatcher declares time for diplomacy is running out;
Argentines occupy Port Howard

27th April

Chiefs of staff present San Carlos landing proposals (Operation Sutton) to War cabinet;
Haig's 'final package' is sent to London and Buenos Aires;
14 Stanley residents regarded by the Argentines as potential troublemakers are send to Fox Bay East

28th April

Organisation of American States supports Argentina's sovereignty claim but calls for peaceful negotiations

29th April

Task force arrives at exclusion zone;
Vulcan bombers arrive at Ascension Island;
Argentina rejects Haig proposals

30th April

Maritime exclusion zone is declared a total exclusion zone, applicable to all ships and aircraft supporting the Argentine occupation of the Islands;
General Sir Jeremy Moore flies to Ascension for conference with Brigadier Thompson;
Reagan terminates Haig's peace mission, declares US support for Britain, imposes economic sanctions on Argentina, and offers Britain materiel and other aid

1st May

Initial SAS and SBS landings on the Islands;
First Vulcan bomber raid on Stanley airport;
Sea harrier aircraft attack Stanley airport and Goose Green;
3 Argentine aircraft are shot down;
Naval bombardment of Stanley begins;
114 inhabitants of Goose Green are imprisoned in the settlement's Recreation Club for the next 4 weeks;
14 Stanley residents previously sent to Fox Bay East are placed under house arrest; 
Pym returns to Washington

2nd May

UN and Peru both try to initiate peace talks;
Pym meets UN Secretary General Perez de Cuellar in New York;
Peruvian President Belaunde Terry presents a peace proposal to Galtieri who gives preliminary acceptance with some modifications;
General Belgrano sunk 30 miles outside exclusion zone by submarine Conqueror on orders of War Cabinet who claim self-defence - 368 Argentines die

3rd May

British forces sink one Argentine patrol boat and seriously damage another;
Argentine navy vessels are recalled to shallow waters off Argentine coastline out of reach of submarines;
Galtieri rejects Peruvian peace plan, citing General Belgrano

4th May

British destroyer Sheffield hit by an exocet missile, and subsequently sinks - 20 die;
First British sea harrier piloted by Lt Nick Taylor is shot down over Goose Green;
British forces begin bombarding Argentine positions around Stanley

5th May

Emergency meeting of full British cabinet approves Peruvian peace plan

6th May

Two British sea harriers crash in fog;
Argentine junta rejects Peruvian peace plan;
Convoy including Canberra heads south from Ascension Island

7th May

Britain extends total exclusion zone to 12 miles off Argentine coast;
de Cuellar discusses peace proposals in New York with British and Argentine delegations

8th May

War cabinet dispatches landing force south from Ascension Island;
Argentina rejects Peru's peace proposals

9th May

Final plans drawn up for San Carlos landing site;
Argentine trawler Narwhal bombed by sea harriers, and subsequently sinks;
Argentine positions face heavy bombardment from sea and air, especially around Stanley

10th May

Task Force briefed about San Carlos landing plans;
Argentine supply ship Islas de los Estados sunk by Alacrity in Falkland Sound;
Argentina declares the entire South Atlantic a war zone

11th May

Haig sends his deputy General Vernon Walters to Buenos Aires

12th May

QE2 leaves Southampton with 5 Infantry Brigade comprising Scots Guards, Welsh Guards and Gurkhas
Argentine junta concedes that sovereignty of the Islands isn't a precondition to the UN peace plan

14th May

Britain's ambassadors to the US and the UN summoned back to London;
Thatcher warns Britain that a peaceful settlement may not be possible;
SAS attack the Argentine base on Pebble Island and destroy supplies and 11 pucara aircraft;
3 Argentine skyhawk aircraft are shot down by sea harriers

16th May

Britain's UN ambassador Sir Anthony Parsons sent back to New York with British peace proposals

17th May

British peace proposals transmitted to Argentina;
Helicopter from Invincible lands SAS team in Argentina but they fail to destroy Argentine military aircraft at the Rio Grande base

18th May

Landing force rendezvous with Admiral Woodward's task group;
San Carlos landing plan put to full cabinet;
Argentine junta rejects British peace proposals

19th May

War cabinet gives Admiral Woodward the go ahead for landing plan;
British sea king helicopter crashes with the loss of its crew and 19 Special Forces personnel

20th May

de Cuellar admits failure of UN peace talks;
Thatcher accuses Argentina of 'obduracy and delay, deception and bad faith', tells Commons of collapse of peace process, and orders task force into battle;
RMS St. Helena requisitioned by the Task Force - 19 Saint Helenian sailors volunteer to serve aboard alongside naval personnel, and after the end of the War she stays in the Islands as a minesweeper

21st May

San Carlos landings begin, codenamed Operation Sutton;
British frigate Ardent sunk in San Carlos Water by air attack - 22 die;
Argonaut and Antrim hit by Argentine bombs which fail to explode - 2 die;
2 British helicopters and 15 Argentine aircraft are shot down;
Open debate commences at UN Security Council

23rd May

British frigate Antelope hit by Argentine bomb which fails to explode - 1 crewman dies;
10 Argentine aircraft are shot down

24th May

Antelope explodes and sinks when a bomb disposal officer attempts to defuse the bomb;
Landing craft Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot hit by Argentine bombs which fail to explode while Sir Bedivere is damaged by a bomb exploding in water nearby;
7 Argentine aircraft are shot down

25th May

British destroyer Coventry sunk by air attack - 20 die;
British container ship Atlantic Conveyor is abandoned with 3 vital chinook helicopters aboard after an exocet missile hit sets the ship ablaze - 12 die;
8 Argentine aircraft are shot down;
SAS unit reconnoitre Mount Kent

26th May

War cabinet questions lack of movement out of bridgehead at San Carlos;
London makes the retaking of Goose Green a priority;
2 Para set out for Goose Green;
UN Security Council Resolution 505 instructs de Cuellar to seek negotiated settlement

27th May

45 Commando and 3 Para set out for Douglas and Teal Inlet;
SAS land in strength on Mount Kent;
Sea harriers attack Goose Green - one plane is shot down;
British forces furious when BBC World Service report 2 Para are advancing on Darwin but Argentine commander believes this is deliberate misinformation 

28th May

2 Para launch attack early in the morning, and by evening surround Goose Green - 17 British and 250 Argentines die;
Colonel H Jones is killed during the attack and subsequently awarded Victoria Cross;
5 Infantry Brigade trans-ship from QE2 to Norland and Canberra at South Georgia;
British shelling by air and sea of Stanley recommences and continues for the next 16 days

29th May

Argentines surrender Goose Green, British take 1,400 prisoners, and the Islanders imprisoned at Goose Green by the Argentines are released;
Organisation of American States condemns Britain's military action and calls on the US to stop helping Britain - only the US, Chile, Columbia and Trinidad & Tobago abstain

30th May

45 Commando take Douglas and 3 Para take Teal Inlet;
42 Commando advance on Mount Kent and Mount Challenger;
General Moore arrives at San Carlos;
Pope John Paul II preaches anti-war message in Coventry Cathedral

31st May

42 Commando take Mount Kent and Mount Challenger;
19 men from the Royal Marines Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre capture Top Malo House after a firefight;
Reagan asks Thatcher not to inflict too serious a defeat on the Argentines

1st June

5 Infantry Brigade begins disembarkation at San Carlos;
War cabinet debate further peace proposals;
Britain repeats its ceasefire terms;
Updated Shackleton Report ordered

2nd June

2 Para reach Bluff Cove;
Argentine military envoys arrive in New York offering to surrender to the UN

3rd June

Versailles summit opens;
Reagan's 5-point plan given to Britain

4th June

Britain and US veto Panamanian-Spanish immediate ceasefire resolution in UN Security Council;
Spain criticises Britain's military action, becoming the only NATO country not to support Britain
2 Para occupy the undefended Bluff Cove and Fitzroy

5th June

Scots Guards depart San Carlos at night on board Intrepid heading for Fitzroy

6th June

Scots Guards land at Fitzroy in early morning;
Versailles summit supports British position on the conflict;
Welsh Guards depart San Carlos at night on board Fearless heading for Fitzroy

7th June

A shortage of landing craft mean half the Welsh Guards land at Fitzroy in early morning but the rest return to San Carlos, which they leave again at night on board landing craft Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram;
President Reagan pays official visit to Britain

8th June

Plymouth in Falkland Sound is hit by 4 Argentine bombs but none explode;
Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram are bombed at Fitzroy while the Welsh Guards are waiting to disembark - 51 die including 38 Welsh Guards and 55 are seriously wounded;
War cabinet asked not to reveal Fitzroy casualties;
Landing craft Foxtrot-4 sunk with British vehicles aboard;
3 Argentine skyhawks are shot down by sea harriers;
General Moore finalises battle plan for Stanley

10th June

Falklands Appeal launched under patronage of Lord Shackleton;
Peru sends 10 mirage jets to Argentina to replenish losses

11th June

Battle for Stanley begins on Mount Longdon, Mount Harriet and Two Sisters - 23 paras and 50 Argentines die;
Sergeant Ian McKay of 3 Para is killed on Mount Longdon and subsequently awarded Victoria Cross;
3 Islanders killed during British naval bombardment of Stanley;
Pope John Paul II visits Argentina and denounces all wars as 'unjust'

12th June

3 Para take Mount Longdon - another 6 paras and 50 Argentines die, including Sergeant Ian John McKay who is awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross; 
42 Commando take Mount Harriet and 45 Commando take Two Sisters;
British destroyer Glamorgan badly damaged by land-launched exocet missile - 13 die;
5 Infantry Brigade moves into position

13th June

Battle for Tumbledown, Wireless Ridge and Mount William - 15 Britons and 40 Argentines die

14th June

By daylight Argentine troops are fleeing in disarray, by mid-morning white flags are flying in Stanley, and by noon the British have marched to the outskirts of Stanley;
Thatcher informs the Commons at 10.15pm UK time that the Argentines have surrendered;
General Mario Menendez surrenders to Major General Jeremy Moore at 9pm FI time;
9,800 Argentine troops put down their arms

15th June

British officers are flown by helicopter to the outlying settlements to accept the surrender of local Argentine commanders;
Stanley's historic Globe Store is destroyed by an Argentine arsonist;
Canberra embarks 1,200 Argentine POWs at San Carlos

16th June

Canberra embarks a further 1,850 Argentine POWs in Port William outside Stanley;
Peter Blaker, Defence Minister of State, announces that the official count of British military and civilian war dead is 255, with approximately 300 wounded

17th June

Galtieri resigns

18th June

Canberra sails from Port William with 3,046 Argentine POWs aboard once Argentina guarantees her safe passage

19th June

Canberra offloads the POWs at Puerto Madryn, Argentina;
Britain announces that 11,845 Argentines were captured

20th June

British forces land on Southern Thule (South Sandwich Islands) - Argentines surrender without a fight;
Britain formally declares an end to hostilities;
200 mile exclusion zone established around the Islands during the war is replaced by a Falkland Islands Protection Zone of 150 miles;
British newspaper 'The Sunday Times' publishes an unsubstantiated story that Argentina had been holding 7 members of the British Secret Air Service since 19 May, captured whilst providing intelligence information on Argentine Air Force plane departures to the British fleet;
EEC lifts economic sanctions against Argentina

22nd June

Retired Army General Reynaldo Bignone replaces Galtieri as President of Argentina;
Argentine army assumes full power, the Navy and Air Force withdrawing from the Junta

24th June

Thatcher visits Reagan in Washington

25th June

Governor Rex Hunt returns to Stanley as Civil Commsisioner;
Canberra departs Falklands waters with 40, 42 and 45 Commando on board

26th June

Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance at St. Paul's Cathedral in London

28th June

Argentina releases 3 British journalists imprisoned on spying charges at the beginning of the War

2nd July

Argentine war toll set at 645 dead and missing;
Rear Admiral John (Sandy) Woodward replaced by Rear Admiral Derek Roy Reffell as Commander of the British naval task force, and Major General Jeremy Moore replaced by Major General David Thorne as Commander of the British ground forces

6th July

Thatcher appoints an official commission headed by Lord Franks to examine the causes of Britain's failure to prevent Argentine capture of the Islands

7th July

EEC agrees to provide financial aid to the Islands

8th July

Argentina releases its only acknowledged British prisoner of war, an airman shot down near Stanley in May;
Thatcher announces British government will repatriate bodies of dead British servicemen buried in the Falklands for reburial in Britain if requested by next-of-kin

11th July

Canberra arrives home at Southampton with 40, 42 and 45 Commando;
Britain drops its condition that Argentina formally acknowledge the end of hostilities before repatriating the remaining prisoners of war 

12th July

USA ends trade sanctions against Argentina

14th July

Final 593 Argentine prisoners of war (mostly officers and technicians) repatriated

17th July

Britain admits to falsifying press releases during the war to mislead Argentina

22nd July

Britain lifts the Exclusion Zone around the Islands

26th July

Brigadier General Mario Menendez dismissed from Argentine army

24th August

RMS St. Helena arrives home in St. Helena

12th October

Victory Parade in London

4th November

UN General Assembly passes a resolution calling for a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute