A map of the Falklands with the places I visited in sequence numbered from 1 – 10: Mount Pleasant, Darwin/Goose Green, San Carlos, Pebble Island, Carcass Island, Saunders Island, Sea Lion Island, Bleaker Island, Stanley and Volunteer Point.
After spending one full day at Darwin I flew to Pebble Island at lunchtime the following day.
The internal flight system, Falkland Island Government Air Service(FIGAS) is a delight. They have, say, half a dozen twin prop 8 seater planes. painted a jolly red with blue. There are no scheduled services, the flights are a bit like a taxi service where you say where you want to go and they work out the logistics and tell you when they are coming for you. My first flight was from Goose Green airstrip to Pebble, on my own where the pilot was eating his sandwiches on the way.
The system is that the person you are staying with gets advised as to when the flight will come. They transport you in their Land Rover (or similar big vehicle – no ordinary cars in the Falklands), they check that the airstrip is clear of stock, geese , etc, hoist the wind sock, open the little shed, reverse the Land Rover into the shed and hitch up the fire fighting truck. The Land Rover engine is left running for take off and landing. There should be two in attendance, one to pump and the other to point the hose but on some islands they have dispensation because there are not enough inhabitants.
A serviceman’s grave at Goose Green air strip.
The 2 Para who was staying at Darwin House said that the last time he was at Goose Green air strip he was shooting at the aircraft (Argentinian)…
Folk getting off at Goose Green and my bag being loaded on by my host
There were no roads other than in Stanley in 1982. To get to Mount Pleasant or, even further, to Darwin from Stanley would be at least a day’s journey. You would drive over the “camp” i.e. the open countryside . Rough track were made but were easily eroded. The other form of communication was by sea, by air existed but very rudimentary. As a result of the war, there was the investment in aircraft and some roads were built. However these are not sealed and are expensive to maintain. The most used road is from Stanley to Mount Pleasant. The engineer designing it was either misinformed or he miscalculated the annual rainfall (the story is he thought the figure was monthly or even weekly) and the road is built with huge ditches thus making it the most dangerous stretch of road as vehicles roll over in the gulleys.
The “settlement” on Pebble Island
The Pebble Island Lodge
The settlement
It was discovered, by chance that there were a number of Argentinian planes based on Pebble Island and the SAS went in to destroy them. After the raid the 26 inhabitants of the Island were locked up in the Lodge until the war was ended. I met one of these on my last trip (coming back from Volunteer Point) and he said that the thing that most upset the Argentinians most was not the destruction of the planes but that one of the SAS had nicked the Argentinian flag.
One of the 11 planes destroyed by the SAS on 15th May 1982
The Argentinian planes based on Pebble Island
The tablet recording the SAS’s activities
Memorial to the pilot of an Argentine Lear jet
Shepherd’s hut at the West End of the island
The foreshore
Inhabited islands have slipways for the delivery of heavy good – the Concordia Bay, the Falklands workboat delivers once every 6 weeks. Sadly I never saw it.
Children’s play ground
The Lodge and a plane
The settlement
The burial ground
Memorial to HMS Coventry sunk 10 miles to the north of Pebble Island
Argentinian map about the sinking of HMS Coventry on 25th May, 10 days after the SAS raid.
Emily gathering mint.
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