WORDS OF WELCOME FOR THE SAMA "PILGRIMS"
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I stand here this morning having had a good night’s sleep, a hot shower and a good shave. You may be feeling a bit ragged after the journey, so we shall to keep this session as painless as possible. I’ll speak for about 15 minutes. There are members of the SAMA Committee here if you have any questions for them, at this stage. We are also joined this morning by Revd Alistair McHaffie of Christ Church Cathedral, who has taken the lead in organising the Orders of Service for the various commemorative events in which you will be taking part.
Those who have organised your programme at this end have had a clear aim. We want your stay in the Falkland Islands to be one which you will remember for all the right reasons, and one which will help lay ghosts to rest, where that is what you need.
200 people arriving in the Falklands is like 5 million people arriving in the United Kingdom. The logistics are challenging. But Falkland Islanders know how important this visit is for you. It is important for them too. They are determined that it will be a success.
All of that good-will has had to be harnessed by a Committee headed by Terry Peck. I said to Terry some time ago that if this Pilgrimage is a success, the credit of the Falklands end belongs to him and his team. But I’m a realist. Were it to go badly, I know where the buck stops. The name of my Deputy is .……..
I have no doubt that all of you will be struck by the genuine warmth with which you will be welcomed by Falkland Islanders and those living here. But I hope you will also take some pride in what the Islanders have been able to achieve since 1982, thanks to the sacrifices you and your comrades-in-arms made in order to restore their freedom.
In 1982, the economy was in decline and the population shrinking. Now, you will see prosperity, confidence in the future, and a town which has grown from 900 inhabitants in 1982 to 2000 today. Falkland Islanders have been determined to take full advantage of the opportunities which the restoration of their freedom presented to them.
We are, of course, tremendously privileged that His Royal Highness the Duke of York is coming to the Falklands in order to be with us on this Remembrance Sunday. Perhaps I could say a word about how his programme and yours dovetail.
His Royal Highness will carry out a number of functions which are not directly linked to your Pilgrimage, and I need not dwell on those here. On Saturday, however, he will be at the Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance at the Liberation Monument here in Stanley. He will lay a wreath, as will I and the Commander British Forces. The Secretary of State for Defence did so at the beginning of this Anniversary Year, and the Minister for Armed Forces in September. Some of you will also be laying wreaths, and I know that one is to be laid on behalf of the Speaker of the House of Commons by Mr Howarth, and another on behalf of Baroness Thatcher.
Later that day, His Royal Highness will be going to San Carlos, to lay a wreath at the Memorial and Cemetery there. He will be the only one to lay a wreath on that particular occasion. The day before, you will have had the opportunity to pay your own tributes to those who are commemorated by that Memorial, and to reflect on your own memories of all that happened at Blue Beach in 1982. I shall be privileged to be with you on that occasion, as will the Commander British Forces, and we shall both be laying wreaths with you, mine being on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen and the people of the Falkland Islands.
From Blue Beach, His Royal Highness will go to the Argentine Cemetery at Darwin. There also he will lay a wreath, as a gesture of remembrance and reconciliation.
It is perhaps worth mentioning in this context that the Falkland Islands Planning Committee approved some months ago an Argentine design for a Memorial to be built at the Argentine Cemetery, something to which Falkland Island Councillors had given their agreement even before it was reflected in the Joint Statement of 1999.
On Remembrance Sunday, His Royal Highness will be taking part in the Service of Remembrance at Christ Church Cathedral. It is warmly appreciated by all of us that you will be participating in a Service whose form is the same as that observed each year by the people of the Falkland Islands. Clearly, we have a problem of numbers. The Cathedral, although fairly sizeable for a community of just over 2000 in total, cannot contain all who would wish to be within it on this special occasion. We have had to ask that your organisers arrange that a maximum of 50 SAMA members take seats within the Cathedral, with others able to participate in the Service in the adjoining Church Hall.
Following the Service in the Cathedral, there is a traditional short service at the Cross of Remembrance in East Stanley. Then, His Royal Highness will go to Memorial Wood, a unique and enduring Memorial to those who died restoring the freedom of the Falkland Islands in 1982, and those members of the Armed Forces who have died here subsequently, while serving to ensure the continuing security of the Islands.
His Royal Highness leaves the Falklands on Monday morning. That evening, and the following evening, my wife and I are hosting a Reception for you at Government House. I know that for many veterans, Government House has a particular symbolic significance and we look forward to welcoming you all there. Unfortunately, we have to split you in two groups in order that you have some chance to have a drink in relative comfort. We cannot accommodate your hosts or drivers also, I am afraid, but members of the local SAMA Committee and Falkland Islands Councillors will be there to meet you and enjoy the evening with you. Perhaps I could just ask you resist the temptation to insist on arriving at Government House with absolute punctuality. If you do arrive all at once, we will have a traffic jam. Lynda and I will be very happy to see you arrive over a period of about half an hour. Despite being an Aberdonian, it is not my habit to push people out at closing time, so if you do arrive well after 6.30, you will still be welcome whenever you feel it time for your hosts to pick you up.
I think I have said all I want to say. I shall just add a final thought. When Denzil Connick visited the Falkland Islands a few weeks ago, I was delighted that he was able to stay with me at Government House. We enjoyed putting the world to rights, but Denzil never did crack one problem; how, as a SAMA Veteran, can you stop the drinks appearing in front of you, and persuade an Islander to let you buy him a beer in return? I wish you all luck in trying to crack that problem.
I do hope that when we all meet at the end of your Pilgrimage that all of you have had a very positive experience, and the visit has fulfilled whatever your expectations and hopes for it may have been. It is planned that we all meet here next Wednesday at 8 am, to say our farewells. Meanwhile, you are, as I said at the beginning, most warmly welcome.
