The Falklands Conflict: 30 Years On

The Falklands Conflict: 30 Years On

Veranstalter
School of History and Center for Journalism, University of Kent
Veranstaltungsort
Ort
Canterbury, UK
Land
United Kingdom
Vom - Bis
26.04.2012 - 28.04.2012
Von
School of History, University of Kent

The Falklands War started on Friday, 2 April 1982, with the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Britain’s Conservative government, under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, launched a naval task force to retake the islands. The conflict ended with the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982. It lasted 74 days and resulted in the deaths of 255 British and 649 Argentine soldiers, sailors, and airmen, and the deaths of three civilian Falkland Islanders. The conflict was the result of a dispute over the sovereignty of the islands. Neither state officially declared war. Argentina characterised its invasion as the re-occupation of its own territory; the UK defined it as an invasion of a British dependent territory. The political consequences of the conflict were felt in both countries. A wave of patriotic sentiment swept through both: the Argentine loss hastened the downfall of its military government. In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Thatcher’s government was boosted to victory in the 1983 general election. To mark the thirtieth anniversary of the conflict, the School of History and the Centre for Journalism at the University of Kent at Canterbury will unite policy-makers, academics and reporters at a unique conference. Argentine and British historians of the conflict and journalists who covered it will share analyses, perspectives and memories with residents of the islands and service personnel who fought over them. Historians including Professors Peter Hennessy, Klaus Dodds and Sir Lawrence Freedman will be joined by correspondents including Robert Fox, Michael Nicholson and Kim Sabido. Sir John Nott, the Secretary of State for Defence who despatched the Royal Navy Task Force, will open proceedings. Major-General Julian Thompson and Commodore Michael Clapp will describe how the amphibious phase of British military operations was planned. Peter Hennessy will assess what British intelligence knew of Argentine intentions on the eve of the invasion. A panel of islanders including Patrick Watts, the former head of Falklands Radio who was broadcasting when Argentine soldiers captured his studio on 2 April 1982, will describe their experiences and recollections.

Programm

Thursday 26 April

10-11am: Registration, Keynes College Foyer

11am – 1pm: The view from Whitehall, 1982
Opening Reflections from Sir John Nott
Professor Peter Hennessy (QMUL): British intelligence and assessments of Argentine intentions on the eve of invasion

1pm-2.30pm: Lunch

2.30pm – 5pm: The background
Professor Klaus Dodds (RHUL): Kith and kin: the Falkland Islands and the development of a culture of loyalty, c.1960-1982

Professor George Philip (LSE): Argentine politics; the closing of the options 1955-82

Dr Celia Szusterman (Centre for the Study of the Americas): Maintaining the struggle for the Malvinas: the role of the Malvinas in Argentine life since 1982

4-4.30pm: Tea

4.30pm – 5pm: Questions for panel

Friday 27 April

9.30am- 12.30pm: Media Panel
Introduction by Professor Jean Seaton (Westminster)
Panel – Chaired by Allan Little (BBC News).

Participants: Dame Jenny Abramsky, Robert Fox, Michael Nicholson, Kim Sabido and John Shirley

Dr Alasdair Pinkerton (RHUL): Calling the Falklands: ‘acoustic spaces’ and ‘radio wars’
(Panel to include tea break 10.30am-11am)

12.30pm-1.45pm: Lunch

1.45pm-3.15pm: Writing histories
Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman (KCL): Independence and Balance: Challenges in writing official histories

Hugh Bicheno: The other side of the hill: writing an unofficial history

3.15-3.45pm: Tea

3.45pm-5pm: The aftermath
Peter Johnston (Kent): “Why We Fight”: How the Falklands Challenged Perceptions of the British Military

Dr Matt Benwell (Liverpool): Affective commemorations: considering representations of the Malvinas conflict in the year of Argentina’s bicentenary

Saturday 28 April

10am – 1pm: Veterans’ panel
Major-General Julian Thompson and Commodore Michael Clapp: Joint Planning and the Execution of the Amphibious Phase of Operation Corporate

Captain Chris Wreford-Brown: HMS Conqueror’s war patrol

Brigadier David Chaundler: From Whitehall to Wireless Ridge

1pm- 2pm: Lunch

2pm-3.45pm: The Falkland Islanders’ view
A panel of islanders including Patrick Watts formerly of Falkland Islands Broadcasting Service

3.45pm-5pm: Closing reception

Kontakt

Juliette Ashby

School of History
University of Kent at Canterbury
+44-1227-823837

J.C.Ashby@kent.ac.uk

http://www.kent.ac.uk/history/events/conferences/falklands.html
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