Cathy Jacobson says she’ll be ‘first in line’ to defend islands (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Falkland Islanders have vowed to fight for their home if Argentina invades again. Cathy Jacobson, 67, originally from Southampton, has run local pub The Victory with her husband Alistair for more than 40 years. When asked if she would fight in the event of another conflict, she said: “Oh, definitely. I will be there first to protect my family and where I live.”
“I’ve lived here for 42 years; there’s no way I can hand it over to an Argentine. No way.” Asked about Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Jacobson said: “I have no confidence in that man at all.” He added, “I can’t believe there are people who voted for him.”
When asked if he believed the British government would send a taskforce to fight for the islands, as Baroness Thatcher did in 1982, Lander shook his head.
Ian Cameron, 68, lived in the South Atlantic British overseas territory with his family for five years in the 1960s. When he was seven years old, his mother Elizabeth ‘Lynn’ Mary Cameron died at the age of just 29.
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Ian Cameron is visiting the islands for the third time since the death of his mother (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
He is buried in Stanley Cemetery. Mr Cameron, a former lab technician who now lives in Dundee, said next to the war memorial in Stanley that if Argentine troops landed again he would fight them.
When asked if many people would join him, he said: “Yes, especially the people from 1982, and the people who left friends and family behind.”
Scott said that people would voluntarily travel from Britain to take up arms.
“If these people want to be British, they have the right to be British,” Mr Cameron said.
“These islands existed as the Falkland Islands long before Argentina existed as a country.”
Battlefield guide Tony Smith, 64, who was born in the Falklands, said: “The Falkland Islands Defense Force will certainly fight if need be, and many others, including me, will support them in any way we can.”
Tony Smith is a battlefield tour guide on the Falklands (Image: Tony Smith)
He said: “The situation is very different now and unless another country with powerful military forces assists Argentina, they are in no position to launch a military attack themselves as they did in 1982.
“The base at Mount Pleasant sends a strong and clear signal and at present I am confident that the British Government will do whatever is necessary to defend the Falklands if needed.”
Another guide, Dan Biggs, 42, who is also a commanding officer in the Falkland Islands Defense Force, also confirmed he would fight.
His family has been on the islands for 184 years.
Mr Biggs said, “We will support the British Army in any way we can.”
When asked whether many people would protest voluntarily, he said: “Yes, absolutely.
“I mean, we’ve got a significant number in the defense force, and the community would massively support if anything happened.”
Gary Clement is a former Royal Marine (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Veteran Gary Clement MBE, 70, who served as a Royal Marine in the Commando Logistics Regiment during the war, said: “I’m 70. I’m sure I’ll help in any way I can, but you won’t see me crawling on the ground anymore.”
Asked whether many locals would fight, he explained that the population of the islands had changed.
Mr Clement said: “I don’t know. There are a lot of people here now who have no background in the Falklands.”
He added, “This was 44 years ago now. So to have that memory now, you have to be a certain age.”
The army personnel also highlighted that the ability of untrained people to carry guns could be dangerous.
It comes after a former member of the SAS and the Falklands told The Express of his concerns over the state of the British military and its ability to protect its interests.
Mick Hawkes, 65, served for 13 years and took part in the 10-week war.
He said: “We no longer have the fighting strength. If we had a situation like the Falklands again, I’m not sure what we would be able to do.”
Margaret Thatcher sent a task force to the Falklands after the Argentine invasion (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Mr Clement said: “I think what we’ve got here now is a great deal of protection from the start.
“The jets that we have are a force in themselves.”
As they fly over the islands they emit “the sound of freedom,” he said.
“We don’t have ground troops, but I’m not sure it will get to that level,” Mr. Clement said.
“Argentina certainly have a lot of strengthening to do before they are ready to attack again here.
“And Chile and South America have their own problems with this kind of thing.”
Nevertheless, the veteran said: “I think politically they are very keen to go after anyone who will listen to them
“They spread lies if you like about the history of the islands and what have you, and it seems people listen.
“And the more you yell, you know what it’s like, the more you can eventually get people to listen. So I think we need to be very careful that way.
“And, thankfully, British governments have been behind the islands so far.”
A declaration claiming the Falklands for Britain, in the Museum of Stanley (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Dan Biggs’ aunt, Colleen Biggs, 75, a volunteer at the Islands Museum who moved to the Falklands from London in 2002 after living in South Georgia for 15 years, said when asked whether many people would volunteer: “I’m sure the numbers (in the defense force) would go up if they felt threatened again.”
But he and others are not worried because the area’s security is “adequate.”
Ms Biggs said, “I think we will be very well protected. I think the British forces are very capable and will always be there.”
She thinks there will be no need for a taskforce like the one Argentine troops sent in 1982.
“The British government has a grip on things, and they are willing to pay attention to what intelligence comes to them,” Ms. Biggs said in her living room, next to a peat-fired fireplace that contained several books about the Falklands conflict.
When asked whether he would fight against an Argentine invasion, Jack Ford MLA – Speaker of the islands’ legislature – said: “I don’t think it’s worth thinking about.”
He does not see any further invasion as a threat because the islands are “very well defended”.
However the 27-year-old said it was “something we need to be mindful of”.
Sally Blake, 83, lives in the house of her step-grandmother, Constance Luxton, built in 1927, right next to the statue of Baroness Thatcher in the islands’ capital.
He said the FIDF “is now far better armed and trained”.
Asked if another invasion might be imminent, her husband, Tim, 90, a former sheep farmer and member of the Falklands legislature who was part of the pre-war delegation to Buenos Aires, said: “No, he was beaten last time, and it’s not in his nature to get beaten a second time.”
Jack Ford is Speaker of the Legislative Body of the Falkland Islands (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Argentine President Javier Meili has said he does not want another conflict with Britain.
It is pursuing a long-term diplomatic strategy to regain sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, with the aim of achieving a peaceful transfer similar to the handover of Hong Kong in 1997.
he told Wire The archipelago should be returned to Argentina only through negotiations and when the islanders wish.
“I will do whatever can be done to improve trade while keeping geopolitical risks in mind,” he said.
President Miley admitted to the BBC in 2024 that efforts to regain sovereignty of the islands from Britain could take decades.
He promised a “roadmap” to make the territory part of Argentina on the 42nd anniversary of the Falklands War.
The President criticized politicians who “beat their chests demanding the sovereignty of the islands, but with no results”.
He said Britain “may not want to negotiate today”, but “at some point later they may want to do so”.
“Many positions have changed over time.”
Sir Keir Starmer said in his Christmas message to the Falkland Islands: “I am proud of the bond we share as one great British family.
“And I’m proud of the strong sense of community that unites us all. I know it’s a big part of who you are on the Falkland Islands.”
He also pledged a “deep and enduring commitment to your right to self-determination and your democratic rights.”
The Prime Minister said: “These are the rights that my own uncle fought for while serving on HMS Antelope in 1982.”
Stay up to date with all of Adam’s reporting from the Falkland Islands and Argentina in the coming weeks.
