Flags have been hoisted across the country (Image: Getty)
Falkland Islanders have said Britons could learn a lesson about patriotism from them amid a controversy over flying the St George and Union flags in towns and cities. These follow the launch of “Operation Hoist the Colours” in Birmingham last summer. The movement argues that it is promoting pride in the country, and reclaiming symbols of British identity. However, critics have insisted that the flags should be removed, suggesting that they are divisive and intimidating.
When asked if she thought people in Britain could learn about patriotism from the islanders, Cathy Jacobson, 67, who is originally from Southampton and has run The Victory pub in Stanley with her husband Alistair for more than 40 years, said: “Yes, I think they can.” He said that people on the islands hoist their own flags.
The landlady said: “There are flags up in the bar itself, and there are always flags up, and we will never take them down.
“We only remove them at Christmas time to put up the Christmas decorations, but after that, they come right back.”
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Kathy runs a pub in Stanley with her husband (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
“They need to sort out a lot of things in the UK,” Mrs Jacobson said.
It may be that people are more proud to display British flags on the archipelago because its residents have recently had to resist an invasion by another country.
People in Britain “don’t know how lucky they are”, he said.
“England is a beautiful country,” said Mrs. Jacobson.
“They just need to take care of it, especially the government, they really need to take care of it, and the people, the British people, also need to take care of it,” he said.
The pub owner really doesn’t like Sir Keir Starmer.
“He should think very seriously about what he is doing at this time, in the state of the world at this time.
“Don’t bow down to America; we need to be safe in our own country.”
He added, “Just pay attention to what the people, the British people, are saying to him.”
Mrs Jacobson does not think the islands are at the forefront of the Prime Minister’s mind.
She said: “I think I haven’t heard him mention the Falkland Islands even once.”
Gary Clement MBE is a Falklands War veteran (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Gary Clement MBE, a 70-year-old veteran who served as a Royal Marine in the Commando Logistics Regiment during the conflict, said Britain could learn “a lot” from the islands about how to be proud of their country.
He added: “The Falkland Islanders may have photographed the Queen first, and now, I suspect, the King in their homes and things like that.
“We are a very patriotic island.”
He then quipped, referring to the statue of Margaret Thatcher on Thatcher Drive: “I’m not sure we’ll see one of Keir Starmer.”
Discovery Falklands battlefield guide Tony Smith, 64, said simply: “Anyone who is British should be proud of their national flag and should have the freedom to display it at any time.”
Ian Cameron visits his mother’s grave on the Falkland Islands (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
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.
He is buried in Stanley Cemetery. Mr Cameron, a former laboratory technician who now lives in Dundee, said next to the Stanley war memorial.
When asked whether the British could learn lessons from the islands, he replied: “Exactly, they could.”
“I remember when I first came back in 2007, my first impression was that they were more English than the English.
“They are more English than the English.”
Others take a slightly different view.
Chris Anderson, a 68-year-old Royal Navy veteran who was on HMS Sheffield when it was hit by a French-made Exocet missile fired by Argentine forces on May 4, 1982, killing 20, was at Mrs. Jacobson’s Pub during a cruise.
He said Falklandarians have a “very different perspective” from those living in the UK.
Mr Anderson, originally from Eastbourne, said: “The thing I would say is that we should be proud of our history, and how we got to where we are today, and how our values have been established.”
“You don’t have to get too excited about it and wave flags.”
Chris Anderson was on HMS Sheffield when she was hit by an Argentine missile (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
“The flag has a whole different meaning here, and it doesn’t mean that we want to exclude certain parts of our population or anything,” said Colleen Biggs, 75, in her living room in Stanley.
After living in South Georgia for 15 years, she moved to the Falklands from London in 2002 and her family has lived on the islands for over 180 years.
His mother, Betty, painted a huge Confederate flag on the roof of their house, which is still there today, and can’t be missed when driving around town.
A portrait of Margaret Thatcher hangs on Colleen’s kitchen wall.
She makes sure to point out that she’s not too keen on the Iron Lady’s home record, but like all the islanders, is grateful for her actions in 1982.
Colleen said in relation to the flag: “The symbolism is completely different.”
On flags being flown in public without permission being removed, she said: “Things like this weren’t happening when I lived there, and I think it depends on why they’re doing it, and whether they’re doing it to alienate certain members of the population.
“I think this is wrong.”
Colleen Biggs has a giant Union flag on her roof (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
This is similar to what the Prime Minister had said in September.
Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC that he was “very encouraging” of people flying national flags, but added that they were devalued when they were flown “for purely divisive purposes”.
“I think we are very proud to be Falkland Islanders, and very proud to be part of the British family,” said Jack Ford MLA, speaker of the territory’s legislature, who lived in Winchester and Buckingham while studying.
“The events of 1982, and the loss of life, and the impact that had on the community, certainly made a huge impact on him, and it’s all still vivid in people’s minds.”
Jack Ford MLA is Speaker of the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Sitting at a table with a photograph of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the wall behind him, Mr Ford said: “We still welcome veterans on a regular basis, we have a close relationship with the Ministry of Defence, and for all those reasons, we live and breathe it on a more regular basis.
“I think it’s a positive thing that we do.
“We are a very resilient community and we have an ambitious program ahead of us – lots of opportunities.
“We have faced many challenges, and we are proud of the fact that we have done so and come out the other end, and living in a very prosperous, and secure and stable democracy.
“I think it’s something we’re all very proud of and it’s something to be proud to celebrate as part of the wider British family.”
