Falklands 40: Headlines from The News on April 16, 1982

These were the headlines from The News on April 16, 1982 as the naval taskforce continued to head south.
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The fleet heads for no-go zone, Ascension Island clampdown

The British naval task force for the Falklands has left Ascension Island and is today heading south towards the Argentine-occupied British colony.

Eyewitnesses said British warships, their numbers painted out, began to arrive last weekend off the remote mid-Atlantic volcanic island.

Margaret ThatcherMargaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
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But all stayed discreetly some five miles offshore, communicating by helicopter with the island’s airfield command centre.

Local residents said the force included destroyers or frigates, but no more than two or three ships were ever seen at once and the last of them, a supply ship, slipped over the horizon yesterday.

The second wave of vessels, including the liners Canberra and Uganda, hastily converted as the task force’s troopship and hospital ship, are expected tomorrow or Sunday.

British transport planes, arriving mainly by night, have already ferried hundreds of troops to Ascension, but they give no sign of expecting immediate orders to move.

The News on April 16, 1982The News on April 16, 1982
The News on April 16, 1982
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“The place is chock-a-block with soldiers, airmen and sailors in shirtsleeves,” said a resident, adding that they threatened to drink dry the few bars which usually supply the island’s 1,200 people.

But the outward calm on Ascension conceals its rapid conversion to a vital supply base for the Falklands task force.

The airfield, normally leased to the United States and run largely by civilian personnel, has been taken over by the British forces as their headquarters and put out of bounds to local residents.

From there a British naval captain, Robert McQueen, has taken command of the entire island and is co-ordinating the roles - not so far publicly defined - of the naval, air force and ground forces elements of the mission.

Haig expected back in London

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Whitehall officials expect that the US Secretary of State, (Mr. Alexander Haig), will return to London yet again from Buenos Aires - probably during the week-end.

Mrs. Thatcher was still at Downing Street this morning, having dropped plans to go to Chequers last night. But she may decide to travel there later today.

Her decision will depend on Mr Haig’s movements.

It was being stressed that no arrangements for any return to London have yet been made, but officials think it likely.

Mrs. Thatcher was expected to meet senior ministers most closely involved in the crisis.

Full-sized carriers needed - MP

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The Royal Navy should have four 50,000-ton aircraft carriers, each capable of operating 70 fixed-wing aircraft, says the MP for Havant (Mr Ian Lloyd).

Acknowledging The News Keep the Fleet campaign, Mr Lloyd goes much further in suggesting that the government should build fixed-wing aircraft carriers, thus reversing the policy to abandon them, taken in the late 60’s.

He said: ‘I would have been much happier if the Falklands task force had steamed south with two such carriers in addition to, or even instead of, the two which we have.’

In other news - Prince favours Mary Rose in Dockyard

In an exclusive interview with the Editor of The News, Prince Charles - President of the Mary Rose Trust - explained why he feels that Portsmouth Dockyard is ‘a proper home’ for Henry VIII’s warship. And if the Dockyard is to be run down, the opportunity should be seized to exploit its rich, historical heritage.

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Some ‘razzamatazz’ may be necessary to capture the public’s interest. The purists and academics may be offended. But the Prince of Wales believes that rather than being fully restored, the Mary Rose should be left in the condition she was raised, though a replica could always be built in due course.

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