Student 6: High Not Achieved
Documentary Script
Narrator: On Friday the 2nd of April 1982 Argentinean forces invaded and took control of the Falklands
Islands, seizing it from British rule. This resulted in 74 days of brutal warfare between Argentina and Britain
ultimately ending with Britain victorious and still in full control of the Islands. This short but bloody war had
its effects on both sides, many lives were lost but how did the people of these countries react to the war at
the time? How did other countries view the Falklands War, how did the media cover it and more importantly
to you, how did this event affect New Zealand?
Argentina has claimed the Falklands Islands as its own since the 19th Century, even to this day in 2012 the
dispute still burns so passionately in Argentina. Seeing the Falkland Islands as their territory, the Argentinean
government viewed their landing as re-occupation, but as their claim to the ownership was not thought of as
true and the islands were known to be part of British occupation, it was viewed as an invasion and Britain
had no choice but to retaliate.
Vicious warfare soon ensued as Britain immediately responded, Britain gained the upper hand and on 2 May 4
the ARA Belgrano was sunk by British troops, a major victory in the war effort. Argentina soon retaliated by
sinking the HMS Sheffield, the biggest single loss Britain suffered in the war. This was the event in the conflict
that really woke up the English forces to the threat Argentina posed. Argentina had been taking the war
seriously from the beginning, but England had a slightly more relaxed approach, it was hard for them not to,
having major successes in the conflict up to this point. But the sinking of HMS Sheffield hit Britain hard, it was
reported by the media only out of necessity, the government wanted to focus on the good points of the war
to keep public opinion on side, but the sinking came as a shock in most places, even to the soldiers on board.
Radio Operator (from my source): "The Sheffield was not at Red Alfa and the men of the Sheffield were
caught unprepared. Some were having showers or eating their breakfast, some slept whilst others wrote
letters to loved ones, they never knew what hit them, doors and hatches where open and nobody was at
their fire fighting stations. A missile such as the this one which resulted in the first British casualty of the war
is designed to penetrate the hull of the ship before it explodes thus aiming to damage the nerve centre of the
ship making it dysfunctional. I always remembered it as 22 men who died that day although later it became
known as 20."
Narrator: The two countries fought both on and for the islands until a ceasefire was called on 14 June 1982
after the fall of Stanley. The first thing to take into account with this conflict is that neither country wanted
full on war, this is why politically it is referred to as the "Falklands Conflict" rather than the Falklands War.
Even during the74 days of fighting neither side declared war on the other, it was a hostile dispute but that is
all either side allowed it to be.
Another important factor to take in about this war politically is the stance the rest of the world took, who
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they stood behind in this fight and for the large part support was with Britain as Britain was recognised as in
control of the Falklands. New Zealand and South Africa completely cut all diplomatic relations with Argentina
to show their support for Britain in this conflict.
Falklands FAQ Answerer (from my source): "You might consider that Chile had a significant role in the war.
They kept up a threat of invasion into disputed border territory (3 large islands in the Beagle Channel) with
Argentina, thus ensuring that some of Argentina's best mountain troops and aircraft were unable to enter
the conflict. Chile allowed us use of the auxiliary RFA Tidepool who we had sold them shortly before the war; 1
American influence in Panama allowed her to sail back through the Canal. Independent observers confirm
that Britain leant Chile a pair of Hercules aircraft for signals gathering; Chile also received Hawker Hunter and
Canberra aircraft on rather good terms after the war, presumably for "services rendered"."
Narrator: Not all countries fully supported Britain, some aid was given to Argentina to help fuel its efforts in
the Falklands, such as Equador transporting bombs to them.
In summary the war was incredibly short and incredibly brutal with over 900 deaths, unfortunately the war
did not seem to solve anything but this death as Argentina still claim their right to the islands, but this is not
what I aim to cover in this documentary. I aim to show you how this war affected the parties involved and
how this war bears levels of significance to New Zealand.
Public opinion in Britain was generally favourable, not because they thought the war made sense or was
necessary, but they knew Argentina invaded British territory and therefore felt their country was justified in
defending itself. To get the opinion of an average day citizen in England at the time, I interviewed Sue Curley,
an average woman and trainee chef at the time, and she remembered the public of England being "very
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supportive."
Sue Curley (from my source): "we did hear of the sinking of the Sheffield. I think it sent home that this was an
actual war happening right now and it was very real and people were dying. Of course we knew it was a war
and people were dying but because (as we later found out) the war was incredibly censored, a lot of the
details we were being told were outdated and probably to keep morale up the deaths were only mentioned
to the general public when necessary. So I think it sent home to us that this was more of a threat than we
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originally thought. The Sun, especially made it sound like a bit of a relaxed war, with their comical headlines
and just lack of intimidation of the Argentinian army. But ships were sunk and people died. That made it very
real and intimidating."
Narrator: It is indeed true that to start with the English media were telling the public that the Argentinean
invasion was not a threat, which in whole was true, they won the conflict comfortably but people did die and
it is widely thought that this confrontation achieved nothing but senseless death. Sympathy was even shown
towards the Argentinean soldiers, who averaged the age of 19. Sympathies were given because of their
young age, probably not really even knowing what they were fighting for, but dying nonetheless.
Sue Curley: l was only twenty one but they seemed so very young, just boys really.
Narrator: Research into public opinion shows that people were generally supportive of their troops not just
because it was the defence of their islands but also because it was known that the natives of the Falklands
War were happy with British rule, or at least preferred it to Argentinean rule, so the invasion was not just
against Britain, but the people of the Falklands also.
Sue Curley: The issue to me was what the people of the Falklands wanted. I therefore felt that their invasion
was an act of war. Should there ever be a referendum on the Falkland Islands that showed the people of the
Falklands were in favour of Argentinian rule, I would support it,
Narrator: As with every war though, there are those who support and those who oppose, some people
opposed the Falklands War because of its senseless death. Elvis Costello wrote a song titled Shipbuilding in
which the views of shipbuilders was expressed, they were for the defence of England but they felt horrible
that they were building ships that could ultimately lead to the death of their own shoulders. A torturous yet
unfortunately necessary task.
Argentinean public opinion was mixed but more supported it than opposed. Most of the opposing people
opposed mostly because of the alarming death toll that occurred during the conflict and the majority of
support was because the Argentinean government made their claim to the Falklands seem far greater than it 3
actually was, But of course also there was support from the troops merely because the Argentinean people
want to support their soldiers, fighting for their country. Much like the English.
Julian Barnes (from my source): The fact that the rest of the world viewed the war as a bizarre and brainless
squabble between nostalgic imperialism and nostalgic fascism was irrelevant; we didn't care what the rest of
the world thought, except to imagine that it was impressed.