Go-ahead for Falklands 40th anniversary event
New plaque set to be added to arch next summer as Fareham remembers
FAREHAM Borough Council has approved an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands conflict.
Taking place on June 14 next year, the event will be held in Fareham town centre and will host community activities and parades.
Cllr Sean Woodward, executive leader said the anniversary is an important thing to acknowledge and commemorate.
‘There are a significant number of residents in Fareham who are affected by the Falklands War and that’s in terms of them losing loved ones, friends and neighbours,’ he said.
In 2007 the Falklands Arch in West Street was unveiled by Baroness Margaret Thatcher to mark the 25th anniversary of the conflict.
Two plaques containing the names of 255 British task force servicemen who lost their lives in the conflict were later added to the arch in 2012 to mark the 30th anniversary.
Next June HMS Collingwood will exercise its right to freedom of the borough by marching through the town ‘colours flying, drums beating and bayonets fixed'.
A new plaque is also set to be added to the Falklands arch - noting the date of enhancement and what it represents.
The total cost of the ceremony and additions made to the arch is £20,120 which will be funded through general fund reserves.
Plans have previously been unveiled to hold a ‘nationally significant’ event in Portsmouth for the Falklands commemoration. The city is central to the story of the conflict as so many Royal Navy ships were involved.
Falklands veterans have just received the Freedom of the City of Portsmouth as part of the preparations for next year.