On Line Exhibition

2007 marked the 25th anniversary of the Falklands conflict.  The Royal Navy played a vital role in liberating the Falkland Islands from the Argentinean occupation, with the Royal Dockyards, including Chatham, providing essential support to the fleet.

For Chatham, the Falklands Crisis was to be the last time it was called upon to support the Royal Navy in time of war.

In June 1981the government announced that Chatham Dockyard would close and that HMS Endurance, the Chatham-based Antarctic patrol vessel, would be withdrawn.

The news stunned the Medway Towns which faced the loss of over 7,000 jobs, whilst in Argentina, the withdrawal of the Endurance was seen as further evidence that Britain was neither prepared, nor minded, to defend the Falklands Islands.

By the Spring 1982, and the Argentinean invasion of the Falklands, the dockyard closure programme was well underway whilst HMS Endurance wa in the South Atlantic on her last scheduled patrol.