A unique archive of dispatches from the Falklands War 1982 – a remarkable, detailed archive of dispatches issued and received during the Falklands War of 1982, comprising approx. 115 sheets of pre-printed/cyclostyled log forms, either completed in manuscript or typescript, together with approx. 27 further sheets of photocopies of reports. This is considered to be the only such archive currently outside an institution. The archive commences with the first signal issued on May 22nd 1982 at the opening of the conflict when British forces arrived in the islands to take on the occupying Argentinian forces. It ends on June 15th and includes this signal: ‘Maj Gen Menendez surrendered to me all the Arg armed forces in East and West Falkland together with their impediments. Arrangements are in hand to assemble the men return to Argentina, to gather in their arms and equipment and to mark and make safe their munitions. The Falkland Islands are once more under the government desired by their inhabitants. God Save the Queen. Signed J J Moore’. In between there are considerable operational signals providing historians with a unique insight into the operations of the only war of the 20th century which Britain fought on its own. Many of these signals are in the codes and abbreviations which were conventional at the time, and give an almost minute by minute digest of what was happening, as it happened – particularly as the conflict escalated throughout May. Considering that the Falklands War only lasted for such a short period of time, these papers provide a unique record of a British War from beginning to end, and will provide historians and analysts with an unrivalled insight into how British forces went about their tasks, and the way in which the three separate forces on land, sea and air combined to bring about ultimate victory. They also stand as a testament to the courage both of the fighting men and women and of the Falkland Islanders themselves, who never asked to be part of the conflict and yet suffered both from the treatment they received from occupying Argentinian forces, and from the necessary conflict which ensued. They also bear witness to the terrible sacrifice of lives lost on both sides of the conflict – and during the present debates reignited by Argentina over the sovereignty of these islands in the far South Atlantic, these papers should remind us, 30 years on from the events of that previous war, that the ambitions of politicians, safely protected far away from the conflicts they create, are paid for by the lives of brave men and women who they send into battle. We understand that these papers were rescued by an islander at the end of the conflict when many other papers relating to the war were destroyed. Note: these papers do not have any information on the sinking of the Argentinian Battleship the Admiral Belgrano