THE British Governor of the Falkland Islands during the 1982 Argentine
invasion Sir Rex Hunt has died at the age of 86.
He will be remembered for his “courage and dignity” after Argie troops invaded
the South Atlantic territory, the Islands government said.
Sir Rex had earlier been the last British official to leave Saigon when the
communist army of North Vietnam stormed into the southern city in 1975.
The Yorkshire-born Foreign Office diplomat took up his Falklands post in 1980
but was as governor by invading Argentinian forces on April 2 1982.
After refusing advice to hide in the hilly hinterland, Sir Rex – whose few
dozen Marines were heavily outnumbered during a fierce gun battle – took the
painful decision to surrender.
But he took one final act of defiance when, dressed in full colonial
governor's uniform, he refused to shake hands with invading Argie commander
General Oswald Garcia.
The islands were recaptured by British forces on June 14 that year after
then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher deployed a hastily-assembled naval
taskforce to the scene thousands of miles from Britain.
During the weeks of the war, Sir Rex stayed in London while his wife and
children were housed in Kent.
PM David Cameron paid tribute to him, saying he “should be a hero to everyone
in Britain.”
He added: “He gave years of dedicated service to this country and to the
Falkland Islands.
“Faced with invading forces in Port Stanley in April 1982, his courage,
resolve and judgment fired the spirit of the Islanders and the British
people to stand up to aggression and to defend the rights and freedom of the
Islanders.
“My thoughts are with his family and friends as they mourn him today.”
Today the Falkland Islands government said in a statement: “We received news
of the passing of Sir Rex Hunt with great sadness.
“Sir Rex will forever be remembered in the islands for his years of service as
governor, and particularly for his courage and dignity in facing the
Argentine invasion in 1982.
“His numerous contributions to our home were recognised in his being granted
the freedom of Stanley in 1985.
“A loyal friend of the Falkland Islands, he served for many years as chairman
of the Falkland Islands Association and as president of the UK Falkland
Islands Trust.
“His passion and commitment to the Falkland Islands will be sorely missed. The
thoughts and deepest sympathies of all Falkland islanders are with his
family and friends at this sad time.”
In a previous interview, Sir Rex said his first thoughts on liberation day had
been for the soldiers.
He said: “I was thinking of what had happened at Government House in April.
“To see all those people, hundreds of them, throwing their guns away with no
attempt to fight, it just made me think ’Well thank goodness, we’ve got
people like our army’.”
Sir Rex was also full of praise for Mrs Thatcher and agonised over the
decision to surrender.
He said: “My big anxiety was, have we done enough to get the majority of the
Great British people to support us and support the islanders?
“I didn’t know Maggie Thatcher then, if I did know her I would not have been
so worried about doing enough damage to the invaders.”
The debate over control of the islands was reignited this year with the 30th
anniversary of the war.
Three decades after Mrs Thatcher sent 27,000 troops and more than 100 ships to
expel Argentinian invaders, Buenos Aires continues to set its sights on
claiming the territory it calls Las Malvinas.
But the local government hopes a referendum next year on the future
sovereignty of the archipelago will send a firm message to Argentina that
islanders want to remain British.