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Cathy Jacobson says she would be 'first in line' to defend the islands (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Falkland Islanders have vowed to fight for their home if Argentina were to invade again. Cathy Jacobson, 67, originally from Southampton, has run local pub The Victory with her husband Alistair for more than 40 years. She said when asked if she would fight in the event of a second conflict: "Oh, definitely. I'll be there, first in line to protect my family and where I live.
"I've lived here for 42 years; there's no way I'm going to hand it over to an Argentinian. No way." Mr Jacobson said, when asked about Sir Keir Starmer: "I have no faith in that man at all." He added: "I can't believe there's people that voted for him."
When asked if he believed that the British Government would send a taskforce to fight for the islands, as Baroness Thatcher did in 1982, the landlord shook his head.
Ian Cameron, 68, lived on the South Atlantic British overseas territory with his family for five years in the 1960s. His mother, Elizabeth 'Lynn' Mary Cameron passed away aged just 29 when he was seven years old.
Ian Cameron visiting the islands for the third time since his mother passed away (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
She is buried in Stanley Cemetery. Mr Cameron, a former lab technician, who now resides in Dundee, said next to Stanley's war memorial that he would fight Argentine soldiers were they to land again.
When asked if many would join him, he said: "Yeah, especially guys from 1982, and the guys that left friends and family behind."
The Scot added that people would voluntarily travel over from the UK to take up arms.
"These people have a right to be British if they want to be British," Mr Cameron said.
"These islands existed as the Falkland Islands long before Argentina ever existed as a country."
Battlefield guide Tony Smith, 64, who was born on the Falklands, said: “The Falkland Islands Defence Force would certainly fight if the need arose, and many others, including myself, would support them in any way possible.”
Tony Smith is a battlefield tour guide on the Falklands (Image: Tony Smith)
He added: "The situation is very different now and unless another country with powerful military forces assisted Argentina, they are not in a position themselves to carry out a military invasion as they did in 1982.
"The base at Mount Pleasant sends a strong and clear signal and currently I do believe the British Government would do what is necessary to protect the Falklands if the need arose."
Another guide, Dan Biggs, 42, who is also a commanding officer in the Falkland Islands Defence Force, also confirmed that he would fight.
His family have been on the islands for 184 years.
"We would support the British forces in any way we could," Mr Biggs added.
When asked if many would volunteer to resist, he said: "Yeah, absolutely.
"I mean, we've got a significant number in the defence force, and the community would massively support if something was to happen."
Gary Clement is a former Royal Marine (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Veteran Gary Clement MBE, 70, who served as a Royal Marine in the Commando Logistic Regiment during the war, said: "I'm 70. I'm sure that I would help out in any way I could, but you're not going to get me crawling along the ground anymore."
On whether many locals would fight, he mentioned the islands' population has changed.
Mr Clement said: "I don't know. There's a lot of people here now that have got no background with the Falklands at all, really."
He added: "It was 44 years ago now. So to have that memory now, you'd have to be of a certain age."
Untrained people picking up a gun has the capacity to be dangerous, the military man also highlighted.
It comes after a former member of the SAS and Falklands veteran told The Express of his concern at the state of the British military and its ability to defend its interests.
Mick Hawkes, 65, served for 13 years and fought in the 10-week war.
He said: “We haven't got a fighting force anymore. If we had a situation like the Falklands again, I’m not sure what we would be able to do.”
Margaret Thatcher dispatched a taskforce to the Falklands after the Argentines invaded (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Mr Clement said: "I think that what we've got here now is pretty big protection, right from the off.
"Those jets that we have here are a force to be reckoned with on their own."
They make "the sound of freedom" when they fly over the islands, he added.
"We don't have the ground troops, but I'm not sure that it would get to that stage," Mr Clement said.
"Argentina have got a lot of strengthening to do before they're ready to attack here again, for sure.
"And they've got their own problems with Chile and all that sort of thing in South America."
Nevertheless, the veteran added: "I think politically they are very hot on the heels of anybody that will listen to them
"They spread lies, if you like, about the history of the islands and what have you, and it just seems people listen.
"And the more you shout, you know what it's like, you can get people to listen eventually. So I think that way we need to be very careful.
"And, thankfully, British governments so far have been very much behind the islands."
A declaration claiming the Falklands for Britain in Stanley's museum (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Dan Biggs' aunt, Coleen Biggs, 75, a volunteer at the islands’ museum, who moved from London to the Falklands in 2002 after living in South Georgia for 15 years, said when asked if many would volunteer: "I'm sure the numbers [in the defence force] would swell if they felt threatened again."
But she and others are not worried as the territory's defences are "sufficient".
"I think we would be very well protected. I think the British forces are very capable and ever present," Ms Biggs said.
There would not be a need for a taskforce such as the one dispatched in 1982 were Argentine troops to land, she thinks.
"The British government have a grip on things, and they're willing to take notice of what intelligence comes their way," Ms Biggs said, next to her peat-powered fireplace in her living room, which contained many books about the Falklands conflict.
When asked if he would fight against an Argentinian invasion, Jack Ford MLA - the chair of the islands' legislature - said: “I don’t think it’s worth thinking about it.”
He does not see another invasion as a threat as the islands are “very well defended”.
However the 27-year-old added that it is “something we should be mindful of”.
Sally Blake, 83, lives right next to the bust of Baroness Thatcher in the islands’ capital city, in the house of her step-grandmother, Constance Luxton, which was built in 1927.
She said the FIDF is "far better armed and trained now".
On whether another invasion could happen, her husband, Tim, 90, a former sheep farmer and member of the Falklands legislature, who was part of a pre-war delegation to Buenos Aires, said: "No, they were beaten last time, and it's not in their nature to get a second beating."
Jack Ford is chair of the Falkland Islands' legislative body (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Argentina's President, Javier Milei, has said he is not seeking another conflict with Britain.
He is pursuing a long-term diplomatic strategy to gain sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, with an aim to achieve a peaceful transfer similar to the 1997 handover of Hong Kong.
He told The Telegraph that the archipelago should return to Argentina only through negotiation and when islanders wish.
He said: “Whatever can be done to improve trade, I will do, taking the geopolitical risks into consideration.”
President Milei admitted to the BBC in 2024 that it could take decades to try to gain sovereignty of the islands from Britain.
He promised a “roadmap” for the territory to become part of Argentina, on the 42nd anniversary of the Falklands War.
The President slammed politicians who “beat their chests demanding sovereignty of the islands, but without any result”.
He added that Britain "might not want to negotiate today", but "at some later point they might want to".
"Many positions have changed over time."
Sir Keir Starmer said in his Christmas message to the Falkland Islands: "I’m proud of the bond that we share as one great British family.
"And I’m proud of the strong sense of community that unites us all. I know that is a big part of who you are on the Falkland Islands."
He also pledged his "deep and enduring commitment to your right to self-determination and your democratic rights".
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The Prime Minister added: "These are rights that my own uncle fought for when he served aboard HMS Antelope in 1982."
Keep up to date with all of Adam's reporting from the Falkland Islands and Argentina over the coming weeks here.
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