Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust Launches Dynamic new Website

11.3.21

FIMA Friends sister organisation the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, has launched a highly interactive new website: fmht.co.uk. The sites takes online explorers around the many fascinating hulks, shipwrecks and on-shore historical sites that make the Falklands one of the world's most important centres of maritime history.

The Trust, a charity registered in the UK,  is dedicated to preserving the seafaring history of the Falklands and those who have been associated with them. It aims to ensure that the maritime history that has helped shape the culture of the people of the Falkland Islands is properly recognised.

The Trust's first major expedition was the successful search for the wreck of the German cruiser "Scharnhorst", which was sunk in the Battle of the Falklands in 1914. The new website tells the story of this expedition. Click here to read more.

10.3.21

THE MEDALS and citations of the late WH “Tommy” Thompson (1919 – 2018) have been donated to the Museum in Stanley. Tommy was a popular Colonial Secretary in the Falklands from1963 to 1969. Over that time he also served variously as Acting Governor and High Commissioner for the British Antarctic Territories. 

The late 1960s were critical years for the Falklands. Undercover political developments could have had huge repercussions for the populace had stalwarts of the calibre of Tommy and Governor Sir Cosmo Haskard not helped to steer the Falklands to a better future.

Tommy’s time in the Falklands was only a small part of a memorable life but it is one he looked back on with huge affection. During his time in post he founded the Falkland Islands Journal, something which gave him great pleasure to look back on in later life. The Journal is still published annually.

Tommy passed away in 2018 in his 99th year and, given his great affection for the Falklands above all his other  postings, his family wished to donate his Governor’s sword, medals and citations to the Falkland Islands, to be displayed in the Museum. The FIMA Friends have been happy to be able to facilitate the transport of these historically important items to the Museum in Stanley.

Jim McAdam, a FIMA Friends committee member, was pleased to hand over the medals and citations to Andrea Barlow, Museum Director. Also present at the hand-over were FIMA Friends Hugh Osborne, Stefan Heijtz, Geraldine McAdam and Derek Howatt, FI Museum and National Trust trustees Richard Cockwell and Jan Cheek, and visitor from the Shackleton Museum in Athy, Co Kildare, Ireland Joe O’Farrell. 

Andrea expressed her gratitude to Tommy’s sister Anne Rees for the donation and thanks to the FIMA friends for facilitating their delivery. “We are delighted that Anne chose to gift Tommy’s medals and citations to the Historic Dockyard Museum. Everyone you talk to knows something about Tommy and his contribution to the Falklands – from the birth of the Journal to his contribution in preserving our heritage; Tommy is a figure in our history that will always be remembered fondly.  We are also grateful to FIMA for delivering the items to us. Some of the items donated will be framed and displayed in due course.” 

The covid pandemic has made it difficult to get Tommy's sword to the Falklands, but it will be carried there as soon as possible.

More details of the life and achievements of Tommy Thompson can be found in the 2018 issue of the Falkland Islands Journal, where his obituary and memoirs of his time in the Falklands are published https://www.falklandislandsjournal.org/  His biography is also included in the Dictionary of Falklands Islands Biographies https://www.falklandsbiographies.org/biographies/thompson_willoughb 

Photographs below, left to right:

Jim McAdam of the FIMA Friends presents Tommy’s medals and citations to Museum Director Andrea Barlow

Tommy's medals, including (second from left) the Riband and Badge of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his service in the Falklands, and defence medals(1936-1954)

The CMG awarded for his distinguished service overseas

8.3.21

PORT LOUIS, at the western end of Berkley Sound, was the focal point of many formative events in Falklands history. It was the main settlement until the foundation of Stanley in the middle of the 19th Century. But images of the settlement in its early days, when under French control, are rare. Now the Falklands Museum has been given two important prints depicting the village and and the sophistication of its fortifications.

The prints (right and above) were donated to the museum by Geoffrey Calvert, or Pip as he is known to friends in the Islands. Pip's family were until recently the owners of Pebble Island, and his wife's ancestors settled in Port Louis early in the 19th Century. Pip contacted the Friends asking whether the prints would be of value to the museum, to which the answer was a very strong "yes." We were able to help convey the prints to the Falklands, and they are now in the museum.

Museum Director Andrea Barlow said, "Pictures and information of that time in Falklands history are seriously lacking, so seeing these fascinating depictions of Port Louis is like finding a pot of gold. We are very grateful to Mr Calvert for donating them.”

FIMA Friends President, David Tatham, wrote to Pip Calvert saying, "One of the great virtues of the Friends is that we provide a convenient channel for anyone who wishes to present a gift to the Dockyard Museum in Stanley – as you have generously done."

7.3.21

FIMA FRIENDS funds benefited from a kind gift from Robin Woods, shortly before his recent death. Robin was the pre-eminent Falklands ornithologist, and he researched and wrote extensively about the birds of the Falklands and their habitat. He was a members of the FIMA Friends from its inception.

Robin first visited the islands as a meteorologist in the 1950s and travelled extensively around the archipelago. He revisited many times and  became a trustee and very active committee member of Falklands Conservation. Among his publications are a field guide to Falklands birds and an atlas of local breeding birds. His books are to be found tucked into the pockets and rucksacks of many Falklands visitors and most resident nature-lovers.

Robin, who was awarded an MBE for his work, was also enthusiastic about the history of the islands, and this was evident from his kind gift to FIMA of several hundred pounds. He passed away in August 2020. We offer our sincere condolences to Robin's family.

For Falkland Conservations' tribute to Robin Woods, please go to https://falklandsconservation.com/robin-woods/

4.12.19

THE FALKLANDS Maritime Heritage Trust (the sister organisation of the FIMA Friends) announced on 4 December 2019 that the wreck of SMS "Scharnhorst" has been located off the Falkland Islands. The "Scharnhorst", an armoured battlecruiser and the flagship of Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee’s East Asia Squadron, was sunk on 8 December 1914 during the Battle of the Falkland Islands, a crucial naval battle in the early days of the First World War.

This discovery is a major breakthrough in the quest to locate all of the ships that comprised the German squadron lost during the battle. The search began on the centenary of the Battle in December 2014 but was initially unsuccessful. Five years later, the mission was resumed using state of the art subsea search equipment. 

The Battle of the Falkland Islands followed the Battle of Coronel, fought off the coast of Chile in November 1914, where Graf von Spee’s fleet overpowered the Royal Navy and in which 1,600 British sailors perished. A month later a British squadron under the command of Vice-Admiral Doveton Sturdee, pursued, engaged and defeated Graf von Spee’s squadron, comprising the "Scharnhorst", "Gneisenau", "Nürnberg" and "Leipzig". The action was particularly important because the battle brought to an end to commerce raiding by German warships.

The "Scharnhorst", was the first to be sunk, having sustained substantial damage inflicted by HMS "Invincible" and HMS "Inflexible". Tragically 2,200 German sailors died, including Graf von Spee himself and his two sons - Heinrich aboard the "Gneisenau", and Otto aboard the "Nürnberg".

The Falkland Maritime Heritage Trust is now seeking to have the site formally protected in law. The wreck was not touched or in any way disturbed during the operation. The team on board Seabed Constructor conducted an act of remembrance at the site, commemorating all who died during the Battle.

The film production company TVT has been recording the search from its inception five years ago. Already, experts who have viewed unedited clips confirm that they reveal new information about this important episode in British and German naval history and in the history of the Falkland Islands.

Donald Lamont, Chairman of the Falkland Islands Maritime Heritage Trust, said: “It is less than a month since Remembrance Day, when we commemorated the millions who died in the First World War and subsequent conflicts. One episode in that conflict was the Battle of the Falklands in 1914. The search we organised had as its aim the locating of all ships of the German squadron, so that we may learn more about the Battle and commemorate all who perished in it. The site of the wrecks can now be protected.

The Battle of the Falklands is commemorated every year on 8 December in the Falkland Islands. Our aim is that the film should be made available to the Historic Dockyard Museum in Stanley, where it and accompanying information will be available for Islanders and for the thousands of visitors who come to the Falkland Islands every year.”

Mensun Bound, the leader of the search, said: “It is with mixed emotions that we announce the discovery of SMS "Scharnhorst". After a search that began five years ago, on the centenary of the battle, we are very proud to be able to shed further light on what was a defining point in the First World War, and therefore a landmark moment in modern history.

The moment of discovery was extraordinary. We are often chasing shadows on the seabed, but when the "Scharnhorst" first appeared in the data flow, there was no doubt that this was one of the German fleet. You could even see the impact crater. We sent down an ROV to explore and almost straight away we were into a debris field that said “battle”. Suddenly she just came out of the gloom with great guns poking in every direction.

As a Falkland Islander and a marine archaeologist, a discovery of this significance is an unforgettable, poignant moment in my life. Our work on this important project is not done. We will continue to assess the images that we have captured and, in time continue to search for the remainder of the fleet, in order to provide greater understanding of the events of that day, and to ensure the protection of the site.”

In Germany, the von Spee family was  informed of the find and shown footage. Wilhelm Graf von Spee, head of the family, said: “Speaking as one of the many families affected by the heavy casualties suffered on 8 December 1914 at the Battle of the Falkland Islands, the discovery of SMS "Scharnhorst" is bittersweet. We take comfort from the knowledge that the final resting place of so many has been found, and can now be preserved, whilst also being reminded of the huge waste of life. As a family we lost a father and his two sons on one day. Like the thousands of other families who suffered unimaginable loss during the First World War, we remember them and must ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain.”