The Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF) is the locally maintained volunteer defence unit in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

, a British Overseas Territory. The FIDF works alongside the military units supplied by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to ensure the security of the islands.

History

Origin

In 1847, Lieutenant

Richard Clement Moody Richard Clement Moody Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit of France (13 February 1813 – 31 March 1887) was a British governor, engineer, architect and soldier. He is best known for being the founder and the first Lieutenant ...

Governor of the Falkland Islands The governor of the Falkland Islands is the representative of the British Crown in the Falkland Islands, acting "in His Majesty's name and on His Majesty's behalf" as the islands' ''de facto'' head of state in the absence of the British monarch ...

, formed the Falklands' militia force, consisting of two infantry platoons, and a combined mounted and artillery unit. A volunteer unit was reformed in 1854, during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, to guard against possible aggression by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. In 1892, a steamer owned by one of the belligerents involved in the Chilean Civil War docked at

Port Stanley Stanley (; also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a popula ...

. Ostensibly there to carry out repairs to its engines, the presence onboard of 200 armed soldiers was considered a security threat, and Governor Sir

Roger Goldsworthy Sir Roger Tuckfield Goldsworthy (1839 – 6 May 1900) was a British colonial administrator. Roger Goldsworthy was born in Marylebone, Middlesex in 1839, and educated at Sandhurst, the younger brother of Major-General Walter Tuckfield Goldsw ...

therefore ordered that an armed volunteer force be formed. The first draft of men of the Falkland Islands Volunteer Corps were sworn in at a ceremony at the Falkland Government House, in June 1892.

World War I

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, members of the Volunteer Corps were mobilised to man military outposts around the Islands, while 36

Falklanders Falkland Islanders, also called FalklandersChater, Tony. ''The Falklands''. St. Albans: The Penna Press, 1996. p. 137. and nicknamed Kelpers, are the people of the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. Identity The Islande ...

enlisted in the British armed forces, 10 of whom subsequently lost their lives during the war. In 1919 the Falkland Island Volunteer Corps were stood down and were subsequently renamed as the Falkland Islands Defence Force on 13 December 1920. During the First World War the Volunteers were issued the

General Service Corps The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army. Role The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the Special List or General List. These lists were used in both World Wars for specialists and those not allo ...

cap badge. This was used into the 1930s on dress uniforms.

Inter-war

In 1931 on the recommendation of Captain C.E.C Ransome Royal Marines visiting the island on HMS Danae the Defence Force adopted Royal Marine Blue Dress Uniforms for ceremonial duties. This style of uniform is still in use today.

World War II

The FIDF was mobilised again during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, manning defensive outposts around the Islands. At this time, a mounted rifles unit was raised. On 27 September 1939, thirty-three men arrived from Argentina in a group called the "Tabaris Highlanders." Gathered from the Anglo-Argentine community, they were supposed to defend the islands from a German attack. Six of these volunteers were rejected on medical and other grounds and returned to Buenos Aires almost immediately. The "commanding officer," a Major Morrough, was one of those rejected. The remainder were enrolled in the Falkland Islands Defence Force, with Ronald Campbell made sergeant as commander and Thomas Dawson Sanderson made

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

. Many were rugby players, including Sanderson, who was president of a rugby club. The men left the Islands on 8 December 1939, once the immediate danger of attack from German raiders was judged to have receded. During this time the Highlanders dug out gun pits, embankments, and other protection from a possible German naval attack. Twenty-two of them applied from Stanley to join the British Forces. During the war, around 150 islanders joined the British armed forces, of which 26 were killed in action. In June 1946 a section of the FIDF took part in the Victory Parade in London. After the end of the war, the presence of Royal Marines as part of the Islands' defence led to the FIDF adopting drill styles. On 28 September 1966, 19 members of an Argentine extremist group staged a symbolic invasion of the Islands by landing a

DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s. ...

on Stanley Racecourse, in one of the first significant hijacking incidents; the extremist group called this action

Operation Condor Operation Condor ( es, link=no, Operación Cóndor, also known as ''Plan Cóndor''; pt, Operação Condor) was a United States–backed campaign of political repression and state terror involving intelligence operations and assassination of op ...

. There, they took four islanders hostage. The FIDF, alongside the Royal Marines, contained the situation and the group surrendered without casualties. Following this, the FIDF was on heightened alert until February 1967.

Falklands War

Detachment of Falkland Islands Defence Force

On 1 April 1982, alongside the Royal Marines party, the FIDF was mobilised to defend the Islands from the Argentine invasion. Many of its members lived in remote settlements so given the limited notice of its approximately 120 men some 32 turned out. The following day,

Sir Rex Hunt Sir Rex Masterman Hunt, (29 June 1926 – 11 November 2012) was a British Government diplomat and colonial administrator. He was Governor, Commander-in-Chief, and Vice Admiral of the Falkland Islands (and concurrently High Commissioner of th ...

ordered them to surrender. The Argentines confiscated all of the FIDF's equipment and declared them to be an illegal organisation. For the duration of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, some members of the FIDF were kept under house arrest at

Fox Bay Fox Bay ( es, Bahía Fox or ''Bahía Zorro'' ) is the second largest settlement on West Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It is located on a bay of the same name, and is on the south east coast of the island. It is often divided into Fox B ...

until the Argentine surrender. The FIDF was reformed in 1983. Terry Peck, a former member of the Defence Force, spied on Argentine forces in Stanley, then escaped to become a scout for the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, with which he fought at the

Battle of Mount Longdon The Battle of Mount Longdon was a battle fought between the British 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment and elements of the Argentine 7th Infantry Regiment on 11–12 June 1982, towards the end of the Falklands War. It was one of three engagemen ...

. On 28 April 2021, a new motto "Faithful in Defence" was awarded to the FIDF following approval by the Queen.

Personnel

Falkland Islands Defence Force (22800469038)

The Falkland Islands Defence Force meet once a week for training, with various extended training weekends throughout the year. Soldiers of the Falkland Islands Defence Force conduct training patrols with soldiers from the British garrison on the islands as well as acting as "enemy" forces against British soldiers in training exercises. FIDF soldiers also provide search and rescue and mountain rescue services across the islands. They have been trained by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

to operate

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models em ...

s and conduct boarding operations of vessels to fulfill a fisheries protection role for the Falkland Islands Government. As of 2022, the Falkland Islands sovereignty and fisheries patrol vessel is the ''MV MV Pharos SG'', which assists in policing the exclusive economic zone around the islands as well as around South Georgia and the

Sandwich Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Ku ...

. She will be replaced in 2023 by the ''MV Lilibet'', named in honour of the late Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, and leased to the Falklands Government by Seagull Maritime Limited for fifteen years. Civilian-manned, the vessel is a Damen Stan 5009 patrol ship with a range of 2,900 nautical miles, a maximum speed of 29.5 knots and a crew of up to 28 persons. Major Peter Biggs served with the FIDF for 35 years and was the Commanding Officer from 2002 to 2016. Justin McPhee was selected as the next commanding officer of the FIDF in 2018. In 2019 Major Justin McPhee became the first FIDF Officer to complete the Intermediate Command & Staff Course (Land Reserves) at the UK Defence Academy alongside UK regular and reserve soldiers and international students.

Equipment

Equipment includes: *

L85A2 The SA80 (Small Arms for the 1980s) is a British family of 5.56×45mm NATO service weapons used by the British Army. The L85 Rifle variant has been the standard issue service rifle of the British Armed Forces since 1987, replacing the L1A1 ...

* Steyr M9 * L86 * L129A1 Sharpshooter Rifle, a semi-automatic designated marksman's rifle also in use with the British Army. * Browning Hi-Power pistol * L7 general purpose machine gun * Manroy M2HB .50 inch machine gun ;Former equipment: * Steyr AUG assault rifle - uniquely used by the FIDF among British forces, this was replaced by the L85A2 in 2019. * Steyr AUG HBAR (Heavy-Barreled Automatic Rifle) light support weapon, this was replaced by the L86 in 2019.

Funding

The Falkland Islands Defence Force today is funded entirely by the

Falkland Islands government The politics of the Falkland Islands takes place in a framework of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary representative democratic dependency as set out by the constitution, whereby the Governor exercises the duties of head of state in the ...

and has an annual budget of £400,000.

Organisation

The FIDF is organised as a

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

company with additional roles. It is manned entirely by the local population, following British Army doctrine, training and operations. New recruits go through a 12-week training program. In an agreement with the British Ministry of Defence, a Royal Marines Warrant Officer Class 2 is seconded to the Force as a Permanent Staff Instructor.

Insignia

Cap badge

The cap badge is the badge of the FIDF cast in metal. It shows the escutcheon party per bend, with a

Sea Lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

in the lower half, and the rear end of an old sail ship in the upper half, surrounded by the slogan "Desire the Right". This badge was formerly the

Coat of arms of the Falkland Islands The coat of arms of the Falkland Islands is the heraldic device consisting of a shield charged with a ram on tussock grass in a blue field at the top and a sailing ship on white and blue wavy lines underneath. Adopted in 1948, it has been the ...

from 1925–1948.

Stable belt

Ranks

The ranks of the FIDF are the same as those used in the British Army/Royal Marines. Rank slides has the badge of Rank and wording on bottom of 'FALKLAND ISLANDS'

Alliances

* - The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) * - Royal Marines

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{The British Army British colonial regiments Military of the Falkland Islands Reserve forces of the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1892 Defence Force Military units and formations of the Falkland Islands in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1982 Military units and formations established in 1983