MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands Veterans Get Freedom of Gosport.

Veterans of the Falklands War have been honoured with the Freedom of the Borough of Gosport, the town on the western side of Portsmouth harbour where so many of the 1982 Falklands Task Force ships were based.

Gosport has led other towns in Britain in honouring veterans of the war, and this is the highest honour it can bestow. It will be formally granted in a ceremony on August 24th, which is also the last day of the town's 800th anniversary year. The gardens above the cross-harbour ferry terminal have been renamed Falklands Gardens and redesigned with the help of the Falkland Islands Government to commemorate the war. A statue of Admiral Fieldhouse, who had overall command of the Task Force now stands there. He took the title Lord Fieldhouse of Gosport when he was made a peer.

Councillor Peter Edgar, Chairman of the Civic Commemorative Board, said: "We were the first town to recognise the role that the troops played in the conflict. The gardens at the ferry have almost become a shrine for the veterans and their families. I think it is a tribute to Gosport Council that over the years councillors have decided that the Falklands will not be forgotten".

Gosport is also the home of the Falklands Veterans Foundation, a registered charity dedicated to assisting Falklands veterans. Led by Royal Marine veteran Derek Cole, who was on HMS Intrepid, they now have an office in Stoke Road, Gosport. They organised a fifthteenth anniversary event for veterans in Gosport in 1997. In 2002, they organised a twentieth anniversary ceremony attended by Lady Thatcher together with Sir Rex Hunt, Falklands Governor in 1982. This was a two day event ending with a march past through the town.

A major project of the Falklands Veterans Foundation is the construction of a house for returning veterans on land given by the Falkland Islands Government in Stanley. This will accommodate up to ten veterans and have caretaker. It will allow returning veterans to stay when they visit the Islands. As the 2002 veterans pilgrimage to the Falklands in 2002 demonstrated, revisiting the scene of battles can help traumatised veterans to recover.

Peter Pepper - London