MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands Islands: 47-strong pilgrimage planned for November

After a busy week Derek 'Smokey' Cole and Malcolm Simpson will be back today to UK

PLANS for a pilgrimage of more than 40 veterans to the Falklands in November are well underway.

In the Islands this week are Derek 'Smokey' Cole of the Falklands Veterans Foundation (FVF) and Malcolm Simpson from the South Atlantic Medal Association (SAMA82) and the pair have a packed schedule. While Malcolm is the driving force behind the organisation of the November pilgrimage, Smokey has been working for years on the planning and construction of a house in Stanley for the use of veterans. The pair have this week been conducting interviews with nine local applicants for the post of caretaker/ manager for the house which is due to open in the New Year - they have two more Islanders to interview upon their return to the UK next week. Ideas for names for the new house have been submitted by children from the Infant and Junior School, along with their reasons for the suggested names and both Smokey and Malcolm were visibly moved by the children's efforts. Forty-seven people are to visit as part of the pilgrimage in November. They will be travelling to the Islands via Lan, arriving on November 8 and will take part in the Remembrance. Sunday service the following day. The party will consist of people from all areas of the services except the Merchant Navy or the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, plus five family members of men who served in the war. Malcolm commented: "We have some very good people coming down." The scheduleAt 9am on Remembrance Sun- day the pilgrims will hold a small service at the Liberation Monument to which everyone is invited and they will then join in with the other Remembrance Sunday activities. On the Monday they will have the day to do their own thing in Stanley and are invited to a reception at Government House in the evening. The following day – November 11- the group will head in convoy to San Carlos to hold a service, conducted by SAMA82 padre David Cooper. They will also complete a "round robin" trip of the main battle sites. On the Wednesday afternoon they will have a visit to Mount Pleasant and the Thursday will be free for them to visit where they like. Their final full day will hopefully feature a tour of the Falklands patrol ship, HMS Clyde, before an evening function of some sort which will be held in conjunction with the Royal British Legion (RBL). "We want these people to be able to work to a programme that is being produced in conjunction with SAMA Falklands and RBL but also the flexibility of being able to do things themselves," Malcolm said. "But we also want to have these seven days well spent and seeing as much as they possibly can. "We want to bring back their memories and get rid of some of the things they want to get rid of; we want, when we climb back on board that aircraft to go home, them to be going away as a satisfied veteran and more enlightened as to how the Islands have changed since 1982 and maybe wanting to come back to visit in future." HostingOnce again, SAMA82 is hoping that Islanders will open their homes to the veterans, preferably in pairs. Malcolm explained: "I've linked them all together in pairs so I would be looking for, if it is at all possible, people to host the pairs." The group also includes two wheelchair users and their carers and Malcolm is particularly keen to find accommodation for them in Islanders' homes: "Most people have got stairs so we are looking for someone who has a bungalow. "If we can help it, I don't want them to have to stay in a hotel or guesthouse and miss out on being in a family home. They wouldn't get the same experience as the others." FlightsThe funding for the veterans to return has been sponsored by all the service charities. Malcolm explained why SAMA82 had opted to bring the men down on Lan instead of bidding for indulgence flights on the Ministry of Defence airbridge: "With Lan there is a certainty of getting them here; I don't want to fund somebody and give them an expectation of travel only for them to find at Brize Norton that they can't get on the plane." However, this does not mean that the option of indulgence flights will never be taken up, he said: "Indulgence is available to all holders of the South Atlantic Medal, it is not specific to SAMA82 or SAMA Falklands. The sponsor, as agreed with the Undersecretary of State, is to be SAMA82. "I send people an application pack and they can then apply for an indulgence flight. They can come down for however long they want - depending on the immigration department, of course – and hopefully when the house is available they will stay there." The establishment of the veterans' house will not mean an end to the men being hosted by families in Stanley, Malcolm was quick to add: "We would still like to keep that option open. If our lodge is full and someone gets a flight, I would hope that our good hosts as normal will put their names forward with bed space." The first flight available for veterans to come down through the indulgence system arrives on September 4. Malcolm has had 67 confirmed applicants who wish to use the indulgence system in 2009 and he says there is another "wedge" of applications sitting on his desk, which could bring the number up to 100. Penguin News