Falklands War: Veterans to be honoured at National Memorial Arboretum event

Falklands War veterans will be presented with the freedom of the islands at an event to mark the conflict's 40th anniversary.

The National Memorial Arboretum will join with Stanley, the South Atlantic islands' capital, by video link for the event on 14 June.

The ceremony for veterans and their families is set to be attended by up to 10,000 people in Staffordshire.

It is among events around the UK which will mark the end of the 74-day war.

In May 2012, a memorial to the 255 British servicemen killed in the war was unveiled at the arboretum in Alrewas, with 600 veterans attending the service.

Three Falkland civilians and 649 Argentine troops also died in the conflict.

Argentine forces invaded the British overseas territory on 2 April, 1982. Three days later, a task force sailed from the UK, eventually involving almost 26,000 armed forces and 3,000 civilian crew.

The Argentine force surrendered on 14 June, a date now marked by a national holiday in the Falklands.

Events over the coming months will include talks, conferences and exhibitions, including a photographic display at the National Army Museum in Chelsea.

Phyl Rendell, chair of the Falklands Islands committee, said the anniversary should "pay tribute to the courage shown and the sacrifices made back in 1982".

"As a nation, we have moved forward substantially in the past 40 years and it is right that we celebrate how, in exercising our liberty, we have built a prosperous and peaceful country - one which has not simply survived, but thrived," she said.

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