Thatcher salutes veterans

Thatcher Praises Falklands Veterans

In a message to the veterans, she praised their bravery, saying they had "achieved great things."

"You renewed the reputation for honour and courage which we associate with the name of Britain. You ensured the triumph of freedom," she said.

Her message was read out by the former Falkland Islands governor Sir Rex Hunt as veterans gathered at Gosport, Hampshire, for the reunion.

To cheers from the men who had joined the task force sent to the South Atlantic after the Argentine invasion, Lady Thatcher said nothing was more vivid in her mind than when Britain fought and won the Falklands war.

"The memories of those days are still so clear. The days of worry, days of happiness, days of sorrow, days of courage. They were the most intensely lived days I can ever remember," she continued.

She added it was not easy to take a decision to commit one's country to war, particularly a conflict 8,000 miles from home. She knew there would be casualties and feared there would be some who would never return.

"But I also knew that we could not allow the aggression to stand. If we had, then a message would have been sent to every dictator and tyrant that the free world was not prepared to defend liberty," said Lady Thatcher.

The message was read during a sombre break in the party-like atmosphere of the reunion on Saturday when a short memorial service was held and veteran Simon Weston, burned during an attack on his ship, Sir Galahad, released 2,500 red, white and blue balloons.

On Sunday, Baroness Thatcher is to unveil a plaque on the shores of The Solent in Gosport where thousands of friends and relatives stood to wave farewell to ships bound for the South Atlantic and welcome back their crews.