Falkland Islands

Blue Beach Military Cemetery

A small cemetery remembers the British troops who fell during the Falklands War.

During the Falklands War, many of the British troops who died in battle we placed in temporary graves until the war was won and a permanent cemetery could be established. At the time, the tradition was that British troops killed in action would be buried as close as possible to the location where they fell, and a memorial would be constructed to remember them as soon as it was safe.

When the Falklands War was over, many of the families of the British troops who lost their lives decided they would prefer their loved ones be transported back to the United Kingdom. The landing ship Sir Bedivere was tasked with the repatriation and returned 63 British troops and one civilian contractor back to the U.K. in November 1982.

The British government then commissioned the construction of the Blue Beach Military Cemetery on the very location that 3 Commando Brigade chose as their headquarters after the initial beach landings at San Carlos during the war. The cemetery was completed and unveiled on April 10, 1983, along with a memorial.

The site initially served as the final resting place for 13 of the British troops who fell during the conflict. Sadly, two years after the war ended, Army Air Corps Captain John Belt lost his life in an accidental helicopter crash in the Falkland Islands. His family chose to have him buried at Blue Beach Military Cemetery and it has been the final resting place of the 14 troops ever since.