Rodney Lee, now 44, was born in the Falklands and followed a family tradition by becoming a sheep farmer on a settlement at Port Howard. Here he describes how the conflict affected islanders and how they remain fiercely patriotic.

`The governor came on the radio one evening and said he had an important announcement. He said it was inevitable that by dawn the next morning the Argentinians would be planning an invasion.

`We were just a small island and led such a sheltered life that we didn't really know what to think. We didn't have a clue what chain of events was about to be triggered off.

`We had very mixed feelings, but I didn't feel fear because I didn't know what to be afraid of.

`Living in west Falkland the start of the conflict was a bit of an anti-climax because we didn't actually see any Argentinians until April 26 (Argentinian troops had begun their invasion on April 2). We are rather remote here and cut off from the capital, Port Stanley.

`One morning we were having breakfast and helicopters started flying in. We ended up with about 1,000 Argentinians surrounding our settlement area.

`They came to our houses and told us to stay indoors. One of the most striking things was that conscripts who had come straight off a boat from Argentina were stunned that we could not speak Spanish and were not welcoming them with open arms.

`They firmly believed they had come to liberate us and couldn't understand why we were not glad to see them.

`There was a curfew so we were not allowed out after dark. Nor could we leave the settlement area without a guide, so we couldn't do much in the way of work.

`The Argentinians didn't have food so we had to kill some of our sheep. That is virtually all they ate.

`Ships used to shell this area at night and Harriers dropped cluster bombs. They hit a few of the houses and the Argentinians evacuated some of the women and children to a house about seven miles outside the settlement. It was becoming a little bit dangerous.

`A Sea Harrier was shot down over here and the pilot, Geoff Glover, ejected just before it hit the ground. He was the only prisoner of war to be taken to the Argentinian mainland. They kept him in our social club for a couple of nights.

`It was before the task force landed and was a most depressing time for us.

`Captain John Hamilton of the SAS was also killed here in Port Howard and we have a memorial service each year. It is a time to remember and we shan't forget the lives that were lost. But apart from that it all seems a very long time ago.

`We were actually liberated on June 15. It was a big relief, but the first few days of the war were far worse than any others because by the end we had learned to accept what was happening. When you are in the middle of something like that it never seems quite so serious.

`I think it must have been much harder for relatives of servicemen back in the UK. They didn't know what was going on. That must have been horrendous.

`If we had another conflict tomorrow we would be a lot more scared. It was because of our ignorance that people were in good spirits.

`Things got back to normal fairly soon. The Royal Marines and the Scots Guards were the last to leave Port Howard. They tidied up all the mess left by the Argentinians and were tremendous. Things like our air service and mail service took a long time to get back to normal, but within a year you wouldn't have known there had been a conflict.

`The British people were exceptionally good to us and sent us all sorts of things. They were showered on us almost embarrasingly, but were all gratefully received.

`Any gift, however small, seemed big to us because our population was only 2,000. In our settlement we ended up with pool tables and carpets for our social club.

`If Argentina had won the war, I wouldn't be here now. I would have left for Britain or anywhere else that would have us. I am proud to be British and I still refer to Britain as home. Even though I have never lived there, I have relatives in Britain and visit once every three years.

`But I really enjoy living in the Falklands. It is a peaceful way of life without such things as crime rates.'

Conflict over Queen's photo

Rodney's brother Robin had what he presumed was a loaded gun pointed at him during the conflict. Argentinian soldiers were commandeering empty buildings and wanted to use the social club at the family's Port Howard settlement as a makeshift hospital.

He was forced to open the front door, then refused Argentinian demands to take down a picture of the Queen. A young Argentinian officer spat on the picture and raised his pistol as if to shoot.

Just in time, another officer realised the possible political implications and intervened. The picture was ripped off the wall, but Robin Lee survived.

Robin now runs a tourist lodge converted from a former farm manager's house at the family's Port Howard sheep farm and has an interest in a fishing company based at Stanley.

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