Blue Beach Military Cemetery at San Carlos
| Blue Beach Military Cemetery at San Carlos | |
|---|---|
The Cemetery in 2003 | |
| For British forces | |
| Unveiled | 10 April 1983 |
| Location | 51°34′25.05″S 59°02′12.12″W / 51.5736250°S 59.0367000°W |
| Designed by | Professor Sir Peter Shepheard |
Blue Beach Military Cemetery at San Carlos is a British war cemetery located in the Falkland Islands, where the remains of 14 of the 255 British servicemen who were killed during the 1982 Falklands War are buried, along with one serviceman who died in early 1984. The cemetery is situated near the site of 3 Commando Brigade's initial headquarters following their landing on 21 May 1982.
Prior to 1982, British servicemen who were killed in action were typically buried and commemorated as close as possible to the place of their death, with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission overseeing the graves.
After the Falklands War, one family requested the repatriation of their son's body, a request that led to other families seeking the same. In response, the UK government offered to repatriate the bodies of all fallen servicemen. On 16 November 1982, 64 of the deceased (52 soldiers, 11 Royal Marines, and a laundryman from Hong Kong) were returned to Britain aboard the landing ship Sir Bedivere.
The families of 16 of the fallen chose to keep with tradition, preferring their sons' remains to remain in the Falklands. Fourteen are buried at Port San Carlos, while two more are laid to rest at isolated single grave sites in Goose Green and Port Howard. The fifteenth person interred at Port San Carlos is Captain John Belt of the Army Air Corps, who died in a helicopter crash in January 1984.