Falkland Islands Philatelic Bureau

90th Anniversary
of the Battle of the Falkland Islands

Issue Date: 8th December 2004

The 90'" Anniversary of the Battle of the Falkland Islands

The 8th December 1914 is a very significant date, not only in the history of the Falkland Islands but also in the conduct of the Great War 1914-1918. The German East Asiatic Squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral Graf Von Spee was based at Tsingtao at the outbreak of the war and was isolated and vulnerable in an area dominated by Allied fleets. It was decided, therefore, to sail for the West Coast of South America and en route one of the cruisers, the Emden, was detached to wage a lone battle against Allied merchant ships in the Indian Ocean. The British naval presence in the area of South America and the South Atlantic mainly comprised a few obsolete warships based at the Falkland Islands because of a policy decision to retain modem warships, particularly capital ships, in the powerful British Home Fleet. On 22 October 1914 Sir Christophcr Craddock. Commander of the South Atlantic Squadron which comprised his flagship HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth. an armed merchant cruiser and his one modem cruiser HMS Glasgow, left the Falklands for the West Coast of South America in search of the German Squadron. The old unreliable battleship HMS Canopus which had been sent as reinforcement was unable to leave Port Stanley because of mechanical problems and was instructed to follow when possible. Inevitably, Craddock. as he had anticipated, was defeated at Coronel losing his life, the Good Hope and the Monmouth. With the armed merchant cruiser withdrawing from the action only HMS Glasgow escaped to alert the Canopus. When the two surviving British Warships left the islands for Montevideo the Falklands were completely defenceless and isolated. The Governor was warned by the Admiralty to expect an attack by the German squadron and ordered to destroy any stores likely to be of help to the enemy. The Volunteers (now the Defence Force) were mobilised, women and children evacuated and many personal possessions buried for safe-keeping, an act which the Governor stated caused more damage than the German squadron could have inflicted.

It is difficult to explain Von Spee's delay in sailing for the Falk]and Islands which were at their most vulnerable. When he did so, bad weather and a diversion to intercept a coal-carrying sailing ship caused delays and resulted in him arriving at the outskirts of Port Stanley in the morning of 8th December 1914 only to confront a powerful British squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral Doveton Sturdee which had arrived the previous night and was busy coaling. Two factors had led to the arrival of the British Fleet at a crucial time. Initially Winston Churchill (First Lord of the Admiralty) over-ruled his senior officers by ordering the departure of the squadron from the UK to be the 11th November, rather than the indicated 13th November, with an instruction that the dockyard workers should sail with the warships if the work had not been completed "to return as opportunity may offer". The other factor was the advance of one day of the sailing of the squadron from the assembly point off Brazil, suggested by Captain Luce of the Glasgow who was anxious to avenge the British defeat off Coronel.

The German squadron comprised the armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the light cruisers Dresden, Leipzig and Nurnberg. The Gneisenau and the Nurnberg formed the vanguard but retreated promptly when the Canopus. alerted from Sapper Hill, fired her guns at maximum elevation from Stanley Harbour, where she had been ordered to remain. As luck would have it the after turret was loaded with a practise round in preparation for a demonstration and the crew had no time to unload this before being called into action. and so fired the practice round anyway. The explosive round from the forward turret fell short of the Gneisenau and exploded on contact with the water. The practice round however ricocheted off the water and by chance hit the Gneisenau amidships. The unexpected hit from the Canopus caused the Gneisenau to turn sharply away and report to Von Spee, who ordered her not to accept action and to rejoin her sister ship further out at sea. Canopus never fired again in this battle, but she had served her purpose.

The British ships quickly ended coaling and raised steam which took two hours for the battle cruisers who then proceeded to overhaul the German squadron whose slower speed held them back. It was evident to the German squadron that they would be overtaken and were outranged by the British battle cruisers. Therefore Von Spee decided to sacrifice his two armoured cruisers in order to give his light cruisers an opportunity to escape. On a fine, clear day, however, only one of the five German ships escaped, the Dresden which was located and sunk the following March by the Kent and Glasgow.

Admiral Sturdee's achievement in the waters of the Falklands was loudly acclaimed across the Empire and not least in Stanley where the Governor threw a party for all those involved. The toast was to "the King and the Royal Navy.' Admiral Craddock's defeat at Coronel had been well and truly avenged. Indeed. it could be argued that the Battle of the Falklands was the only truly successful naval action of the Great War.

Each of the warships involved in the main action is featured in this stamp issue which is in an unusual and very attractive style. There were two other British Warships in the British squadron. HMS Bristol and the armed merchant cruiser HMS Macedonia which were detached to sink German supply vessels whose presence offshore was reported by an Islander. They missed the main action but were successful in their mission. The British ships involved in the main action were the battle cruisers Invincible and Inflexible and the cruisers Carnarvon, Cornwall, Glasgow and Kent.

There were many acts of bravery that day but the outstanding one, for which he was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, was by Sergeant Charles Mayes whose action in picking up a burning cordite charge with his bare hands, throwing it overboard and then extinguishing the fire which was blazing close to the magazine probably saved his ship. The medal is featured in this issue together with the Distinguished Service Cross which was awarded to three junior officers. The Germans minted a number of medallions after the battle, one of which is shown here. The portrait is of Vice-Admiral Graf Von Spee which has a Lorelei on the back. In German legend a Lorelei was a fairy, similar to the Greek Sirens, that lived on a high c1iff on the Rhine, luring sailors to their death.

Technical details:

Designers	John Batchelor/Andrew Robinson
German Medallion	Courtesy of the National Maritime Museum
Printer	BDT International
Process	Lithography
Perforation	14 per 2 cms
Stamp size	28.45 x 42.58mm
Sheet Layout	30 (2x15)
Release date	8th December 2004
Production Co-ordination	Creative Direction (Worldwide) Ltd
Liner Text	Frank Mitchell