Laurie Margolis (born 1950) [1] is a BBC journalist and news editor.
On 2 April 1982 Margolis obtained information about the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands using amateur radio and broke the news in the UK on BBC Radio 4 PM at 17:00 (BST).
Margolis (callsign G3UML) used a short-wave radio transceiver, connected to a large aerial on the roof of the Langham Hotel in London, to establish radio contact with Bob McLeod (callsign VP8LP) in the Falklands Islands. The transcontinental SSB radio communication was made at 16:00 (BST) on 21.205 MHz from the BBC's amateur radio club which was located in attic room 701 the hotel. Margolis recorded the conversation on an audio cassette. [2]
On 28 December 2012, following the release of government files about the Falklands War by The National Archives in London, under a 30-year rule, BBC TV broadcast this story again. [3] [4] [5]
Margolis retirement from the BBC, on 22 August 2024, was announced the day before, on the Radio 4 PM programme. [6]
The Falklands War was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial dependency, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The conflict began on 2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands, followed by the invasion of South Georgia the next day. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with an Argentine surrender on 14 June, returning the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders were killed during the hostilities.
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At 10:15 pm (BST) on the night of 14 June 1982, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher announced to the House of Commons that negotiations had begun for the surrender of the Argentine invasion force in the Falkland Islands, ending the Falklands War. Her statement noted that "they are reported to be flying white flags over Port Stanley", the capital of the Falklands. This was based on an erroneous report from a front-line unit; in fact, no white flags are known to have been flown, though Argentine resistance ended, and a ceasefire was in place. The surrender was finalised by 1:30 am BST on 15 June. Thatcher's statement was welcomed from all sides in the House, and she left to join celebrating crowds in Downing Street. She later described the statement as "perhaps the proudest moment of my life".