HMS ENDURANCE
(The Red Plum)

HMS Endurance-Ice Patrol Ship

The ship was originally the Anita Dan, built in 1956 by Grogerwerft, Rendsburg, Germany, purchased from J. Lauritzen Lines, Copenhagen, in 1967. Converted by Harland and Wolff, Belfast, including the installation of scientific and surveying equipment, flight deck and hangar. Her annual program was to leave the UK with her new crew, and Royal Marine detachment, in the autumn returning to the UK around April. Defence estimates forecast the imminent disposal of a number of ships and rumours were rife that the Endurance was to be among those ships to go. Despite pressure from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for its retention, it was finally announced by Lord Trefgarne, (a junior minister in the Dept. of Trade) that the Endurance would indeed be paid off in 1982 on her return to the UK, sending a signal to the Argentine government that the British were no longer interested in patrolling around the Antarctic. Meanwhile, there were problems facing the Galtieri regime, which was looking for an outlet to take the Argentinean minds off their internal troubles, focusing on the Isles Malvinas.

Capt. Nick Barker, who was about to complete his second year of command of the Endurance, had reported an increasing volume of Argentine military radio traffic since Christmas 1981, to the British Government, who suggested he was being an alarmist in order to save his ship. Endurance was on one of her visits to the Argentine ports, Mar del Plata, sailing from there on the 22nd of Feb. 1982. She was calling at Port Stanley three days later, before her final task with the British Antarctic Survey Team on South Georgia 16th March and then heading for the final cruise home, via Port Stanley.

During the night of 19th March, while the ship was at Stanley, news was received from the BAS that a party of Argentineans had landed at the old whaling station at Leith in South Georgia and raised the Argentinean flag. After consultation with the Governor, Rex Hunt, who had informed London, it was decided that these Argentineans should be ordered off the Islands. Endurance re-embarked her Royal Marines detachment, who had been ashore training, along with a further nine Marines from NP9801, and sailed on the 21st of March for South Georgia.

The rest of the story went down into history as the Falklands War.