This great occasion, so generously organised by the Lord Mayor and the Corporation of the City of London, gives not only the City of London but also the whole country a chance to pay tribute and show their gratitude to the members of the Task Force on the completion of a job magnificently done.
The successful liberation of the Falkland Islands involved over 28,000 people both military and civilian, and many more who supported them from the United Kingdom. The Task Force achieved its objectives quickly and with great skill often in the most testing conditions. No factor was more important in its success than the courage and dedication of individual men and women who each contributed, in their own way, to the outcome. It is that courage and dedication that we all salute today.