"They [the Junta] could not even accept the premise that Great Britain, that for so many years had turned the other cheek on anti-colonialist movements, could be willing to risk all for a thousand shepherds on this windswept, barren pile of rocks." US Secretary of State, Gen Al Haig.

Outnumbered in the air and on the ground, the small task force of British soldiers sent to retake the Falklands were up against the odds. Theirs was the last conflict that Britain fought alone. Their victory changed the outlook of a nation and its international standing. Their victory was Mrs Thatcher's election victory, theirs the war that, for many in Britain, defined the Eighties.

The exhibition aims to tell the story of the Falklands War from the perspective of those who lived and fought through it - in pictures, memories and media. Iconic photographs of the conflict are displayed alongside previously unpublished images. Visitors can listen to the stories of the soldiers who fought the battle for the Falklands, and the stories of the Islanders who lived through it, told in their own words. Another perspective is revealed through letters sent by Argentine school children to Argentine soldiers at the front. Television news reports and newspaper coverage of the conflict aim to evoke visitors' own memories of the war, and visitors, veterans and civilians alike are encouraged to add their recollections of the Falklands to the National Army Museum's Collection through an online exhibition.

Museum representative Dr Alastair Massie believes that memories of the conflict are particularly significant because the Falklands formed a turning point in the relationship of the media with the Armed Forces during times of conflict. "For the first time in Britain, the reality of war was delivered by television to people's living rooms. Pictures of burning and broken ships had a profound effect at home. But it was the human cost that the media recorded so vividly - HMS Sheffield's wounded arriving aboard the Hermes, the burial of the dead from Goose Green and the burns casualties at Bluff Cove."

Almost a thousand people were killed during the Falklands War. Dr Massie considers that the conflict had an impact that is still felt today. "Victory in the Falklands changed Britain's view of itself and its international standing. It demonstrated to the world that the British government was prepared to counter aggression with determination, and that British Government policy would not necessarily be subject to compromise. It defined Mrs Thatcher's reputation as the Iron Lady of the political stage, bolstered national pride after the doldrums of the Seventies, and paved the way for the consumer confidence of the Eighties."

TASK FORCE FALKLANDS opens at 3pm on the 2 April at the National Army Museum. Entry is free. To mark the launch, Major General Julian Thompson speaks at the Museum at 2.30pm. Tickets £15 from the Museum Shop. Exhibition closes September 2007.-- www.national-army-museum.ac.uk