Neville Bennett, dental technician, was born in the Falkland Islands on 14 October 1937 to Stanley BENNETT(1911-1984) and Ruth Margaret Harvey (1906-1969).

Neville’s paternal grandfather was Arthur George BENNETT (1888-1954) the noted South Shetland Islands postal officer and magistrate during the 1920s and a widely respected naturalist.

Neville Bennett was baptised at Christ Church Cathedral on 14 November 1937. He married, in Stanley, Valerie Elizabeth Thorne (1936-1986) on 18 November 1967. They had two children Rachel and Isobel.

Valerie Bennett was acting Matron of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) during the Falklands Conflict of 1982 and in October 1982 she was awarded an MBE.

In1958 Neville Bennett completed a 5-year apprenticeship as a dental technician in the Falklands. With the encouragement of the colonial dentist Gerald ROBERTS, he travelled to the UK to gain more experience as a dental technician. He travelled in the RRS Shackleton – working his passage in the ship’s galley. Having completed his studies in 1963, he was awarded a City and Guilds Certificate. In 1965 he returned to the Falklands to begin work as a dental technician at the KEMH.

Valerie Bennett was born in Taunton, Somerset. She trained as a State Registered Nurse at the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital and qualified in 1957. She went on to train as a midwife, qualifying in 1959. After a few years working in the UK, she wanted a change of scenery and moved to the Falklands. She met Neville Bennett on her first day working as a nursing sister and midwife at the KEMH.

Valerie Bennett was the matron of the KEMH hospital at the time of the serious fire in April 1984 which resulted in the tragic loss of eight lives, including seven patients and one nurse. The fire gutted a significant portion of the hospital.

In addition to his responsibilities as the Falkland’s dental technician Neville Bennett was appointed to a number of government posts. In October 1973 he was appointed as radio/telephone operator for the Posts and Telecommunications Department before transferring to the Medical Department as clerk/storekeeper with effect from November 1974. He received praise from the Postmaster in July 1974 for the way he: ‘politely but firmly, runs the Stanley Control Station and his ability to use his medical knowledge to assist with medical calls between Stanley and Camp.’

Neville Bennett also served as a reserve constable and he received positive feedback for his service from his superior officer who remarked that: ‘Your valuable assistance at the time of staff shortage made a significant contribution to the maintenance of law and order, and for this please accept the Government’s sincere thanks.’

Neville Bennett resigned from the police service in August 1976 when Neville and Valerie Bennett were appointed as house parents and caretakers at Darwin Boarding School on 6th August 1976, ceasing employment in February 1978.

Neville was active for a number of years as the union representative of the Falkland Islands General Employees Union (founded in 1943 as The Falkland Islands Labour Federation).

Following the invasion of 1982 Neville Bennett became concerned about various fire hazards in Stanley. He expressed his concerns forcibly to various Argentine officers with the result he was asked to become the acting superintendent of the Stanley Fire Service. The Argentine invading forces had made no contingency provision for civilian firefighting – especially necessary for a town like Stanley built mainly of wooden houses.

Both Neville and Valerie Bennett were assiduous diarists, and an edited transcript of their two diaries was published in 2021. (A Falklands Family at War; diaries of the 1982 Conflict; edited by Rachel Simons; published by Pen & Sword; 2021).

In October 1982 many honours and awards to military and civilian personnel involved with the Falklands Conflict were announced – amongst them was the award of an MBE to Valerie Bennett. When asked whether she would be going to England to be awarded her medal ‘[it] was met with a simple heartfelt reply - No, I’ve been awarded this for my service here and I would like to have it presented here by Sir Rex HUNT’. This illustrates well her modest manner.

After the death of Neville’s father Stanley on 22 March 1984 the family decided to move to the UK. The parents felt that as the girls were growing up ‘they needed something better than they can get here at the moment for their future.’ The family sailed for the UK in the SS Uganda in August 1984.

Neville began working as a dental technician in December 1984 and Valerie soon found a nursing job. The girls went to school in Exeter – Isobel trained as a Registered Nurse and Rachel, after attending university in North Wales, became a teacher.

Sadly, Valerie died In June 1986 from cancer at the relatively young age of 50 in Exeter. Neville Bennett died, aged 83, in September 2021 in Exeter.