Barry Melbourne Hussey

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Vice Admiral Barry Melbourne Hussey was an Argentine naval officer. With English and Irish ancestry and a good mastery of the English language Hussey became known to his comrades as El Ingles ("the Englishman"). After serving as a naval pilot he was appointed to the Argentine civil administration after their 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands, with responsibility for education, public health and social services. Hussey remained in Port Stanley during the resulting Falklands War and played a key role in connecting British officers with Argentine commander Mario Benjamín Menéndez to discuss the surrender of Argentine troops on the islands. After the war he served as a naval attaché in the US and as Deputy Joint Chief of Staff. By 1989 Hussey had been called out of retirement to head the National Security Council (COSENA) established by Argentine president Raúl Alfonsín.

Early life

Hussey had English and Irish ancestry.[1] He was the brother of Joy Hussey, the mother of Romeo and Juliet actress Olivia Hussey.[2][3] When asked by historian Martin Middlebrook how much English blood he had, he replied "not a lot, about as much as Eisenhower had German blood".[4]

Hussey joined the Argentine Navy and became a pilot.[5] A fluent English speaker he became known among his comrades as "El Ingles" ("the Englishman").[2] In 1951 he played rugby for the Navy in inter-services competitions and in the 1956/57 season played for the Buenos Aires side Pingüinos ("Penguins").[6][7] In 1974 he was listed as director of a security company in Quilmes and around this time was also a manager of a LADE airline office.[8][9] On 15 September 1976 he had an accident while piloting a Lockheed P-2 Neptune aircraft and received a formal judicial sanction on 4 October.[10]

Falklands War

Argentina invaded the British dependency of the Falkland Islands on 2 April 1982. Hussey, by then holding the rank of Capitán de navío (naval captain), was appointed to the team of Carlos Bloomer-Reeve, secretary-general of the civil administration, with responsibility for education, public health and social services.[2] Hussey had no previous connection to the Falklands or expertise in civil administration but was told he had been chosen for the post because of his knowledge of the English language and customs. He arrived in the capital, Port Stanley on 4 April and set up a headquarters in the former British Secretariat Building.[4]

A British task force was sent to recapture the islands, in the Falklands War. During the war Hussey permitted schoolchildren boarding at Port Stanley to communicate with their parents across the islands by radio, in spite of security concerns.[11] British forces landed at San Carlos in late May and quickly advanced on Port Stanley. During this time Hussey recalled enduring British shelling by pinning a blanket over his window and reading by torchlight.[12]

As the British approached Port Stanley they broadcast radio appeals calling on the Argentines to surrender to avoid fighting in the town, which was still occupied by civilians. The transmissions were made on a British frequency that the Argentinians had been ordered not to listen to, but were heard by a British medical doctor Alison Bleaney at Port Stanley's hospital. She knew Hussey from his medical responsibilities and told him of the broadcasts. Hussey gave her permission to respond, but not to indicate he was listening, and she was told this was the last chance for surrender. Hussey consulted with Bloomer-Reeve and afterwards received permission from Mario Benjamín Menéndez, the Argentine commander in the islands, to arrange a meeting which led to the surrender of Argentine troops on the islands and the end of the war on 14 June.[13] Whilst a prisoner of war awaiting repatriation Hussey read books of Shakespeare plays that the British troops had brought with them,[14]

Later career and death

By 1986 Hussey was a rear admiral and serving as naval attaché to the Argentine embassy in the US. He was based at Bethesda, Maryland and accompanied by his wife, Julia S. de Hussey.[15] In 1987 he was appointed Deputy Joint Chief of Staff of the Argentine armed forces.[16] On 1 June 1988 Hussey was appointed an officer of the Argentine Order of Merit.[17] That same year he authorised the re-establishment of a rugby team at the naval academy.[18] Hussey briefly retired but returned by 1989, in the rank of vice admiral, to head the National Security Council (COSENA) established by Argentine president Raúl Alfonsín.[19][20]

Hussey was later president of the High Level S.A., until it was dissolved on 3 October 1997.[21] He died on 24 December 2004.[22]

References

  1. ^ Burns, Jimmy (26 April 2012). Land that Lost Its Heroes: How Argentina Lost the Falklands War. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 309. ISBN 978-1-4088-3440-4.
  2. ^ a b c Bound, Graham (1 January 2007). Invasion 1982: The Falkland Islanders' Story. Casemate Publishers. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-84415-518-7.
  3. ^ Hussey, Olivia (31 July 2018). The Girl on the Balcony: Olivia Hussey Finds Life after Romeo and Juliet. Kensington Books. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-4967-1721-4.
  4. ^ a b Middlebrook, Martin (19 December 2003). Argentine Fight for the Falklands. Pen and Sword. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-78303-202-0.
  5. ^ McManners, Hugh (2008). Forgotten Voices of the Falklands: The Real Story of the Falklands War. Ebury Press. p. 363. ISBN 978-0-09-190881-2.
  6. ^ "EL RUGBY EN LA ARMADA ARGENTINA Y EL CENTRO NAVAL" (PDF). Argentine Navy. p. 14. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  7. ^ "El Diablo Negro y su otra cara oculta en el deporte bahiense". La Nueva (in Spanish). 14 November 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  8. ^ Bijl, Nick van der (15 April 2022). The Unseen Falklands War. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-3981-0164-7.
  9. ^ "Algunos nombres en el negocio". LA NACION (in Spanish). 28 September 1999. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Decreto S 2971 / 1976". Argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  11. ^ Burns, Jimmy (26 April 2012). Land that Lost Its Heroes: How Argentina Lost the Falklands War. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 310. ISBN 978-1-4088-3440-4.
  12. ^ McManners, Hugh (2008). Forgotten Voices of the Falklands: The Real Story of the Falklands War. Ebury Press. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-09-190881-2.
  13. ^ Ramsey, Gordon (30 March 2009). The Falklands War: Then and Now. After the Battle. p. 540. ISBN 978-1-3990-7632-6.
  14. ^ McManners, Hugh (2008). Forgotten Voices of the Falklands: The Real Story of the Falklands War. Ebury Press. p. 449. ISBN 978-0-09-190881-2.
  15. ^ United States Department of State (1986). Diplomatic List. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 2.
  16. ^ Jane's Defence Weekly. Jane's Publishing Company. 1987. p. 570.
  17. ^ "CD-40/88". Senado de la Nación Argentina. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  18. ^ "EL RUGBY EN LA ARMADA ARGENTINA Y EL CENTRO NAVAL" (PDF). Argentine Navy. p. 17. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  19. ^ Report on the Americas. North American Congress on Latin America. 1989. p. 12.
  20. ^ Daily Report: Latin America. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. April 1989. p. 29.
  21. ^ "Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina del 03/10/1997 - Segunda Sección | Dateas.com". www.dateas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Barry M. Valm. (Re) Hussey - Obituary of 29/12/2004 in Sepelios Y Participaciones | Dateas.com". www.dateas.com. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
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