Admiral Sir John Woodward

ADMIRAL Sir John "Sandy" Woodward, who has died aged 81, was the commander of the Royal Navy carrier force which, against the odds, successfully liberated the Falkland Islands from its Argentinian occupiers in 1982.

Although the task force he led was formidable, it was significantly outgunned and outnumbered by the enemy. Despite suffering heavy losses, including the sinking of the destroyer HMS Sheffield and the landing ship RFA Sir Galahad, Admiral Woodward's expedition prevailed and, by June 14, it had re-occupied the islands after a series of bitter land and sea battles. By the time the Union flag was once again flying over Port Stanley, some 649 Argentinians and 255 British military personnel had been killed.

At the height of the conflict, it was Sir Sandy who gave the controversial order to attack the Argentinian warship General Belgrano. His argument - which was accepted by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher - was that, even though the enemy cruiser was situated beyond the exclusion zone which the British had imposed around the Falklands, it still posed a clear and present threat to his forces. The Belgrano was duly torpedoed and sunk on May 2.

Although the legitimacy of the attack was later questioned, the Admiral never doubted its necessity. His decision was vindicated when, in 2003, the Argentinian warship's captain disclosed that he had been under orders to turn round and attack the British. As a result of the Belgrano's sinking, the Argentinian navy confined its ships to port for the remainder of the war.

John Forster Woodward was born in Penzance, the son of a bank clerk. He was educated at Stubbington House School, Hampshire, before going to Dartmouth Naval College, joining the Royal Navy in 1946. As a junior officer he spent some years in the Home Fleet before deciding to train as a submariner in 1954.

He passed the Royal Navy's rigorous submarine command course (known as "The Perisher") in 1960 and took command of the T Class sub HMS Tireless. He later became second-in- command of the nuclear submarine HMS Valiant and, in 1967, promoted to Commander, returned to teach the Perisher course.

He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1972 and in 1976 he took command of HMS Sheffield, the destroyer which was destined to become a casualty of war 10 years later in what was widely regarded as a revenge attack for the sinking of the Belgrano.

In March 1982, by then a rear-admiral, he was commanding a flotilla of warships on exercise off Gibraltar. When Argentina invaded the Falklands he was abruptly ordered to place his ships on a war footing.

The force which was assembled under his command was faced with a daunting task: to sail 8000 miles to the South Atlantic and mount an amphibious assault on a well-defended territory. The Admiral sailed aboard his flagship, the aircraft carrier Hermes, leading a flotilla of 27 warships and transport craft.

His principal role was to provide the air, surface and anti-submarine support which was needed to allow 6000 British soldiers and marines to mount a counter-invasion of the Falklands.

Though some doubted the depth of his experience to lead the UK's biggest military expedition since the Korean War, he proved to be the right man for the job. Briefing his men in typical no-nonsense fashion at the outset, he declared: "People will die, ships will be lost, that's the deal, go to it."

Admiral Woodward was honoured with a knighthood after the war and became Flag Officer (Submarines) and Nato Commander of submarines in the Eastern Atlantic. At the time of his retirement at the age of 57 in 1989 he was a full admiral and Commander-in-Chief of Naval Home Command. That same year he was also appointed a GBE, effectively given a second knighthood.

Though some considered him somewhat aloof and arrogant, those who knew him well regarded him as modest and sensitive. As a military leader, he always believed it was far more important to be respected than liked.

When his naval career ended, he retired to the village of Bosham near Chichester. He did not give up the sea, however, and enjoyed sailing in small boats. His other interests included ski-ing and stamp collecting.

He became chairman of the Falkland Islands Memorial Trust which raised £2.3m to build a memorial chapel in Pangbourne, Berkshire. He also wrote his memoirs, One Hundred Days: The Memoirs of the Falklands Battle Group Commander.

He continued to champion the Royal Navy and was an outspoken critic of defence cuts which saw the scrapping of Britain's aircraft carriers and the Sea Harrier jet fighters.

Sir Sandy, who had been in ill health for some time, married Charlotte in 1960 and they had a son and a daughter. They later separated.