Operation Sheepskin

This article is about the military operation in Anguilla. For Greek stay-behind network, see Operation Gladio § Greece.

Operation Sheepskin
DateMarch 1969
Location
Anguilla, Caribbean
Result British rule re-established.
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  Republic of Anguilla
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom Anthony Lee (British Commissioner) Republic of Anguilla Ronald Webster
Strength
2 Royal Navy frigates, 300 troops of the Parachute Regiment and 22 police officers[1] Anguilla Police
Casualties and losses
None

Ronald Webster flees the island.

all Anguillan police units surrendered.

Operation Sheepskin was a British military operation in the Caribbean, aimed at restoring British rule to the island of Anguilla, after the island had declared itself as an independent Republic. The British government dispatched two Royal Navy ships and 300 soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment and 9 Independent Parachute Squadron RE[2] alongside 22 officers of the London Metropolitan Police to restore order to the island. The operation was a success and British troops were met with no resistance by the islanders, as they had wanted the island to remain a British territory but with direct association with Great Britain, separate from Saint Kitts and Nevis, of which they were then a part.[3]

  1. ^ "OPERATION SHEEPSKIN - THE INVASION OF ANGUILLA [Allocated Title]". Imperial War Museums.
  2. ^ Mackintosh, Col. H. W. B. (1993). History of the Corps of Royal Engineers. Vol. XI: 1960-1980: The Years of Contraction - Withdrawal, Reduction and Reorganization. Chatham, Kent: Institution of Royal Engineers. p. 109. ISBN 0-903530-22-8.
  3. ^ Kobbe, Montague (1 November 2009). "Anguilla: the Smallest Revolution".