Grass Island, South Georgia

Not to be confused with Grassholm, South Georgia.

Grass Island, South Georgia
Stromness Bay, loacation of the Grass Island
Map
Geography
Coordinates54°9′S 36°40′W / 54.150°S 36.667°W / -54.150; -36.667
ArchipelagoSouth Georgia
Administration
United Kingdom

Grass Island (Spanish: Isla Pasto) is a conspicuous island lying across the entrance to Stromness Harbour in Stromness Bay, South Georgia. It was known as "Mutton Island" as early as 1912, but since 1920 the name Grass Island has been consistently used.[1]

On the 22 and 23 April 1982, after a British Special Boat Service team had been driven back by snow at Cumberland East Bay, as part of Operation Paraquet a Troop of the Special Air Service was landed on Grass Island from HMS Antrim, and set up an observation post in preparations for an attack on Argentine positions.[2][3]

In 2000, the island became rat-free after a team from New Zealand helped in an extermination.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference gnis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Bicheno, Hugh (2006) Razor's Edge: The Unofficial History of the Falklands War. London. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-7538-2186-2
  3. ^ Major Tommy Turtle, SAS soldier who took part in crucial operations during the Falklands War – obituary of Tommy Turtle, The Daily Telegraph, 4 March 2021, accessed 6 March 2021 (subscription required)