Fox Bay is the second largest settlement on West Falkland

West Falkland

West Falkland is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by Falkland Sound. Its area is and its coastline is long. Including the adjacent small islands the land area is .-Population:The island has fewer than 200...

 in the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

. It is located on a bay of the same name, and is on the south east coast of the island. It is often divided into Fox Bay East ("FBE") and Fox Bay West ("FBW") making it two settlements, combined, these make the largest settlement on West Falkland, but when separated, Port Howard

Port Howard

Port Howard is the largest settlement on West Falkland . it is in the east of the island, on an inlet of Falkland Sound...

 is the largest. It takes its name, like the Warrah River

Warrah River

Warrah River is one of the two largest watercourses on West Falkland. It is named after the Falkland Island Fox or "Warrah". The last Warrah was shot on this island in 1876....

, from the extinct Falkland Islands Fox

Fox Bay East's houses are scattered around a common. There is a school, a shop, and a post office which was founded in the 1890s. There is also a social club, and a refuelling base for RAF helicopters.

Fox Bay has two airstrips for use by FIGAS Islander

Britten-Norman Islander

The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, regional airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...

 aircraft.

Fox Bay West was once as large as FBE, but since the farm was subdivided and sold off in 1985 the number of residents has diminished. Up until the 1990s, the track between the two settlements was "so bad that [it was] often impassable in the winter months" but an all-weather track was built in the early 1990s improving communications between the two settlements. This was one of the first roads in the now extensive West Roads scheme.

History

Louis Baillon

Louis Baillon

Louis Charles Baillon is a former field hockey player, who won a gold medal with the Great Britain team at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. He is the only Falkland Islander to become an Olympic champion....

, the Olympic field hockey player was born in Fox Bay on 5 August 1881.
George Paice

George Paice

George Paice born 1941 in Fox Bay Falkland Islands is a New Zealand based Falkland Islands Lawn Bowler who represented the Falkland Islands at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi India in the mens pairs alongside playing parner Gerald Reive the pair achieved two victories at the games with wins...

, the Commonwealth Games Lawn Bowls player was born in Fox Bay in 1941

In July 1918 James Innes Wilson (b.1882) settled on Fox Bay East Farm and became a successful and popular farmer. From 1909-1914 Wilson had been working for the British government as 'whaling inspector' (magistrate) on the Subantarctic island of South Georgia.

Fox Bay East Settlement was bought by the Falklands government from Packe Brothers in 1983, not long after the Falklands War

Falklands War

The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...

. The rest of the farm was divided into three and sold privately, with the owners buying houses in the settlement.

From the 1880s until 1972, Darwin

Darwin, Falkland Islands

Darwin is a settlement in Lafonia on East Falkland, lying on Choiseul Sound, on the east side of the island's central isthmus, north of Goose Green...

 and Fox Bay had their own separate medical officers. Nowadays, most medical care is based in Stanley.

Fox Bay West was subdivided and sold by the FIC

FIC

FIC may refer to:* A shortening of fanfiction* A shortening of fiction* Falkland Islands Company* Federation of Irish Cyclists* Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chemistry* Fellowship for Intentional Community...

 in 1985.

Businesses here have included a market garden, a fish farm (salmon) and a woollen mill, with "Warrah Knitwear".

Falklands War

During the Falklands War, Fox Bay was occupied by Argentine troops, around 900 men from 8th Motorised Infantry Regiment and elements 9th Engineer Company. Several minefields were sowed around both settlements by the troops and these still remain. It was strafed and bombed by British Harrier

Harrier Jump Jet

The Harrier, informally referred to as the Jump Jet, is a family of British-designed military jet aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations...

 aircraft and bombarded by the Royal Navy several times during the war.

Human casualties were low, but there was a major hit on the Argentine vessel ARA Bahía Buen Suceso

ARA Bahía Buen Suceso

ARA Bahía Buen Suceso was a 5,000-ton fleet transport that served in the Argentine Navy from 1950 to 1982. She took part of the Falklands War as a logistics ship tasked with resupplying the Argentine garrisons scattered around the islands...

, which happened to be moored at Fox Bay East at the time of the first British Harrier raid. Bahía Buen Suceso was a 5,000-ton fleet transport that was serving as a logistic ship, intended to resuply the scattered Argentine garrisons around the islands. The ship was attacked by two BAe Sea Harrier FRS.Mk.1s

BAE Sea Harrier

The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval VTOL/STOVL jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft, a development of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the "Shar"...

 (XZ500 and ZA191) from HMS Hermes

HMS Hermes (R12)

HMS Hermes was a Centaur-class British aircraft carrier, the last of the postwar conventional aircraft carriers commissioned into the Royal Navy.-Construction and modifications:...

. Because it was so close to houses the Harriers used their 30 mm ADEN cannons

ADEN cannon

The Royal Small Arms Factory ADEN is a 30 mm revolver cannon used on many military aircraft, particularly those of the British Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm...

 rather than General-purpose bomb

General-purpose bomb

A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect.-Characteristics:...

s. They succeeded in damaging the ship's bridge and engine room, and also setting fire to a paint store and workshop ashore. One of the Harriers was hit in the tail by a 7.62 mm calibre bullet while straffing the transport, though the aircraft was able to return to Hermes safely. In a storm during the conflict it partially tore loose from its moorings and the bow swung on to the beach. Once the war ended, she was towed away to San Carlos Water

San Carlos Water

Not to be confused with the San Carlos River.San Carlos Water is a bay/fjord on the west coast of East Falkland, facing onto the Falkland Sound.-Name:...

 by the tug Irishman.

On 27 April, 14 people from Stanley

Stanley, Falkland Islands

Stanley is the capital and only true cityin the Falkland Islands. It is located on the isle of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2006 census, the city had a population of 2,115...

 whom the Argentines considered "undesirable" were sent to Fox Bay and placed under house arrest for the duration of the Argentine occupation, some of whom were members of the Falkland Islands Defence Force

Falkland Islands Defence Force

The Falkland Islands Defence Force is the locally maintained volunteer defence unit in the Falkland Islands. The FIDF works alongside the military units supplied by the United Kingdom to ensure the security of the islands.-History:...

.

Fox Bay was liberated by HMS Avenger

HMS Avenger (F185)

HMS Avenger was a Type 21 frigate of the Royal Navy. Built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, Glasgow, Scotland, she was completed with Exocet launchers in 'B' position....

 and Royal Marines from 40 Commando

3 Commando Brigade

3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. Its personnel are predominantly Royal Marines, supported by units of Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, The Rifles, and the Fleet Air Arm, together with other Commando...

on 15 June 1982 and to this day this date is commemorated by residents as their liberation day.

In 2007, a memorial was erected to commemorate 25 years since the British victory.

A number of Argentine landmines are still around Fox Bay West, and many of the mine related accidents in the Falklands have occurred here.