being damaged and an Argentine helicopter shot down. The Argentine forces sustained three men killed and a number of wounded, with one wounded on the British side. The British commanding officer Lieutenant Keith Mills was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for the defence of South Georgia. While the British Magistrate and other civilians and military present in Grytviken were removed from South Georgia, another 15 Britons remained beyond Argentine reach. The losses suffered at Grytviken prevented Argentina from occupying the rest of the island, with Bird Island base, and field camps at Schlieper Bay, Lyell Glacier and St. Andrews Bay remaining under British control. On 25 April 1982 the Royal Navy damaged and captured the Argentine submarine Santa Fe at South Georgia. The Argentine garrison in Grytviken under Lieut.-Commander Luis Lagos surrendered without returning fire, as did the detachment in Leith Harbour commanded by Captain Alfredo Astiz on the following day. Nowadays the date of 26 April is celebrated as Liberation Day, a public holiday in SGSSI. One of the most famous and legendary signals of the entire Falklands War was made by the British forces' commander after the Argentine surrender at Grytviken: "Be pleased to inform Her Majesty that the White Ensign flies alongside the Union Jack in South Georgia. God save the Queen." Finally, the Argentine personnel were removed from the South Sandwich Islands by on 20 June 1982. The recapture of South Georgia, even more remote than the Falkland Islands, and in foul weather conditions proved a major boost to British ambitions in the Falklands War, and a blow to those of Argentina. Due to evidence of an unauthorised visit to Thule Island, the closed station Corbeta Uruguay was destroyed in January 1983. Since the Falklands War, Britain maintained a small garrison of Royal Engineers on South Georgia until March 2001, when the island reverted to civilian rule. However, Argentina continues to claim South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Recent history In 1985, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ceased to be Falkland Islands dependencies and became a separate British overseas territory. Due to its remote location and harsh climate, South Georgia had no indigenous population when first discovered. While the island has been inhabited during the last two centuries, with some settlers residing for decades there and children being born and raised, no families have become established for more than one generation so far.