evidence: Former SAS soldier Tom McClean spent 40 days on Rockall from from 26 May to 4 July 1985 in an attempt to validate it as an island and make it a British territory. Since then Greenpeace activists spent 42 days protesting against exploration. The activists landed on the island by helicopter to protest about potential oil exploration in the region.They spent 42 days on the rock, living in a solar-powered capsule. Speaking at the time, one of the activists is quoted as saying: "The seas around Rockall, potentially rich in oil, are fought over by four nations - Britain, Denmark, Iceland and Ireland."By seizing Rockall, Greenpeace claims these seas for the planet and all its peoples." They raised a new flag on the rock - the flag of the "Global State of Waveland" - establishing Rockall as the capital of an entirely new country.But they did not want to own Rockall - Greenpeace said it wanted to borrow it until it was "freed from the threat of development."It was a "virtual nation" in the early days of the internet with citizenship offered to anyone prepared to take a pledge to defend nature and act peacefully. Over the next few months, more than 15,000 applied for citizenship.