S.V. City of Adelaide (1864)

LOCATION: Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

This Historic Ship is officially designated as part of "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET".

She is unique as the last remaining example of a composite-built passenger cargo sailing ship, the world's oldest composite ship, and Britain's oldest clipper ship. The only other Clipper Ship surviving is the Cutty Sark which is a few years younger. As a result she is of World Heritage importance. The clipper ship is presently laid up at the Scottish Maritime Museum Irvine and is at risk. The ship has survived three sinkings and three attempts to scrap her while preserved in Glasgow. Do you really want this historic ship to suffer any further indignities or be lost to Britain’s heritage? However on the 3rd February 2006 BBC Scotland reported that the plans to restore the City of Adelaide are to be abandoned and consequently the ship is likely to be dismantled and scrapped from Spring 2010. So time is running out for her.

However a severe fire on the Cutty Sark on the 21st May 2007 put into the spotlight the fate of Britain's only other remaining clipper ship. The Cutty Sark and the City of Adelaide are Britain's only two surviving clipper ships (the Adelaide being a passenger clipper, and the Cutty Sark a tea clipper) and therefore both are unique in their own way. They are therefore both of immense historical significance. The City of Adelaide is in fact older than the Cutty Sark. If Cutty Sark is important and a maritime icon then the City of Adelaide is even more important and worthy of being a maritime icon. In fact she is a forgotten icon and needs to be rediscovered.

Just as the S.S. Great Britain in Bristol epitomises the dawn of the ocean liner in the mid 19th century, the City of Adelaide epitomises passenger travel in the Age of Sail before the arrival of the ocean liners. She sailed from Britain to Australia and served the London to Adelaide passenger and wool trade route. She had 14 First Class cabins and carried 270 Second Class passengers. She is also the only surviving passenger cargo sailing ship from Australia's most crucial period of development in the 1870s and 80s. She has strong historical connections in telling the story of the emigrant trade between the UK (including Scotland) and Australia. If restored to her former glory she could be the passenger cargo sailing clipper ship version of the S.S. Great Britain. Instead of telling the story of the dawn of the ocean liners, the City of Adelaide could tell the story of passenger ocean travel in the Age of Sail and the emigrant trade between Britain and Australia. Indeed she is the only ship that can tell this epic and inspiring story of passenger travel and emigration in the 19th century in the Age of Sail. So she is of huge international historical significance and a true maritime icon worthy of preservation and restoration.

Indeed the Cutty Sark and City of Adelaide are the last two 19th century composite clipper ships that survive anywhere in the world. To lose one or both of these historic ships would be a national and international tragedy and a huge loss to Scotland, Britain and the world's cultural and maritime heritage. The City of Adelaide, like the Cutty Sark and S.S. Great Britain, is a maritime icon of international significance and can contribute a great deal to culture, tourism and the local economy.  The City of Adelaide is a forgotten icon that should be allowed to fulfil her full potential.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET" in the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of pre-eminent national or regional importance, spans the spectrum of achievement in UK maritime history and illustrates changes in construction and technology. Therefore she merits high priority for preservation in the long term and deserves significant public support.

Support Groups:

City of Adelaide 1864 Recovery Group Sunderland

http://www.cityofadelaide1864.co.uk/

Sunderland Maritime Heritage                       

www.sunderlandmaritimeheritage.org.uk

Proposal by Buro Happold and Beckett Rankine                      

http://www.cityofadelaide.co.uk/

S.V. Mary Joseph (1877)*

LOCATION: Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, Cultra, Belfast, N. Ireland

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

This Historic Ship is officially designated as part of "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET".

The MARY JOSEPH is a Co. Down fishing lugger, built by William Paynter of Kilkeel in 1877 for Patrick Collins of Kilkeel. In effect, she is a double-ended mackerel driver. In Ireland and the Isle of Man craft like these were called 'nickeys' or 'nickies'. Originally lug rigged, she was motorised in 1920. She is now owned by the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum in Belfast and is stored outside awaiting restoration. Today she is laid up, forgotten and neglected in risk of deteriorating while she awaits restoration and conservation, she deserves to be saved and restored for present and future generations.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET" in the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of pre-eminent national or regional importance, spans the spectrum of achievement in UK maritime history and illustrates changes in construction and technology. Therefore she merits high priority for preservation in the long term and deserves significant public support.

Support Groups:

Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

http://www.nmni.com/uftm

S.V. Result (1893)*

LOCATION: Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, Cultra, Belfast, N. Ireland

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

This Historic Ship is officially designated as part of "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET".

The Topsail Schooner RESULT was built by Robert Kent & Company of Carrickfergus in 1893 for Thomas Ashburner & Co of Barrow, a long established shipping company that had previously built their own vessels. Paul Rodgers owned the yard when the order was placed and construction began in 1892. Rodgers, Ashburner and RESULT's future Captain, Robert Wright, each contributed to her design before Richard Ashburner drew her plans. However, because of financial difficulties, Rodgers sold the yard to Robert Kent who completed the build, with RESULT launched and entering trade in the Irish Sea in January 1893.

Built of steel and rigged as a three-masted topsail schooner, RESULT is much admired for her fine lines. With her clipper fore end and graceful sheer, she is considered one of the finest small sailing vessels built in the UK. However, her masts were reduced in height and her topgallant yard was removed soon after entering service.

In 1909, the Ashburner family sold off their fleet of schooners and RESULT was purchased by Captain Henry Clark to join his fleet of merchant sailing vessels in Braunton, North Devon. At this time, merchant sailing vessels were increasing in competition with a growing number of steam and motor powered vessels. To counter this, in 1914, RESULT was fitted with a 45 b.h.p. single cylinder Kromhout engine and her square topsails and yards were removed.

Conversion to auxiliary status improved her viability and reliability in an increasingly competitive field. However, a new, more challenging and dangerous aspect of usage was approaching with the First World War and conversion to armed merchantman status or Q-ship. RESULT was renamed Q-23 and armed with hidden 12 pounder and 6 pounder guns, in addition to two 14” (350mm) torpedo tubes. She saw action soon enough, particularly one escapade with a U-boat in the North Sea, whereby she managed to land two shells on the submarine before it dived to safety.

In 1917, RESULT returned to trading from Braunton and, over the next half-century, her masts and rig were altered to suit the changing trade routes, from carrying slate from Portmadoc to Antwerp and other continental ports to short sea trade along the South coast. Before the outbreak of World War Two, she was purchased by Captain Welch. In 1946, she underwent a major refit, including a new 120 b.h.p. engine, while retaining her full sailing rig. She continued in trade through the 1950s but cargoes were often slack. A brief spell whilst making the film ‘Outcasts of the Islands’ saw her completely re-rigged and sailing to the Scilly Islands for filming. However, she was later reduced to ketch rig and, by 1967, cargoes had virtually disappeared. In the process of converting her to a charter vessel, Captain Welch died on board. She was then laid up in Exeter after some 70 years in trade.

In 1970, The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum purchased RESULT and that year she made her final voyage to Belfast, where Harland & Wolff undertook some restoration work. She was then transported to the Museum at Cultra, Co Down, where she now is stored outside. Recently in 2009 a high tensile cover was placed over her to protect her while she continues to remain laid up and unrestored outside the museum in deteriorating condition.

The steel schooner Result is a remarkable vessel which has survived from the Victorian age of shipping and shipbuilding.  Completed in 1893, she was the last sailing ship to be built at Carrickfergus shipyard and the final development of a significant series of schooners designed by the yard’s famous owner, Paul Rodgers. Today she is laid up, forgotten and neglected in risk of deteriorating while she awaits restoration and conservation, she deserves to be saved and restored for present and future generations.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET" in the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of pre-eminent national or regional importance, spans the spectrum of achievement in UK maritime history and illustrates changes in construction and technology. Therefore she merits high priority for preservation in the long term and deserves significant public support.

Support Groups:

Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

http://www.nmni.com/uftm

M.V. The King (1902)*

LOCATION: Borstal, River Medway, Kent

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

This Historic Ship is officially designated as part of "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET".

In 1902 Harry Tagg of East Molesey built an 81ft Hurlingham-style passenger steam-boat, not in iron and steel, but in teak. She was christened THE KING and became sister ship to THE WINDSOR, owned by Thames Launches Ltd of Eel Pie Island, Twickenham. THE KING would take up to 200 passengers at a time to and from Hampton Court, Richmond and Kew.

Powered by a single steam engine and immediately recognisable by her bowsprit, clipper stem and classic lines, she was one of the 540 privately-owned vessels commandeered for the evacuation of Dunkirk during the Second World War. Thus she became one of the famous Dunkirk Little Ships. When the war was over, she was returned to Twickenham to continue her peacetime activities. Her steam engine was replaced by a 75hp 6 cylinder Thornycroft internal combustion unit of 1947 vintage.

In 1985 Gary Beckwith, purchased her from Thames waterman C.H. Wyatt. THE KING was taken to Len Bowman's Eel Pie Island Boatyard and dry-docked and restored. At the time THE KING was thought to be the oldest timber-hulled passenger ship working the tidal Thames.

In 1989 THE KING was sold to Current Events Limited who operated her from Westminster to Hampton Court during the summer seasons and also put her out for charters and private functions. She was repainted in dark blue and red and a large 120 hp Ford engine was installed. During this time she was chartered out to another company where she worked as a river bus. She was sold to her latest owners in 1994. Sadly despite plans to restore her to her former glory, these sadly have not come to fruition and today she remains laid up and in deteriorating condition hidden away forgotten in a creek on the River Medway. This vessel represents a very important part of the commercial and maritime history of the River Thames and its passenger excursion vessels. She recalls a period in the history of River Thames when elegant excursion steamers and the leisure-tourist day-tripper industry had great importance. She deserves to be saved for present and future generations.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET" in the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of pre-eminent national or regional importance, spans the spectrum of achievement in UK maritime history and illustrates changes in construction and technology. Therefore she merits high priority for preservation in the long term and deserves significant public support.

L.V. 72 (1903) Juno Light Vessel*

LOCATION: Neath Abbey Wharf, River Neath, Swansea, Wales

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

Light Vessel No. 72 was built in Sunderland during 1903 by John Crown & Sons, with a builders' tonnage of 210 tons and an overall length of 116 feet. The vessel's hull was constructed of wrought iron, with the original lamp run on paraffin oil, but this was converted to generated electricity in 1948.

The vessel served on a variety of stations around the English coast for Trinity House up until the Second World War, when, like most other light vessels, she was withdrawn from service. In 1944 her finest hour came when she was towed across the English Channel as part of the D-Day Landings and with the name “JUNO” emblazoned across her red hull she was used to mark the ‘Juno' station and indicate the mine swept channel to the landing beaches for the Normandy Landings and the Allied invasion of Europe which was a major turning point in the Second World War. Towards the end of the war in 1945 the vessel was moved to the ‘Le Havre' station and later to the ‘Seine' station to assist the landing of the invasion armies and supply lines.

During 1953 Light Vessel No. 72 was moved to the ‘English and Welsh Grounds' station in the Bristol Channel, where she remained for the rest of her working life. During 1954 the vessel broke adrift from her moorings and tugs were required to reposition her before she ran aground.

In May 1973 she was purchased by the Steel Supply Company (Western) Ltd for scrap. At this time, when she was sold by Trinity House she was the oldest vessel in their fleet. Her new owners decided against scrapping the vessel and had her painted yellow, and for a short period she was used as the Company's office. Later there was a plan to use her as a night club, but unfortunately this was short lived all plans to restore her fell through and the vessel has been left to deteriorate.

This lightship is an especially important example of her kind, originally lit by oil and later converted to electric light. As only the light was electrified and not the rotating mechanism; she retains unique examples of equipment from both oil and electric light vessels. She is also historically important due to her role at the Normandy Landings marking the mine cleared channel to Juno beach during the Second World War. Today she lies laid up and forgotten at the Neath Abbey Wharf near Swansea on the River Neath in derelict condition.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of maritime importance and therefore worthy of preservation in the long term and so deserves public support.

L.V. 78 (1914) Calshot Spit Light Vessel *

LOCATION: Ocean Village, Eastern Docks, Southampton

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

The L.V. 78 lightship was built in 1914 by J. Thornycroft, Woolston, Southampton for Trinity House. She was built for service as the Calshot Spit lightship at the entrance to the Port of Southampton and was familiar to generations of ocean travellers as the gateway to Southampton. Stationed off Calshot Spit she served ships entering and leaving Southampton Docks from 1914 to 1988 and was the last sight Southampton sailors saw of their home, and the first sight of it when they returned. Coasters, deep-sea cargo vessels, and passenger liners were grateful for her presence at the Calshot Spit, guiding them up Southampton Water and into Southampton Docks.

Since 1988 when she was retired from service she has become a landmark in the Ocean Village regeneration scheme in Eastern Docks in Southampton. However she is now landlocked and surrounded by concrete, and she is owned by Wilson Bowden City Homes. However, work is due to start soon on the construction of the last phase of the Admiral's Quay development in and around the lightship's present site, which may result in the historic ship needing to find another home. Wilson Bowden is keen to preserve the vessel because of its important place in Southampton's maritime heritage.

However possible sites where the ship could be relocated to are hard to come by. Four suggestions have been put forward for a new home for this historic lightship including: Royal Pier, Mayflower Park, Woolston or Calshot. So discussions are continuing about the future of this historic lightship, but she is in declining condition and is landlocked.

We really hope that this important part of Southampton's maritime heritage can be saved for present and future generations and find a prominent new home on Southampton's waterfront where she can be a much loved attraction and be well maintained. She should be placed in a prominent location where she is visible to everyone to act as a beacon to our maritime heritage. She was once a beacon marking the gateway to the port of Southampton; now she can be a tourism beacon for Southampton's maritime history. Southampton has woefully neglected its maritime heritage in recent years and has lost much of it. We can't afford to lose this as well.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of maritime importance and therefore worthy of preservation in the long term and so deserves public support.

M.V. Brightlingsea (1925) *

LOCATION: Harwich, Suffolk, East Anglia

The Brightlingsea was built in 1925 for the LNER and their Harwich to Felixstowe ferry service. This ferry service linked their continental ferry terminal at Harwich to the seaside resort at Felixstowe. She was built by the Rowhedge Ironworks near Colchester. She was the first new vessel delivered to the LNER, which had been formed in 1923. During the Second World War she served in the Harwich Haven in support of the war effort.

In 1948 the ownership of the Brightlingsea passed to British Rail following the nationalisation of the railways. From 1964 the ferry service was operated by George Goodhew's Orwell & Harwich Navigation Co. In 1967 she was joined by the Torbay Prince which was used on harbour trips. In 1979 the Orwell & Harwich Navigation Co. was taken over by the Felixstowe Dock & Railway Co. which was owned by European Ferries. In 1983/84 the Brightlingsea was re-engined. She continued to operate the Harwich to Felixstowe ferry service even after the opening of the Orwell Bridge in 1984. She ceased the ferry service in 1994 when the Felixstowe Dock Basin was closed. However she continued to operate for a few more years on harbour trips, before being withdrawn.

After some years of neglect, she was acquired by her current owners in 2002 and her restoration began. In 2007 she resumed harbour trips from Harwich Halfpenny Pier. In 2009 she is currently for sale and therefore at risk.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of maritime importance and therefore worthy of preservation in the long term and so deserves public support.

North Carr Light Vessel (1932) *

LOCATION: Victoria Dock, Dundee, Scotland

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

This Historic Ship is officially designated as part of "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET".

The North Carr is the only remaining Scottish lightship. She protected shipping off Fife Ness until 1975. North Carr was built in Glasgow by AJ Inglis Ltd in 1932 at a cost of just over £15,000 for the Northern Lighthouse Board and went on station in 1933.  The purpose of the vessel was to warn mariners of the dangers of the North Carr rocks which are situated I.7 miles off Fife Ness at the turning point for vessels entering the Forth from the North and bound for the Tay. The North Carr Rock is situated at the turning point for vessels entering the Forth coming from the north and bound for the Tay or further north coming from the south. The ship was paid for by ships who used the route between Aberdeen and Dunbar.

During the Second World War (1939-45), when all lights were extinguished except when needed by the Royal Navy, the North Carr lightship was moved to a station between the Mull of Kintyre and the Mull of Galloway, helping to mark the entrance to the Clyde. As a result the North Carr Lightship has witnessed some of the most dramatic events in Scotland’s recent maritime history, not least during the Second World War when every Allied vessel bound to and from the Clyde and the Mersey had to pass through the North Channel. It was here, at this vital maritime crossroads off the Firth of Clyde that the North Carr served as a beacon for vital Atlantic convoys and helped guide home the great Cunarders Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary bringing as many as 15,000 GIs at a time for the invasion of Europe.

Here too, in 1942, she marked the outbound route for the great invasion armada of 334 ships carrying 70,000 men bound for Operation Torch, the Anglo-American landing in North Africa. Once again, in 1943, a huge outbound assault convoy for Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, passed by the Lightship. And she saw her share of enemy action while in the North Channel, notably in January 1945 when Oberleutnant Jürgen Kühlmann hid U-1172 right underneath the Lightship while he torpedoed a tanker and an aircraft carrier.

Post-war, the Lightship returned to her proper station off Fife Ness and a more peaceful existence. In 1952, a major refit was undertaken, installing new diesels and generators. A radio beacon was installed in 1954 and two years later the Watch House was built. Her existence was peaceful until December 1958 when the east coast of Scotland was lashed by violent gales and blizzards for a whole week. The North Carr had stood up to countless storms, but this was something altogether different and finally, in the pitch-black early hours of 8 December, the Lightship’s massive anchor cable snapped and she began drifting towards the rock-bound Fife shore. The Broughty Ferry Lifeboat Mona responded to the Lightship’s call for help and was seen fighting her way through enormous seas into St Andrews Bay. But the Mona never reached the Lightship and, at daybreak, the wreck of the Lifeboat was found on the beach at Carnoustie. In and around her were the bodies of seven of her eight gallant volunteer crewmen; one man was never found. Meanwhile, Skipper Rosie and the crew of the North Carr managed to get a spare anchor to hold before being winched off by helicopter.

The present North Carr was taken off station in 1975 and replaced by the present North Carr Buoy, which is now powered by solar panels. In 1976 she was sold and preserved and for a time was a maritime museum at Anstruther. But in the 1990s she passed to her current owners and today she is berthed in Victoria Docks, Dundee as the Headquarters Ship of the Maritme Volunteer Service (MVS) Tay Unit and used as their offices and training centre.

Sadly in 2009 she became due for further refit work but unfortunately, the MVS do not have adequate resources to maintain her or to preserve this fine ship in the way that is needed. As a result in August 2009 she was put up for sale for £1 as the MVS could not afford the refit work due on her. As a result her future is now uncertain, but it is hoped that the light vessel can be saved to become a symbol of the dedication of the men who served in her and a memorial to the eight souls who lost their lives trying to save her in 1958. There is still a deep affection in the North Carr lightship in Dundee and the vessel’s foghorn is used every Hogmanay to welcome in the New Year.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET" in the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of pre-eminent national or regional importance, spans the spectrum of achievement in UK maritime history and illustrates changes in construction and technology. Therefore she merits high priority for preservation in the long term and deserves significant public support.

Support Group:

http://www.northcarr.org.uk/

http://www.mvstay.org/

P.S. Ryde (1937)

LOCATION: Island Marina, River Medina, Isle of Wight

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

This Historic Ship is officially designated as part of "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET".

The Ryde is the last Southern Railway paddle steamer built and today is also the last surviving Southern Railway ship. She is a veteran of the Second World War seeing action as a minesweeper and then as an anti-aircraft vessel supporting the D-Day Normandy Invasion.

The Ryde was ordered by the Southern Railway in 1936 to replace the elderly PS Duchess of Norfolk on their Portsmouth to Ryde passenger ferry service. She was built by the renowned William Denny & Bros shipyard in Dumbarton on the River Clyde. She is powered by triple expansion steam engines and her design presented a modern yet graceful appearance and she was the culmination of years of experience with Solent paddle steamers. She was launched on St George's Day 1937 and then underwent her sea trials in the Firth of Clyde achieving a speed of 14.5 knots over the Skelmorlie measured mile. She then made the long delivery voyage from her birthplace on the Clyde via the Irish Sea and around Land's End to her new home territory on the Solent where she entered service with the Southern Railway.

However in 1939 the Second World War broke out and she was requisitioned by the Admiralty for service in the Royal Navy as a minesweeper. As HMS Ryde she served on war duties in the Dover Straits and the North Sea. After two years as a minesweeper she was refitted as an anti-aircraft ship. She joined the Thames Local Defence Flotilla in 1942 and her first duty saw her anchored out in the Thames Estuary as a guard ship. Soon she was transferred to Harwich which remained her base until May 1944 when she was transferred to Portsmouth to join the D-Day invasion fleet for the Normandy Landings which would lead to the liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny. After arriving at Normandy she took up position on the western side of the Mulberry harbour at Omaha beach. Having weathered a severe storm that damaged the temporary harbour, the Ryde received the signal that stated that "if you have enough coal, return to Portsmouth, if you do not have enough coal, then run the ship on to the beach." Fortunately such extreme measures were not required and she just made it back to Portsmouth. Then she spent a short spell anchored off Bembridge. Finally with the end of the Second World War, she was returned to her owners (the Southern Railway) in August 1945.

In 1948 Britain's railways were nationalised to become British Rail. The Ryde continued on her usual duties on the Portsmouth to Ryde run. In 1951 the three motor vessels, Southsea, Brading and Shanklin, that were ordered after the WW2 losses, entered service. As a result these more modern ships replaced the Ryde and her paddle steamer sisters. So the Ryde and the remaining paddle steamers were relegated to relief and summer only vessels.

However with her size and quality accommodation, the Ryde was a favourite choice for cruises, excursions and charters around the Solent. She saw the homecoming of Sir Alec Rose to Portsmouth after his epic round the world voyage single handed on the 4th July 1968. Finally on the 14th August 1969 the Ryde made her final sailing to the Isle of Wight and was retired from service by British Rail.

Thankfully that was not the end for this fine ship as she was bought and moved in September 1970 to Island Harbour on the River Medina, Isle of Wight to become a floating nightclub. In 1977 she survived a serious fire but was soon repaired. But eventually she fell out of use and by the 1990s she was semi-derelict and remained laid up at Island Harbour.

Today she is laid up on the River Medina on the Isle of Wight in deteriorating condition after years of neglect and really is in urgent need of rescuing and safeguarding before her condition gets any worse so that there is some chance that she can be fully restored and protected for future generations to enjoy. Sadly in August 2006 her funnel collapsed and this means that any chance of saving her is reducing fast. In 2006 the marina at Island Harbour passed to new owners and so did the ship. Sadly in April 2008 it was announced that the ship was to be broken up on site by her owners Island Harbour to make way for new development and she was seen as an eyesore by the owners. However in March 2009 the owners of Island Harbour went into administration and things were put on hold. Thus an opportunity arose to finally save the ship and preserve her for future generations.

As a result the Paddle Steamer Ryde Trust has been formed and has stepped in to negotiate with the Island Harbour's administrators in order to purchase the ship. Marine experts have been consulted and believe that the ship is in sound enough condition (despite her appearance) to be restored eventually to full working order and to meet the latest maritime safety standards. A business plan has been drawn up that is felt to show that she can be cost effectively restored to her former glory and once again be the Solent's paddle steamer and have a viable and sustainable future. So there is hope yet for her, but she urgently needs your support, funds and assistance.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET" in the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of pre-eminent national or regional importance, spans the spectrum of achievement in UK maritime history and illustrates changes in construction and technology. Therefore she merits high priority for preservation in the long term and deserves significant public support.

Support Group:

The Paddle Steamer Ryde Trust

www.psryde.co.uk

P.S. Lincoln Castle (1940) *

LOCATION: Alexandra Dock, Grimsby

The Lincoln Castle was built in 1940 by A. & J. Inglis Co. Ltd. in Glasgow for the LNER for service on the River Humber. She arrived on the Humber in 1941 to complement her quasi-sister ships Wingfield Castle and Tattershall Castle and operated on the Hull to New Holland ferry service. In 1948 the LNER was nationalised to become British Rail. She continued in service until 1978 when due to boiler problems she was retired from service. Since then she has survived as a restaurant ship, most recently at Alexandra Dock in Grimsby. At the time of her withdrawal she was the last coal fired paddle steamer in regular service in the UK. This vessel represents a very important part of the commercial and maritime history of the River Humber. She recalls a period in the history of Humber before the construction of the Humber Bridge when paddle steamers were the only way to cross the river. The paddle steamers not only gave employment in construction, maintenance, repair, operation and servicing but also brought prestige to their operating areas. The paddle steamers were well known and people were proud of them.

Sadly in 2006 she closed to the public for repairs and while these have been completed she has not yet reopened. She remains berthed in Alexandra Dock in Grimsby close to the National Fishing Heritage Centre. In 2009 she was put up for sale at £20,000 so unfortunately now her future is at risk.  I have done some research into her potential future and feel she can be saved and would make an excellent restaurant, museum, café and art gallery in her current location. To move out of her current location for refits she will have to go under a low bridge and therefore on such occasions will need to have the top of her bridge and funnel removed but this is not difficult. Preservation at her current location in a static role is certainly possible with the right vision.

In April 2010 her owners announced that no interest was forthcoming to buy her and as a result they are now offering her free to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS) to take over custody and reactivate her in a static role in her current berth in Grimsby. Otherwise the only remaining solution would be to scrap her. The PSPS are now putting the idea to their membership to gauge their views and if there is sufficient support they will go ahead with this. However if the members do not support the idea then they and the PSPS itself will basically be approving the scrapping of the PS Lincoln Castle. Of course the PSPS will need additional external support as well and if anyone thinks they can help the ship then we suggest that they contact the PSPS. We strongly urge all the PSPS membership to consider the issue fully and do everything possible to give their support to the PSPS saving the PS Lincoln Castle as it is her last chance.

STOP PRESS 29th June 2010:

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of maritime importance and therefore worthy of preservation in the long term and so deserves public support.

Support Group:

http://www.paddlesteamers.org.uk/index.htm

http://www.heritagesteamers.co.uk/

HMS Whimbrel (U29) (1942) *

LOCATION: Alexandria, Egypt

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

She is a veteran of WW2 and one of the few remaining Royal Navy vessels from that time and she played an important role in the Battle of the Atlantic as part of the famous Captain Walker’s hunter killer group. She is now the sole survivor of Britain’s contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic and so is very important historically for that reason. Additionally she was involved in other notable campaigns such as the Russian Convoys, Sicily Landings, Normandy Landings and finally was present at the Surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay on VJ Day that marked the final end of the Second World War. She is an exceptionally historic ship with a remarkable service record.

The HMS Whimbrel is a Royal Navy modified “Black Swan” class sloop built 1942 at Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, Scotstoun, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. She was ordered on the 13th April 1940, had her keel laid on the 31st October 1941, was launched on the 25th August 1942 and finally was commissioned on the 13th January 1943 as one of the famous Black Swan class sloops. Like corvettes, sloops were specialized convoy-defence vessels, with anti-aircraft and anti-submarine capability. They were designed to have a longer range than a destroyer at the expense of a lower top speed, while remaining capable of outrunning surfaced Type VII and Type IX U-Boats. She served in the Second World War during the Battle of the Atlantic as part of the famous Captain Walker’s hunter killer group. She is typical of the convoy escorts that bore the brunt of the Battle of the Atlantic and is a sister ship of Johnnie Walker’s own command, HMS Starling, which was credited with sinking a record 16 enemy submarines. The HMS Whimbrel is also a sister ship of the HMS Amethyst, which in 1949 in the postwar years while on the way from Shanghai to Nanjing during the Korean War, was involved in the infamous "Yangtze Incident" on the River Yangtze. This was later re-enacted in the famous 1957 film "Yangtze Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst", in which the actual HMS Amethyst ship once again was featured as herself.

HMS Whimbrel’s service was typical of the class; initially she was used on the Atlantic & Russian convoy routes, then at the Sicily and Normandy landings prior to being transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1945.  She was sold by the Royal Navy to the Egyptian Navy in 1949, subsequently giving her new owners some 50 years further service as ENS El Malek Farouq and then from 1954 she was renamed ENS Tariq. In 1997 she was retired from service and became an accommodation ship in Alexandria. Finally in 2002, the Egyptian Navy put her up for disposal and preservation remains a possibility.

Today she is laid up in Alexandria as an accommodation ship following conclusion of her service as the Egyptian navy’s ENS Tariq. HMS Whimbrel is one of only a handful of Royal Navy warships that remain from the Second World War and the only one to survive in largely original condition. She therefore represents a virtual treasure trove of life at sea during the wartime years. Quite simply, there is nothing like her anywhere else in the World.

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous campaign of the Second World War, lasting from the declaration of war in 1939 to the unconditional surrender of Germany in 1945. In spite of this, it is the only British campaign of the War not commemorated by a major national memorial. 

Apart from the Battle of the Atlantic, there was nowhere else in the theatre of war, where British seamen were exposed for so long to such great danger during the Second World War, from the declaration of war in 1939 until Germany’s surrender in 1945. Some 100,000 merchant ships crossed the Atlantic to arrive safely at their destinations with food, clothing, weapons, raw materials & fuel.  The cost was high: over 2,000 ships were sunk & 22,000 merchant sailors & some 10,000 naval personnel died. Even those who survived were left carrying the life long effects of their memories. For these reasons, the Battle of the Atlantic has left a powerful emotional legacy. 

Every year until 2003, the battle has been remembered by commemorative events in the City of Liverpool, the Royal Navy’s wartime campaign headquarters. With the surviving participants now of advancing years, there will be no more annual commemorations. Now is therefore the time for a more permanent memorial and the HMS Whimbrel is the ideal candidate.

In spite of the Battle of the Atlantic’s importance to British history, we are the only major country involved not to have created a memorial to the campaign. Canada (in Halifax), the United States (in Chicago) and even Germany (in Kiel) all have campaign memorials that have been built around preserved warships. The project aims to repatriate and preserve the ship as a memorial and museum for the Battle of the Atlantic in Liverpool. Thus the aim to recognise the importance of the Battle of the Atlantic in Britain’s history and commemorate the sacrifices of all those involved in the battle by the creation of a permanent educational memorial to the Atlantic Campaign focussed on the former Second World War, Black Swan class sloop, HMS Whimbrel.

Discussions with the Egyptian Government are well advanced and work is ongoing on refining the business plan. However your assistance is still needed to raise the remaining £3 million funding that is needed before she can return to the UK. A berth has been granted by British Waterways in Canning Dock for the HMS Whimbrel alongside the Strand in front of the Mersey Bar lightship "Planet". Subject to issues with the Egyptian Government being overcome it is hoped that the ship will be saved and can return home to Liverpool soon.

This is truly a most worthy project to create a permanent memorial in the form of the HMS Whimbrel to honour the Battle of the Atlantic and all those who lost their lives during this epic struggle. She deserves to be repatriated to the UK to serve as a monument to the Battle of the Atlantic and represent the warships of that time for future generations. In addition she was also involved in the Russian Convoys, Sicily Landings, Normandy Landings and the VJ Day surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay. So she is an exceptionally remarkable war record and is a very unique and historic warship. As a result everything possible must be done to save and preserve her. 

Support Group:

www.hmswhimbrel.org

HMS Zenith (R95) (1944)

LOCATION: Alexandria, Egypt

Landing Ship, Tank LST 3515 (aka HMS Stalker) (1944) *

LOCATION: Harry Pounds Shipyard, Tipner, Portsmouth Harbour

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

The most spectacular naval innovation of World War II was the shallow-draft landing craft used to bring large forces quickly to enemy beaches during amphibious assaults. The most famous example of these was the LST (landing ship, tank), a large beaching craft that could embark and disembark troops and vehicles directly from shore to shore. Without the LSTs like the HMS Stalker and her type the D-Day Landings could not have been contemplated let alone have succeeded.

HMS Stalker is a Canadian built vessel and is the sole surviving Landing Ship Tank from a vast fleet conceived, designed, built and used to such good effect during WW2. Although ‘Stalker’ was a ‘New Build’ design she was given ‘Steam Reciprocating Engines’. These steam engines where readily available at the time and as there was a shortage of ‘American Diesel Engines’ these where used as the alternative.

The design also called for a speed of 13kts in a deep condition and 13.5kts in a beaching condition using the frigate-type machinery. This machinery was chosen because the locomotive type diesels used in the American LST Mk2’s could not be obtained. The frigate-type machinery was steam powered and at the time was more or less readily available, it was ‘old technology’ but it worked. So here we have a ‘new design’ vessel but with old type engines!

These engines are known as ‘Four Cylinder Triple Expansion Steam Reciprocating’ and although at the time they where readily available now they have become very rare and are themselves ‘Historic Maritime Artefacts’ as is all the other machinery that survives with in this vessel. This then from a Marine Technology standpoint makes this vessel and all its machinery a valuable and irreplaceable maritime artefact truly a vessel of ‘Extraordinary Maritime Importance’.

These type of vessels as it turns out where built too late for WW2 and as with ‘Stalker’ they had no ‘War Record’, but it wasn’t until after WW2 that this type of vessel really showed just how ‘flexible and adaptable’ the design really was.

In 1946 a brand new concept of transport was developed in the UK. The idea was like many others born during W/W2. It was during W/W2 that a few experienced men who were taking part in seaborne operations against hostile forces in North Africa, Italy and culminating in the Normandy Landings recognised the great potential of landing craft. The idea was simple; if you could drive tanks, guns and lorries directly onto a ship and then drive them off at the other end directly onto a beach, then theoretically you could use the same landing craft to carry out the same operation in the civilian commercial market, providing there were reasonable port facilities. From this one idea grew the world wide Roll on/Roll off ferry industry that we know to-day.

The Atlantic Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. (ASN) successfully negotiated with the Ministry of War Transport, the Admiralty and the War Office the charter for a period of three years of the British Landing Ship Tanks (LST’s) 3519, 3534 and 3512. These vessels where named; Empire Baltic, Empire Cedric and Empire Celtic respectfully. It was at 11am, on Wednesday 11th September 1946 when Empire Baltic sailed fully loaded from 26 berth at Tilbury Docks, under command of Captain J.W. Rennie that the first voyage of the Atlantic Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. took place. The voyage from Tilbury to Rotterdam took a good 24 hours.

After the maiden voyage the ASN then used their new vessels to carry backwards and forwards thousands of vehicles for the Army between Tilbury and Hamburg. This service being eventually moved to Antwerp in 1955. In 1954, the ASN was taken over under the Labour Governments nationalisation policy by the British Transport Commission (BTC).

The last LST Mk3 left in the world to-day is LST 3515 HMS Stalker, which is similar to those LSTs used by the Atlantic Steam Navigation Co. Thus HMS Stalker is the sole example of the British designed LST that helped the Atlantic Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. become the pioneers of the Roll on/ Roll off ferry routes many of which still survive to-day.

The HMS Stalker is 80% original as built in 1945. She still has both her main engines, both boilers and all the equipment to operate the bow doors and ramps, she also has the original hull and fire pumps, ballast pumps, all her steering gear equipment even the original ships gyro on the starboard side of the ship. She does have upper deck equipment missing but this is nothing that cannot be replaced or re- manufactured.

She is also a time capsule the last remaining Steam Powered Landing Ship Tank left in the world today! Stalker belongs to an era when the world was at war, where technology was pushed to its limits through necessity!

HMS Stalker was built by Canadian Yarrow at Esquimalt, Canada in 1944 and was not completed until 1945. Stalker herself it seems did not arrive in the UK until sometime in 1946. Therefore she and her Canadian built sisters, along with their British counterparts, were all built too late for W/W2. Landing Ship Tanks were never assigned individual crests, or even type badges, such as those assigned to other naval vessels. However, after 1947 LST 3515 was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Stalker, and was employed as a submarine support vessel and sent to Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

It would be at this point that this vessel would have inherited the ships crest of the previous Stalker, an Escort Carrier, along with her Battle Honours. She was in 1972 transferred to the then Royal Naval Base at Rosyth, Scotland where she carried on her role as a submarine support ship even after being transferred to Babcock Marine when the dockyard changed hands. According to official sources Stalker was placed on the Royal Navy’s scrap list in May 1970. Stalker became redundant from her position as a submarine support ship in 2002, when the repair of Nuclear Submarines stopped, and once again she was up for sale as scrap! Stalker finished up being transferred to Pounds Marine Shipping, Tipner, Portsmouth where she is still berthed today awaiting either scrapping or buying being restored. Sadly the former shipyard is now owned by developers and the HMS Stalker is in the way of the regeneration plans and needs to be moved. She is currently subject to the Portsmouth Today newspaper's "SAVE OUR SHIPS" campaign in partnership with the National Historic Ships Unit.

She is currently laid up in Portsmouth Harbour awaiting her fate. Technically HMS Stalker is already worthy of listing as a Historic Ship of the utmost international importance. She is believed to be the last survivor of her type and class in the world; she is certainly the last in UK waters. Therefore it would be a national tragedy if this historic ship was allowed to go to scrap and everything possible must be done to ensure that she is saved for future generations to represent the type of vessel that made the D-Day Landings possible.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of maritime importance and therefore worthy of preservation in the long term and so deserves public support.

Support Group:

www.maritimesteamrestorationtrust.co.uk

Landing Craft, Tank LCT 7074 (aka HMS Landfall) (1944) *

LOCATION: Birkenhead Docks, Wirral, Merseyside

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

This Historic Ship is officially designated as part of "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET".

It was in 1937 that consideration was first given to the provision of shore-to-shore tank carriers and landing craft by British shipyards and the Government. It was a supreme measure of collaboration and effort when another of the principal shipbuilders, Hawthorn Leslie, delivered the very first Tank Landing Craft in history in November 1940. This was only made possible due to the enthusiasm and co-operation of all concerned at their Hebburn yard on Tyneside enabling the delivery of an entirely new type of craft. This was designated as an L.C.T. MK I. The craft encompassed some novel features - some of which we now take for granted such as a ramp which was hinged just above the waterline (the forerunner of the Roll-On Roll-Off ferries) and a double floating dock type of hull. Furthermore, the vehicles were protected from the weather and concealed from view by the side tanks from which a canvas cover was suspended over the hold.

A total of 235 LCT Mk 3s were completed. This total includes 71 to slightly modified plans, which were built by the main shipbuilders during the winter of 1943 – 44. In the modified vessels an American Sterling Admiral petrol engine was fitted in lieu of the Paxman Diesel. The LCT 7074 was one of these 71 modified craft and was built by Hawthorne Leslie and Co. Ltd at their Hebburn Yard on the River Tyne. She was launched without ceremony on the 4^th April 1944 and was completed on the 6th April 1944.

After commissioning she sailed down the East Coast from the River Tyne and joined the 17^th LCT Flotilla in Great Yarmouth. Then the flotilla sailed to Harwich and later to Felixstowe to join the build up for D-Day.

LCT 7074 is the last surviving LCT that took part in the D-Day landings. More than 700 landing craft tank provided the backbone of the invasion of Normandy. LCT's could carry eleven Sherman tanks and LCT 7074 carried ten to Normandy; nine got on the beach without being hit or breaking down. The 800 LCT's, which were mainly manned by British crews, were the backbone of the largest amphibious force ever launched from this country. LCT's carried almost all the tanks, heavy artillery and armoured vehicles landed in Normandy. For months after the invasion LCT 7074 ferried supplies for the Allied Armies to ports across the Channel. The former Chief of the Defence Staff Field Marshal Lord Bramall has described the LCT 7074 as "An irreplaceable part of Britain's military and wartime history".

LCT 7074 then returned to Southampton to load American reinforcements to take back to Normandy for the assault on Cherbourg. Then in April 1945 she was taken to Liverpool for conversion into an emergency repair ship with plans for her to join operations in the Far East. They never materialised however due to the Japanese surrender and the conversion was not completed. On the 19^th April 1945 LCT 7074 ended her life as an active landing craft having given sterling service in the D-Day Landings.

At the cessation of hostilities at the end of the Second World War LCT 7074 was presented as a gift by a grateful Admiralty, to the Master Mariners of Liverpool who had performed such heroic deeds in the Battles of the Atlantic. The Mersey Docks and Harbour Board willingly provided a berth. On the 20^th September 1948, Admiral Sir Max K. Horton, in the company of Admiral Sir Percy Noble, The Lord Mayor of Liverpool, The Earl of Derby and Viscount Leverhulme, re-launched her as the most exclusive club in Liverpool.

After her extensive remodelling, the rather plain warship had lost her unromantic number and was renamed "The Clubship Landfall". The Merseyside Master Mariners Club had a membership of some 100 active or retired ship's masters at the time. The venture had the full support of the Merseyside Ship Owners Association and the Landfall was installed as a landmark in Liverpool's maritime history.

Eventually she became part of the Historic Warships Birkenhead collection and became laid up in East Float awaiting restoration. Sadly in January 2006 it was announced that the Historic Warships Birkenhead had gone into liquidation and the visitor attraction would close. The collection has been requested to vacate their berths as soon as possible as the site is required for redevelopment. As a result the future of the collection and this historic Landing Craft is now at risk, with scrapping a distinct possibility and it would be a national tragedy if this historic ship and last surviving active participant of the D-Day Landings of this type was allowed to go to scrap. The Historic Warships Birkenhead visitor attraction sadly closed on the 5th February 2006 and she is now owned by Peel Ports and remains stored in Birkenhead Docks facing an uncertain future. Peel Ports wish to have the ship sold and removed if at all possible. In 2010 the landing craft's condition became even more precarious after years of neglect and she is now in great danger of sinking. So time is running out for this historic landing craft. She is small enough to be plinthed out of the water on display for the short term with a longer term option to restore her to operational condition for use as a historic ship and living history experiences. But time is running out for her and she must be saved.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET" in the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of pre-eminent national or regional importance, spans the spectrum of achievement in UK maritime history and illustrates changes in construction and technology. Therefore she merits high priority for preservation in the long term and deserves significant public support.

S.S. Brent (T.I.D. 159) (1945) *

LOCATION: Maldon, Essex

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

The steam tug Brent was built in 1945 by William Pickersgill, Sunderland for the Ministry of War Transport and designated TID 159, meaning Tug Inshore Defence, these steam tugs were one of the first UK ventures into all welded prefabricated steel shipbuilding. Most were used by the Admiralty and TID 159 was the last to be built. She was sold to the Port of London Authority at a subsidised price to replace wartime losses and renamed BRENT.

Working in the Dredging Department and Dock System of the PLA she was eventually laid up in 1969 and sold to a shipbreaker in 1970. BRENT was saved by a private buyer in 1971. She is the only steam powered vessel to have attended on the Thames at the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 and the Silver Jubilee in 1977. Today she is laid up for sale in Maldon in Essex and facing an uncertain future.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of maritime importance and therefore worthy of preservation in the long term and so deserves public support.

Support Group:

Medway Maritime Trust

http://www.medwaymaritimetrust.org.uk/

M.V. James Jackson Grundy (1948) *

LOCATION: Liverpool Docks, Liverpool, Merseyside

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

The James Jackson Grundy was the first of eight motor packets built for ICI and was named after the distribution manager of the Alkali Division in 1947. One of the famous "Weaver Packets", she was an adaptation from the last three steam lighters which ICI had commissioned between 1944 and 1946. She was built by W.J. Yarwood & Sons Ltd shipyard in Northwich, Cheshire. From 1948-1980, she transported soda between Winnington and Wallercote works on the River Weaver at Northwich and Liverpool and Birkenhead docks. In 1980, she was bought as a training vessel for the Northwich Sea Cadets and continued in this role until she was sold to her current owner in 2001. James Jackson Grundy is now in good working order. All her upper works have been repaired and high pressure water blasted, and her main and auxiliary machinery has been thoroughly overhauled. She is usually based in Liverpool's North Docks and sadly is out of reach for public access. However she is currently for sale at £35,000 and her future is uncertain.

She is important as she represents the history of the "Weaver Packets", Yarwood shipbuilding, ICI and the Weaver Navigation. So she is an important part of local Cheshire and Merseyside maritime history and a fine example of the area's shipbuilding heritage.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of maritime importance and therefore worthy of preservation in the long term and so deserves public support.

HMS Decoy (D156 later D106) (1949)

LOCATION: Callao, Peru

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

HMS Decoy is a "Daring" class destroyer and was built for the Royal Navy in 1953 by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd at Scotstoun in Glasgow. She was laid down on the 22nd September 1946, launched on the 29th March 1949 and commissioned on the 28th April 1953. Unusually she was built with a composite of welding and riveting in her hull. She was originally intended to be named HMS Dragon but was renamed HMS Decoy while being built.

The HMS Decoy's notable moment was during the Suez Crisis when she took part in the Suez landings in 1956. She was under the command of Captain P. J. Hill-Norton (later Admiral of the Fleet Lord Hill-Norton). The main bombardment was carried out by the three Daring class ships of the Mediterranean fleet, HMS Duchess, HMS Diamond and HMS Decoy.

After service in the Royal Navy she was decommissioned in 1969 and sold to the Peruvian Navy in 1970. She was renamed Ferre after Diego Ferre, a war hero who died in the Battle of Angamos during the War of the Pacific. Prior to entering service in the Peruvian Navy she underwent a major refit at Cammell Laird in Birkenhead between 1970 and 1973. She was then commissioned into the Peruvian Navy in April 1973. After many years service she was decommissioned on the 13th July 2007 and today remains laid up in Peru awaiting her fate. So repatriation and preservation is a possibility to consider.

The "Daring" class destroyers were constructed after the Second World War and entered service in the 1950s. They were ordered under the Second World War construction plan but actually were laid down between 1945 and 1947, eventually being commissioned between 1952 and 1954. The Daring class were an expansion and merging of the "Weapon" and "Battle" class designs with increased armament. They were the largest and most heavily armed ships in the Commonwealth Navies to be classified as destroyers. They were also the last destroyers of the Royal Navy to possess guns as their main armament, The Daring class were the then largest destroyers built at that time for the Royal Navy. They were the last conventional gun destroyers of the Royal Navy. The Decoy was built with a composite of welding and riveting construction. So the HMS Decoy deserves preservation as a lasting reminder of the Royal Navy's last all gun destroyers that served in the modern postwar period.

Indeed today there is a new Daring class in the Type 45 currently being built and entering service with the Royal Navy. These modern successors to the old Daring class are today's largest destroyers in the Royal Navy and the most sophisticated warships in the world. So the two Daring classes in the modern RN period would make an interesting comparison.

M.V. Royal Iris (1950) *

LOCATION: River Thames, Woolwich, London

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

 In 1950 the famous William Denny Bros, Dumbarton shipbuilders on the Clyde excelled themselves by producing the twin screw, diesel electric ship Royal Iris for Wallasey Corporation in December 1950. Yard No. 1448, the Royal Iris ran her trials on the famous Skelmorlie mile on the Clyde on the 24th April 1951, and was delivered to the Mersey on the 28th April 1951. She was by far the largest and most commodious vessel ever built for the all year round service from Liverpool to Seacombe and the summer service to New Brighton. Her gross tonnage was 1,234 tons and she was 160 ft overall in length and 48 ft in breadth. The Royal Iris was also to have the dual role of being principal summer cruise boat and for this, she was designed with a Class III passenger certificate to enable her to sail on short excursions to sea. Originally the Royal Iris could carry 2,296 passengers on her Class V (smooth water) certificate and 1000 when running on her seasonal Class III certificate.

Outwardly she differed from any other ship and was very sleek above the waterline, resembling a large waterbus. She carried the Borough coat of arms proudly on the front of her streamlined, unusual and futuristic looking superstructure, until the ultimate merging of the Wallasey and Birkenhead ferry fleets. Her hull underwater was designed to facilitate instant manoeuvring and control in the often crowded shipping lanes of the River Mersey. She also had to be capable of withstanding the gales which regularly sweep the Mersey Estuary, especially during the winter months. Compared to other Mersey ferries she was very highly mechanically advanced for the time. She was built with four diesel generator sets connected to two Metropolitan Vickers electrical propulsion motors which, between them, could produce a total of 1,460 horsepower if required. The beauty of the system was that she could run almost as well on three generators and the power was instantly controllable from the bridge.

Originally she had an eyecatching bright yellow and green livery which was later modified by raising the green hull paint one level higher. In 1971/2 this colour scheme gave way to plain blue and white followed by all the colours of the Union Jack for her sailings in connection with the Liverpool Flower Festival of 1984/85 which was a colourful image she retained until the beginning of her final season. For use with her Class III certificate, she originally had a pair of large, side slung lifeboats which were removed in the 1971/2 winter facelift.

Latterly the Royal Iris sailed only with a Class V certificate for 1,200 passengers, but rarely carried more than half that number. As a cruise ship, she gained the nickname of “the fish and chip boat” or “the booze boat” on account of the large volumes of food and drink consumed on such trips. At different times, she was also marketed as a “Great Summer Sail” and “The Mersey Pirate”. She had a large area for dining and drinking and a spacious dance floor. Midway through her career in 1971 the fish and chip cafe, an integral part of her original design, was replaced with a steak bar and dining area accommodating 150 passengers. Her passenger accommodation was large by Mersey ferry standards and there was room for over 2000 passengers undercover.

On the 21st June 1977, the Royal Iris had the honour of conveying HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh on their memorable Silver Jubilee Mersey Review. Early in her career, the Royal Iris’s most distant seaward destination from Liverpool was to the Bar Lightship, 14 miles north west out to sea. Sailing inland, in the later part of her career she traversed the Manchester Ship Canal on occasions, carrying cruise passengers. In the 1980s she was used as a floating restaurant, moored at Pier Head and was marketed as “The Quarterdeck”, providing lunchtime refreshment for Liverpool’s city residents and tourists. Her only occasion when she went outside the Mersey or Liverpool was in April and May 1985 when she was send south on a publicity drive for Merseyside. At that time she sailed all the way round Lands End, on to London and under Tower Bridge berthing next to HMS Belfast. She accomplished the 1,500 mile trip without incident and returned triumphantly home a month later.

Sadly the Royal Iris was getting older and the summer of 1990 turned out to be her last full season. Repainted mainly white, with a blue hull, she was present and very busy on the 24th July 1990, when the Cunard flagship Queen Elizabeth 2 visited the Mersey for the first time.

In the 40th year of operations and by then becoming a rather tired old lady, the Royal Iris ran a farewell evening cruise on the 12th January 1991, prior to being taken out of service and laid up awaiting a report into her future. On the 21st April 1991 she was reactivated and, with a special one day licence, was granted permission to carry 600 people on the 73rd anniversary trip to commemorate the Zeebrugge raid of 1918. In August 1991 the long awaited report on her future was produced and due to the great costs of bringing her up to modern standards and getting her through survey it was decided to retire her, thus leaving Mersey Ferries without a boat for cruises. With no imminent static use suggested for her she was placed in the hands of shipbroker S.C. Chambers Ltd of Liverpool for an asking price of £100,000 and in November 1991 she was sold for use as a floating nightclub in Liverpool but later moved to Swansea then the River Thames in London. This use as since fallen through and today she is laid up in a neglected and derelict condition at Woolwich on the River Thames awaiting her fate. Sadly on the 6th February 2010 it was reported that she had partially sunk at her mooring on the River Thames. However despite this the Royal Iris remains much loved and popular on Merseyside and there would be interest in her return to the River Mersey.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8501897.stm

This unique, streamlined and much loved Mersey Ferry originally painted in an eye-catching bright yellow and green livery is now laid up derelict and neglected awaiting her fate at Woolwich on the River Thames in London. Surely this unique, innovative, unusual and much loved former Mersey Ferry deserves to be saved and restored to her former glory for future generations to enjoy as so many have in the past.

Website: www.royaliris.co.uk

HMS Bronington (M1115) (1953) *

LOCATION: Birkenhead Docks, Wirral, Merseyside

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

This Historic Ship is officially designated as part of "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET".

HMS Bronington was laid down on 30 May 1951 by Cook, Welton and Gemmel in Beverley, Yorkshire. She was launched 2 years later on the 19 March 1953 by Mrs W G John, wife of the Director, Naval Constructors. She was completed in June 1954, renamed HMS Humber and assigned for 4 years to 101st Minesweeping Squadron in the RNVR Humber Division based in Hull. During this period she won the Thornycroft Trophy for minesweeping excellence, against competition from both regular and reserve units.

Reverting to her original name in 1958, HMS Bronington rejoined the fleet and served in various squadrons before entering refit in 1963 to begin her conversion to a minehunter. Alterations included the fitting of an enclosed bridge, a tripod mast and the latest sonar. Bronington then saw service around the coast of Britain, northwest Europe and Scandinavia.

After a major refit in 1974 in Gibraltar, the ship returned to the home waters in the 1st Mine Counter Measures Squadron and in 1976 became the command of HRH Prince Charles. In the 1980s, in her final active years, HMS Bronington was deployed to the Mediterranean as part of the 2nd Mine Counter Measures Squadron, and spent a period detached in the NATO Standing Naval Force Channel and was employed for a time as a member of the Fishery Protection Squadron. She entered Portsmouth to pay off on 23 June 1988.

This historic "Ton" class minesweeper is notable as having been commanded by HRH The Prince of Wales 1976. In 1989 she was retired from service and acquired by the Bronington Trust. She was preserved for some years at Salford Quays on the Manchester Ship Canal but later moved to Birkenhead to join the Historic Warships Birkenhead collection. Sadly in January 2006 it was announced that the Historic Warships Birkenhead had gone into liquidation and the visitor attraction would close. The collection has been requested to vacate their berths as soon as possible as the site is required for redevelopment. As a result the future of the collection and this historic minesweeper is now at risk, with scrapping a distinct possibility. If she and the Historic Warships Birkenhead collection were lost then an irreplaceable memorial to the Royal Navy and the Falklands War campaign would be lost forever. The Historic Warships Birkenhead visitor attraction sadly closed on the 5th February 2006 and the ship is now owned by Peel Ports and remains stored in Birkenhead Docks facing an uncertain future. Peel Ports wish to see her sold and removed if possible. So time is running out for this historic ship.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET" in the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of pre-eminent national or regional importance, spans the spectrum of achievement in UK maritime history and illustrates changes in construction and technology. Therefore she merits high priority for preservation in the long term and deserves significant public support.

S.S. Manxman (1955) *

LOCATION: Pallion Shipyard, River Tees, Sunderland

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

This Historic Ship is officially designated as part of "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET".

She was built in 1955 by Cammell Laird Shipbuilders Ltd in Birkenhead, England for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for use on their passenger ferry route from Liverpool to Douglas on the Isle of Man. She was retired from service in 1982 and subsequently was used for static purposes in various locations including Preston, Liverpool, Hull before finally coming to Sunderland.

The SS Manxman is the last coastal turbine passenger steamer that survives in the UK and represents all the great diversity of coastal steamers and ferries that once operated around Britain’s coasts and so is of international and national importance. The Manxman is a supremely elegant vessel, her fine lines being similar to the great liners of the past with whom she shared the landing stage at Liverpool. She represents the ultimate development of her type, from an era when good sea keeping qualities were a prime requirement. Restored in her original Isle of Man Steam Packet colours the ship would present a truly wonderful sight for future generations. This vessel represents a very important part of the commercial and maritime history of the Irish Sea, Merseyside and the Isle of Man. She recalls a period in the Britain’s maritime history when steamers were a common sight on short sea ferry routes around our shores both with the railway owned routes and private companies such as the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and others. The Manxman and her sisters formed a vital link for the community from the Isle of Man to the mainland and the leisure-tourist industry was of great importance. The steamer fleet of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company was well known and today the company still exists as the country’s oldest established ferry operator. Now the Manxman is the sole survivor of the classic turbine passenger steamer and represents the many of this type that served on Britain’s short sea ferry routes both for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and many other operators.

She is currently laid up at Pallion’s Shipyard, Sunderland on the River Wear awaiting her fate. This ship is now in very grave danger of being scrapped. Recently the ship was vandalised and Pallion Engineering have told the Manxman Steamship Company that they cannot wait any longer and will immediately put the ship up for sale on the scrap market.  Channel 4 were to film and broadcast a TV documentary outlining the preservation of the SS Manxman but have now withdrawn due to delays. In late April 2006 the Mersey Docks & Harbour Company (now part of Peel Holdings PLC) withdrew their offer of a berth for the Manxman and soon afterwards the Liverpool Capital of Culture Company withdrew their £60, 000 financial support to keep the project going. As a result things look increasingly bleak for the future of the SS Manxman. If she is to be saved then the last chance is now. Sadly in September 2008 it was rumoured that the Pallion Shipyard had commenced scrapping of the Manxman due to her deteriorating condition. However today the Manxman remains laid up at Pallion's ship hall in Sunderland. So her fate remains uncertain, but preservation is still a possibility.

Sadly in April 2010 Pallion Shipyard announced that they are about to start scrapping the S.S. Manxman and are now offering items of memorabilia from the ship such as her name letters, Manx emblem and wooden panelling etc for sale. Offers for larger items on the ship are also welcome. It is reported that asbestos contractors will start work on board the ship on the 19th April 2010 and may be on board for 18 weeks this decontamination work will cost around £400,000. After that scrapping will commence.

However a last minute attempt to save her for preservation was launched when the SOS Manxman Company was formed and they are looking to acquire her and return her to Liverpool for restoration. Once she is restored they would offer her to other parties for either charter or sale for various purposes as appropriate. So it is not over just yet and a last minute rescue may be a possibility. But only time will tell.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET" in the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of pre-eminent national or regional importance, spans the spectrum of achievement in UK maritime history and illustrates changes in construction and technology. Therefore she merits high priority for preservation in the long term and deserves significant public support.

S.S. Duke of Lancaster (1956)

LOCATION: Rhyl, North Wales

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

The Duke of Lancaster was built in 1956 by Harland & Wolff, Belfast for British Railways. She served on their Heysham to Belfast service.

The Duke of Lancaster and her two sisters, the Duke of Argyll and Duke of Rothesay, were amongst the final 'classic' passenger-only railway steamers. As such, whilst they represented the ultimate evolution of the type, they were also hampered by being fairly speedily outmoded. Built for the traditional overnight Heysham-Belfast service, the Dukes were considerably larger than the ships of the same names that they replaced. They could accommodate 600 first class and 1,200 second class passengers as well as fairly significant amounts of cargo in holds forward and aft. The Duke of Lancaster was the first to be delivered, in 1956, and was fitted out slightly differently to her sisters to enable her to operate cruises, which she did until about 1966, travelling as far as Norway, Denmark, Holland and Spain although the Scottish islands were a more regular haunt. The Heysham-Belfast service was a two-vessel operation in practice (apart from the very peak season when some daylight and double nightly crossings were made), so the 'Lancaster' could be spared when her cruising itineraries dictated. In 1967 the Duke of Lancaster no longer cruised and was devoted full time to ferry duties. In 1970 the Duke of Lancaster returned to her builders to have a car deck installed on her main deck and at the same time she became a one class ship.

She was withdrawn from service in 1979 and sold to Empirewise & Solitaire (Liverpool) Ltd for use as a market.  However that use ceased after a few years and she has been derelict for many years now. She is located at a creek near Mostyn in North Wales and is visible for the North Wales rail line. Recently there were rumours circulating that she might be scrapped. However in September 2007 it was reported that her owners had no plans to scrap her but did not really know what to do with her either. As a result they were open to suggestions as to what to do with this fine ship. They wouldn't mind seeing her restored to her former glory but realise that this would cost a lot of money.

She is one of the last surviving railway steamers in the UK and was famous in her early years for her cruises when she was not on ferry duties on her regular Heysham to Belfast route. Today she is currently laid up at Rhyl on the North Wales coast in deteriorating condition awaiting her fate. If she is lost we will lose an irreplaceable part of our maritime & railway heritage.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of maritime importance and therefore worthy of preservation in the long term and so deserves public support.

Support Group:

www.dukeoflancaster.net

HMS Plymouth (F126) (1959) *

LOCATION: Birkenhead Docks, Wirral, Merseyside

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

The HMS Plymouth was the last of the Type 12 Rothesay Class anti-submarine frigates built for the Royal Navy and was launched on the 20th July 1959 at the Devonport naval dockyard in Plymouth by Nancy Astor (Viscountess Astor). She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on the 11th May 1961. During her career she served in a number of locations including in the Far East serving with the 4th Frigate Squadron and later the 22nd and 29th Escort Squadrons. She then returned to the UK in 1966 for a refit at Chatham Dockyard. She re-emerged in 1969 and was deployed to the Indian Ocean, Far East, Australia and a number of European ports, before returning home to Devonport for refit. Then she went to the West Indies for the first time before returning home in February 1973. After a short period in Icelandic waters and the Mediterranean she docked in Gibraltar for maintenance and then returned to the UK in December 1974. In 1975 she left the UK as part of the 8th Frigate Squadron and participated in exercises in the Mediterranean, South China Sea and Australia returning via the USA and the Caribbean, before further exercises en route back to the UK. The remainder of the 1970s saw her deployed in more local waters engaged in coastal patrols and work in the Mediterranean and Atlantic. In 1977 the HMS Plymouth attended the Queen's Silver Jubilee Fleet Review at Spithead in the Solent. In July 1978 she returned to the UK for a major refit and re-entered service on the 23rd January 1981.

She is notable as having saw service throughout the Falklands War. The HMS Plymouth was one of the first Royal Navy ships to arrive in the South Atlantic following the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. The Plymouth alongside the HMS Antrim, HMS Brilliant and HMS Endurance took part in the recapturing of South Georgia on the 28th April. Plymouth landed Royal Marines from her Wasp helicopters and bombarded Argentine troop positions on the island. Later her Wasp helicopter took part in an attack on the ARA Santa Fe which was badly damaged and later captured by the Royal Marines. Indeed the wardroom on board the HMS Plymouth was where the surrender of Argentine Forces in South Georgia was signed by Lieutenant Alfredo Astiz on the 25th April 1982. After South Georgia was liberated, the Plymouth rejoined the main task force and took part in many operations before the landings at San Carlos Water. Plymouth supported troops on the ground by bombarding Argentine troop positions with her guns. She was the first vessel to enter San Carlos Water. On the 21st May 1982 she came to the rescue of the bomb damaged Leander class frigate HMS Argonaut. On the 8th June, the Plymouth was attacked by Dagger fighters of the Argentine Air Force. The ship was hit by bombs and cannon shells causing considerable damage to the ship. The HMS Plymouth then became the first warship to enter Stanley Harbour. She returned to Rosyth Dockyard after the war for repair and refit. She had steamed 34,000 miles, fired over 900 4.5 inch shells and destroyed five enemy aircraft. She then served as the West Indies guardship in the following year. On the 11th March 1984 she collided with the German frigate FGS Braunschweig. In 1986 she suffered a fire in her boiler room killing two people and requiring repairs at Rosyth. HMS Plymouth spent the remainder of her career in and around the Caribbean and home waters.  In 1989 she was retired from service and decommissioned on the 28th April 1989 as the last Type 12 in service.

She was preserved by the Warship Preservation Trust and was displayed at a number of locations including Plymouth before eventually finding a long term home in Birkenhead as part of the Historic Warships Birkenhead. She opened there in May 1992.

Sadly in January 2006 it was announced that the Historic Warships Birkenhead had gone into liquidation and the visitor attraction would close. The collection has been requested to vacate their berths as soon as possible as the site is required for redevelopment. As a result the future of the collection and this very historic warship is now at risk, with scrapping a distinct possibility. If she and the Historic Warships Birkenhead collection were lost then an irreplaceable memorial to the Royal Navy and the Falklands War campaign would vanish forever. The Historic Warships Birkenhead visitor attraction sadly closed on the 5th February 2006 and the ship is now owned by Peel Ports and remains stored in Birkenhead Docks. However they are keen to see her sold or removed if possible. It is thought that discussions are underway regarding a proposal to relocate the HMS Plymouth to Plymouth or Portsmouth. We note this development with interest and await further progress. She deserves preservation as a lasting reminder of the RN's modern history and especially for her role in the Falklands War.

She is listed by the National Historic Ships Unit as part of the National Register of Historic Ships. This means that she is officially recognised to be of maritime importance and therefore worthy of preservation in the long term and so deserves public support.

Support Group:

HMS Plymouth Association

www.hmsplymouth.co.uk

Warship Management Ltd

www.warshipmanagement.co.uk

HMS Achilles (F12) (1968)

LOCATION: Talcahuano, Chile

RISK STATUS: Red Alert – In Need of Urgent Assistance

The HMS Achilles is a "Leander" class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd at Scotstoun in Glasgow. She was launched on the 21st November 1968 and commissioned into the Royal Navy on the 9th July 1970. In 1970 she was deployed to the Far East where she escorted a number of other naval ships including the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. In 1974 she joined the 3rd Frigate Squadron and deployed to the Far East on a nine month deployment as part of Task Group 317.2. The Task Group visited a number of African ports on their way to the Far East and Indian Ocean including South Africa. The Task Group visited a number of ports in the Far East and took part in a number of exercises, the Achilles was active as a radio relay vessel during the fall of South Vietnam.

On the Task Group's return from the Far East, they made their way around the Cape of Good Hope to South America where a large exercise with the Brazilian Navy took place. The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal was also involved in this exercise. The Achilles returned to the UK in June 1975. Later that year, she collided with the Greek tanker Olympic Alliance while in the Dover Strait causing a number of casualties among her crew and heavy damage to her bow. The following year, the Achilles joined the Fishery Protection Squadron during the Third Cod War with Iceland.

After her deployment during the Third Cod War, Achilles went on a number of deployments including to the Persian Gulf and was involved in a number of naval exercises. In 1982, the Achilles was deployed to the West Indies as a guard ship. The following year, she deployed to the Falkland Islands to patrol the area following the Falklands War. Later that year she took part in the Exercise Orient Express, which took place in the Indian Ocean. She was also deployed to the Persian Gulf.

By the late 1980s the Achilles' career was coming to an end. In 1989 she joined the Dartmouth Training Squadron and became the first RN warship to visit East Germany as well as hosting a Dinner to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of the River Plate. In January 1990 she was decommissioned and ended her eventful career with the Royal Navy.

However that was not the end for her, she was sold to the Chilean Navy in 1990 and renamed Ministro Zenteno. She served in the Chilean Navy until February 2006 when she was retired from service and decommissioned in August 2006. She is currently laid up in Chile awaiting her fate and therefore is at risk. However repatriation and preservation is a possibility to consider.

She is the last surviving example of the "Leander" class and a postwar RN frigate still in original condition. The Leander class was among the most numerous and long lived classes of frigate in the Royal Navy's modern history. The class gained quite a high public profile due to their starring role in the BBC TV series "Warship" that ran from 1973 to 1977. The series was mainly filmed on board HMS Phoebe. Other vessels used included HMS Danae, HMS Dido, HMS Hermione and HMS Jupiter. The series also starred the HMS Ark Royal, HMS Blake, HMS Bulwark and HMS Andrew. The Leander class performed very well in Royal Navy service but by the 1990s the ships were gradually retired due to their aging design and high crew size compared to other ships. The HMS Achilles is worth preserving as a lasting reminder of the excellent service given by the Leander class in the RN's modern history.

This Historic Ship is officially designated as part of "THE UK NATIONAL HISTORIC FLEET".