Last warship of Battle of Atantic to return to Liverpool

Sep 21 2007 by Larry Neild, Liverpool Daily Post

THE last remaining warship from Captain Johnnie Walker’s legendary escort fleet is coming back to Liverpool as a lasting memorial to the Battle of the Atlantic.

Royal Navy top brass and navy veterans turned out yesterday for the launch of a £2m fund that will transform HMS Whimbrel into one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions.

It will be permanently moored in Canning Dock alongside The Strand to be used as a visitor attraction and interpretation centre.

The appeal fund has already won backing from the Duke of Westminster, whose company is building Liverpool One on the other side of The Strand.

Whimbrel once hunted U-boats across the dark and dangerous waters of the North Atlantic, and is currently moored in Egypt.

Whimbrel appeal chairman, Vice Admiral Michael Gretton, said last night: “The aim is to commemorate the most important but least recognised campaigns of World War II.

“The first stage is to bring Whimbrel back to Liverpool by the end of 2008 and open her by spring 2009 in Canning Dock, by The Strand, which could not be a better, high-profile place.

“She will become an internationally significant heritage site, a major visitor attraction and a focus for future generations. The choice of Liverpool is very relevant as the major inbound port for wartime Atlantic convoys.”

Preserving Whimbrel means that people will never forget that 70,000 Allied personnel died and 2,000 Allied ships were lost in the Battle of the Atlantic, said Vice Admiral Gretton.

“But there are two serious hurdles to be overcome. Firstly, raising £2m and secondly, negotiating for Whimbrel with her current owners, the Egyptian Navy,” he added.

“However, I would not be in Liverpool launching this appeal if I did not think we could achieve our goal. We have a financially viable and sustainable plan in place.”

Initial restoration work will be undertaken in Alexandria Naval Dockyard, before returning Whimbrel to the UK on a pontoon for completion on Merseyside for her heritage and educational role.

Liverpool City Council and the Government Office North West contributed equally to a detailed £40,000 maritime survey which confirmed Whimbrel’s condition.

The Duke of Westminster, unable to attend the launch because of illness, is a major sponsor to the project through his Westminster Foundation and Grosvenor plc.

Launched in 1942, HMS Whimbrel is a Black Swan class sloop, which served in the Battle of the Atlantic, Russian convoys, D-day, and Pacific theatre and attended the surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay.

Based in Gladstone and Can- ning Dock, Whimbrel performed similar duties to Compass Rose, the fictional corvette in Liverpool author Nicholas Monsarrat’s best-seller, The Cruel Sea.

In 1949, Whimbrel was sold to the Egyptian Navy and renamed Tariq. There has been minimal structural alteration to the warship.

The Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr Paul Clark, said: “It’s of vital significance and importance to establish HMS Whimbrel in the city centre. Not only will she serve as an additional tourist attraction, but she will be an international memorial, reminding us of how much we owe to the brave men of this city and elsewhere who fought in the Battle of the Atlantic.”

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