HMS Caroline (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’ve been following with interest the stories of two particular ‘grey navy’ warships of the twentieth century: the Great War vintage Destroyer HMS Caroline, and the Falklands veteran Frigate HMS Plymouth.
I’ve gone on record before with my opinion that warship preservation in this country is woeful. We have a marvellous collection of older historic ships – Mary Rose, Victory, Warrior, Trincomalee, Great Britain to name but a few. But HMS Belfast aside, we have a terrible record of preserving twentieth century warships for the future admiration of British people who did not live through those turbulent years. It’s an inadequate tribute to the millions of British men – and women – who served with distinction during some of Britain’s finest years.
Portsmouth was perhaps the first place to really tap into the naval heritage idea. Of course, HMS Victory went into dry dock here in the 1920′s, around the same time as which the Royal Naval Museum was founded. With the freeing up of space and docks in the yard as it was run down, HMS Warrior and the Mary Rose joined in the 1980′s, making a fine collection of ships. There was definitely a concerted effort to develop the historic dockyard in Portsmouth, with an awareness that the Royal Navy and the Dockyard were winding down, and that tourism would be a growth sector.
Yet what is really missing is a ship from the ‘grey navy’, the twentieth century. Time and time again ships have been decomissioned, and ideas for preservation mooted, with nothing happening and a flood of fine old ships going to the breakers yard. Personally I think that HMS Fearless would have made a fine museum, with a flight deck for various events, and a tank deck that would have given plenty of potential for exhibitions etc. It also would have made a useful link up with the Royal Marines Museum.
At present HMS Caroline and HMS Plymouth are the two most prominent warships up for grabs. But both, steeped in history, are at serious risk of going for razorblades. HMS Caroline was built in 1914, and served at Jutland. After the end of the First World War she was decomissioned and has served as a naval reserve depot ship in Northern Ireland ever since. She was finally decomissioned in March 2011. She is formally under the ownership of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, based in Portsmouth. There have been plans to open her up as a museum ship in Belfast, but nothing more than public pronounciations. It’s time for definite action if they want to keep her there – such an important ship should not be allowed to sail into oblivion because the city leaders in Belfast can’t come up with a plan to make good on their promises. The MOD will commence disposal procedures soon if a concrete plan is not formed for her future use, and the National Museum of the Royal Navy have promised that if Belfast cannot get their act together she will be brought to Portsmouth. Presumably if that happens then we’ll hear a lot from Belfast about the pesky English stealing their ship. If it matters that much, they’ll find a way. Somehow I doubt it. Whatever happens, she should be preserved as closely to her 1914 appearance as possible, where as many people as possible can see her and appreciate her.
The Falklands War veteran HMS Plymouth, a Type 12 Frigate, is also in a vulnerable state at present. Decomissioned in 1988, for some years she was a Museum ship in Birkenhead. However, In 2006 the Trust that owned her closed, leaving her homeless. She is still in Birkenhead, but time is running out to find a permanent home for her. Plymouth has expressed a trust in homing her, fittingly in her old home port and namesake city. However, the offer of a berth at Millbay Docks was withdrawn in 2007, and it has been rumoured that she has been sold for scrapping – these reports are, as far as I can tell, unconfirmed. The situation with inactivity is similar to that in Belfast – Plymouth City Council has ‘expressed an interest’, but nothing more. Plymouth’s record on naval heritage isn’t so much woeful, but non-existant. Time and time again we hear MP’s Plymouth pleading that the loss of the naval base would decimate the city. Yet virtually nothing has been done to develop any kind of alternative industries or maritime heritage sector. We’re constantly being told that Devonport is the largest naval base in Europe. Look on google maps, and then the list of RN ships based in Plymouth, and you can see that there is plenty of superfluous space there. There was a possibility at one time that she could come to Portsmouth, but to be honest she has very little connection with Pompey, and if it comes to a choice between Caroline and Plymouth, the authorities will probably choose Caroline.
Personally I would like to see both preserved, and maintained to their 1916 and 1982 appearance respectively, in a setting that does them justice. But we just don’t do warship preservation in this country. I’ve done a bit of research on Museum ships in the US – they have seven battleships, five aircraft carriers, once cruiser, five submarines and two destroyers. Considering Britain’s proud naval history, what we have left is a poor return. Although they are large and expensive to maintain, ships should be seen in the same context as how museums develop their collections of other historically important artefacts. And what better way to display naval heritage than in a ship? Any other way seems inadequate in my opinion. Reading about the Nelsonian navy is one thing, but going onboard HMS Victory is on a different planet. It just needs more planning and foresight – potential museum ships need to be identified before they leave service, and chosen for their suitability.
Related articles
- Falklands warship HMS Plymouth on which Argentinians surrendered is destined for the scrapyard (dailymail.co.uk)
- HMS Plymouth: Falklands frigate lies rusting as it awaits final voyage to scrapyard on 30th anniversary of war (dailymail.co.uk)
- Warning… all hands on deck at Stormont or Caroline will sail for Portsmouth (belfasttelegraph.co.uk)
- Save Our Ship… fight on to sink plans to scrap HMS Caroline (belfasttelegraph.co.uk)
- Save Our Ship: Dan Snow joins calls to save HMS Caroline (belfasttelegraph.co.uk)
- HMS Caroline – the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland?” (rnzngunners.wordpress.com)
- WWI warship set to leave Belfast (bbc.co.uk)
- Help Save HMS Plymouth (ntcmalvern.wordpress.com)
- MORALE: Ancient Warships Survive On Merit (strategypage.com)
Pingback: Historic ships | John's Rants & Raves, Discussions & Debates
http://www.irishseashipping.com/photofeatures/historicships/hmsplymouth170312/hmsplymouth170312.htm
HMS Plymouth’s situation I find very distressing. The British public don’t care. Again it is an example of what I loosely term “cultural dissonance”; a result of left leaning elites to dispossess the English of their history. I say English because the culture of the Celtic fringe (along with immigrant cultures) seem to take precedence. And it is the attack on Englishness that is used to shake the structure of the over arching British national character. Add into that the elite’s appetite for Europe and its policy of regionalism and it is little wonder that English fear flying their own flag and being proud of their history.
On top of this we have inter-service rivalry. On another defence blog when I accuse the junior service of actively promoting itself beyond its real historic value I am accused of being under the spell of some mad conspiracy. My argument that organisations are products of humanity so show human characteristics is probably a bit deep for some. But the results are evident. The Falklands War was the last war we fought by ourselves. When I say last I mean just the last, not that we will never fight by ourselves again. Being a semi-historian I shy away from easily predicted trajectories. The Falklands was a great maritime adventure. Without the RN (including the RM), RFA, and the Merchant Navy it would never have happened, Yet during this thirty anniversary what have we been treated to on the media? Documentaries about frigates or rapidly converted merchantmen? How about tales of daring do in the good ship HMS Onyx? No. We have had 2 PARA, Black Buck, and “Should the RN have sunk the Belgrano?” (roughly interpreted by many as “Did the RN commit a war crime?” Not good. Black Buck on that other well known defence blog is held up as necessary mission and anybody echoing Ward’s view that it was a waste of time is seen as yet another anchor faced loon. Yes it was an impressive display of airmanship but necessary? No. Some over there the Falklands could have been won without Invincible and Hermes and this holding that view are seen as preferring a viable alternative history. Much is made of the Argentine NAVY’s efforts to trial A4 flights from Stanley field. Means nothing, The Argentine AIRFORCE had effectively ran the island’s air link for years and had all the intelligence they needed about the suitability of the runway for FJ operation. Why are NAVY and AIRFORCE in capitals? Because these organisations didn’t operate completely in concert. They were rivals. They didn’t even exchange basic intel. The fact the AIRFORCE didn’t both to move FJ to Stanley at all showed the NAVY knew nothing and FJ from Stanley were never ever going to be a threat. What has this got to do with ship preservation? Well the charity that owns single flying Vulcan trades very heavily on the aircraft’s Falklands War history and seems to have a good future. Yet HMS Plymouth, not the sole survivor maybe, will probably be scrapped yet she played a full and valuable role in the conflict. History, heritage, is something that can be packaged and marketed. And it warps history as surely as burning texts or destroying artifacts or removing faces from photographs.
(I would love to see film or photographs of the Falklands memorial service to see if Ward was right that light blue uniforms did outnumber those of the other services. And I would also like to see if the medal count was eschewed too.)
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/ditch-battle-save-HMS-Plymouth-scrap-verge/story-16385853-detail/story.html
Apologies if it is a repeat.
You are right. Tne RN’s role in history seems to be deliberately overlooked.
BTW what other blog are you talking about?
Think Defence