London’s HMS PRESIDENT Of 1918 To The Scrap Yard?
PRESS RELEASE 29th July 2016
HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND CONDEMNS HMS PRESIDENT 1918 TO THE SCRAP YARD
HMS President Preservation Trust, the charity that owns HMS President 1918 (“The President”), London’s last remaining World War One ship, and one of only three left has been refused Lottery funding of £330,000 to secure its future.
During WW1 The President was a secret German U Boat Submarine hunter (a ‘Q ship’) shadowing the Atlantic convoys with concealed guns. In WW2 She was used to protect St Paul’s Cathedral from the Luftwaffe and as a base for the French Resistance.
The President had to be moved from it’s 92 year mooring at London’s Victoria Embankment in February 2016 to storage at Chatham Docks in Kent awaiting refurbishment of its hull and a new mooring in Central London due to the major Thames Tideway Tunnel sewer Project. The City of London Corporation have in principle given their support to a new mooring for the President adjacent to London Bridge on the North bank of the River Thames. However without the funding required to pay for this, the Trustees of the Charity are unable to move forward.
The President is planned to be a key part of the WW1 Centenary celebrations in 2018 as it celebrates its own Centenary that year. The Charity has the support of numerous senior Politicians and Peers, the Military and related Organisations and Charities such as the National Maritime Museum of the Royal Navy, 14-18 Now and The National Historic Dockyard.
Prime Ministers have described HMS President as ‘Part of Britain’s Heritage’, Jeremy Hunt MP when Culture Media and Sports Minister described it as ‘A National Treasure’, David Evernett Minister for Heritage has said HMS President presents a ‘compelling case for funding’.
However despite this support and thousands of members of the public who receive monthly newsletters from the Charity the Heritage Lottery Fund, to whom the Charity had been encouraged to apply a second time after being refused £330,000 funding in January 2016 said although ‘the application was fundable’ they considered it ‘too high risk’. and other Projects were funded in preference to The President.
Gawain Cooper, Chairman of the Charity said ”Our Trustees are bitterly disappointed that with all the public support we have, and after having been encouraged by a senior director of the Heritage Lottery to reapply for the £330,000, that again we were refused support. This decision will most likely condemn The President to the scrap yard”.
The Charities last resort is an appeal and application to The Treasury for Government funding and it is hoped that our new Chancellor, Philip Hammond who was previously Defence Secretary and aware of the importance of The President to the nation and military will now step in and save her.
Further Information charlie@hmspresident.com Tel +44 203 189 0089
HMS President Preservation Trust – Company Number 05702599 –
Registered Charity 1119103 HMS President (London) Limited Company no: 05291138
Registered Office : Argyll House All Saints Passage London SW18 1EP
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Seriously? The British save done so little to save their WW I and WW II naval ships… The losses of the HMs Warsprite, HMS Lion and so many more…. This from the nation that fielded the greatest navy… I found it strange so little interest in their rich maritime heritage…
It’s unbelievable that scrapping her is being considered and the sum required is paltry these days! What about her service as the London Division RNR base ship during all those years – someone start a petition before it’s too late!!
This is not true Steven as there a number of key RN ships which have been saved. The problem with PRESIDENT is that she is not seen as a “significant” ship. Her interiors have also been wrecked in the attempt to turn her into a wedding/conference venue.
Only £330,000 – it would only take 66,000 of us to donate£5 each to make up this sum. Let me have your bank details and I’ll start the ball rolling
An exQARNNS Sister and Naval mother!
Clearly, this ship is significant enough in that it is a product of a now distant time, when ships looked this way and had hulls like that–few vessels in the world are left from that time, such as the Nomadic and the Milwaukee Clipper. Rare is an understatement for the President. She simply cannot be betrayed by her own people as we all also remember the fallen and the veterans of the Great War.
Where’s the online petition?
There is no danger of President being scrapped and it’s unfortunate that the Trust management are using such alarmist language. It’s counterproductive. The money will be found from corporate backing – and rightly so, there is no need for President to be a burden on the taxpayer.
Perhaps they would like to sell it to me for £1.00 assuming I’m not responsible for the pension fund!!
A real travesty that the British government apparently has all the pounds needed to kowtow to the thousands of dirty ISIS/ISIL terrorists still flooding into the island, disguised as refugees, but no money to keep this piece of history alive. Pity. I hope funds are found to keep this glorious vessel afloat.
I will gladly sign a petition.
This ship must be saved for the Nation – start the campaign now !!
Won’t be long before we don’t have any reminders of our past. Maybe that’s the plan!
This ship would be a great addition to either Portsmouth or Chatham naval museums It’s the only surviving WW1 Qship in the world. This is an important ship it needs to be saved!
Perhaps a crowd funding project might be an idea to save a piece of our nations heritage!!
Just a thought, I would happily support it!
i would happily contribute to a crowd funding to save this important ship.
This beautiful ship should never be condemned to the scrap yard. A true piece of British heritage.
For anyone here that hasn’t already signed the online petition, here is the link:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/163742
There is also a go fund me page set up:
https://www.justgiving.com/hms-president
Let’s all get behind this and save the HMS president!
This ship is an Excellent Memorial to the ‘Q’ ships and the many who served and died in them. Don’t let it go like the Frigate in which the Argentinians signed the surrender after the Falkland. Once you scrap history there is only photos.