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A former
Royal Marine is launching a campaign to save
one of the Navy’s most popular ships.
Father-of-five Colin Waite, of Middleton, County Durham,
wants to convert the recently decommissioned HMS Fearless
into a floating museum of the Falklands conflict.
The Royal Navy’s last steam warship returned to Portsmouth
naval base on March 18 after its final seven-month
deployment which saw it involved in the war against
terrorism, supporting British forces in the Middle East.
Now Mr Waite, an internet web site designer, is hoping to
gain the support of Navy veterans, the National Lottery and
the general public to help raise the £400,000 needed to
purchase the 37-year-old ship.
Mr Waite, who served aboard Fearless during the
Falklands conflict as an armoured vehicle driver, said he
was shocked when he found out the ship was due to be
scrapped.
He said: “When someone told me she was likely to go for
razor blades, I thought this should be way too important for
that. I thought someone would have started to do something
with her but nothing had been done. So I took it on myself
to get the ball rolling, to start screaming and shouting
about it as I thought it only takes one voice to start
things going and it has worked: I’ve gained a lot of
interest in her already.”
Mr Waite, who has designed a web site for his campaign to
convert the ship into a museum, added that he had fond
memories of being aboard Fearless.
He said: “In the whole time I knew
her, it was a very friendly ship. It was an oddball ship in
that everyone I have spoken to, they all said they really
enjoyed their time on board.”
More information is available on the campaign’s website at
www.hmsfearless.co.uk.
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