King returns royal status to Dunkirk warship after 77 years

HMS Wellington, moored on the Thames since 1948, also escorted merchant navy ships during the Battle of the Atlantic

The King has returned a Dunkirk warship’s royal status after 77 years.
HMS Wellington, the UK’s last remaining Second World War escort ship, lost her status as His Majesty’s Ship when she was decommissioned from the Royal Navy in 1947.
The Telegraph previously reported that the Princess Royal, a patron of the Wellington Trust, had privately given her backing to the warship, which was first commissioned in 1934.
It can now be revealed that the King recently approved the use of HMS, after the Wellington Trust charity lobbied for the change, with Adml Sir Ben Key, the First Sea Lord, instrumental in the process.
The ship, which has been moored on the Thames since 1948, is at risk of being scrapped unless £150,000 can be raised to keep her afloat.
It is believed that returning the royal status to the ship has given her a higher profile which will help in the campaign to save her.
Lord West, a former first sea lord, said: “This is really good news because it now means we will probably be able to save this iconic ship – the last in the UK of the hundreds of escorts that enabled us to survive the predatory U-boats in the last war.”
The Trust said the name change served as a recognition of both the ship’s original identity and her significance today, as the only dedicated Battle of the Atlantic warship surviving in the UK.
During the longest battle of the Second World War, between Sept 3 1939 and May 8 1945, HMS Wellington was used for 103 convoy escorts, protecting vital maritime supply lines and merchant navy vessels. Hundreds of lives were saved as a result.
The ship was vital to the destruction of one enemy U-boat and was involved in Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk.
Prof Dominic Tweddle, the chairman of the Wellington Trust and the former director general of the Royal Navy museum in Portsmouth, said: “We are greatly honoured that His Majesty the King has graciously approved our proposed name change.
“This change of name in her 90th anniversary year is a true testament to her heritage as the sole surviving dedicated Battle of the Atlantic warship in Europe.”
The warship came into peril when the Honourable Company of Master Mariners (HCMM), which had rented the ship as its floating livery hall, departed after 75 years.
Ideas to keep her afloat long-term include letting cabins for overnight stays, relaunching her as an event space for dinners and receptions, and introducing historical tours.
In May, the trust celebrated the 90th anniversary of the ship’s launch. Speaking on board, Prof Tweddle said: “Very few of us these days are around or in ships, so will not perhaps appreciate their importance. They are our lifeline to the world.”
He added: “She had a hectic career and an interesting career keeping a lifeline open for Britain during the war.”
Prof Tweddle said that without the “constant attention” of ships like HMS Wellington and work by the merchant navy, “we would have been strangled and the war could have been lost”.