HMS Victory - the world’s oldest commissioned warship - is being returned to its former glory in a £16 million restoration scheme, the Ministry of Defence has revealed.
The overhaul will be the biggest restoration to the famous vessel since she fought in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 as Lord Nelson’s flagship. The ship was bestowed with the honour of bringing Nelson’s body back after he was killed in the battle, nearly 207 years ago.
The extensive restoration will take ten years to complete and will centre on the ship’s impressive masts, rigging and bowsprit. It will also see all the side planking replaced and decayed timber removed and replaced with hand-fitted teak to maintain the structural integrity and the unique profile of the vessel.
The work will begin this month and be undertaken by BAE Systems Surface Ships at Portsmouth Naval base. Vice Admiral Charles Montgomery, Second Sea Lord and Commander in Chief of HMS Victory, said: “HMS Victory is an icon for the Royal Navy and the nation as a whole.
Far reaching effect
“This restoration project will enable future generations to experience for themselves a warship that has an enduring and far reaching effect on national and international history.” Captain John Newell, Head of the HMS Victory support team at the MoD’s Defence Equipment and Support organisation in Bristol, said: “This is a great opportunity to carry out the repairs needed to preserve the ship for the nation long term.
World class
“BAE Systems Surface Ships has assembled a very experienced and world class team and we look forward to working with them.” John O’Sullivan, BAE Systems Project Manager for HMS Victory, said: “This phase of restorative work is necessary to guarantee Victory’s long term future and our project team are looking forward to getting started on the job of maintaining the ship for future generations to enjoy.”
HMS Victory served as a warship from its launch in 1765 until 1889. She was then used as a Naval School until 1904. Until 1921 HMS Victory slowly deteriorated until it was decided she would be preserved as a museum ship in a dry dock at Portsmouth.
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Campaigns & Issues
Councils’ care home policy may cost families £millions a year, says charity
Thousands of families in England may be paying councils millions of pounds a year for care home places that should be free, according to a report by older people’s charity Independent Age.
The families are having to ‘top-up’ their elderly relatives’ care home fees because some councils refuse to pay the full market cost themselves. Councils are required to provide an appropriate care home place to elderly people with few assets but the maximum rate they will pay in England is on average £45 a week, compared to an average real cost of £524.
News
Inflation falls for all age groups, although elderly still hit hardest
- The latest figures from the Alliance Trust Economic Research Centre show that all households experienced a decline in their inflation rates in April
- Despite this, it is still the elderly households which face the highest rate of inflation
- The over 75 year old households face an inflation rate of 3.6% and although this is the lowest level since October 2010, it is still higher than the official rate of inflation
- The 30-49 year olds, once again, have the lowest rate of inflation at 3.0%. This is the lowest level recorded for this age group since November 2009
- Gas price inflation remains elevated at 15%, which continues to affect the elderly households disproportionately
Competitions & Fun
Win a pair of tickets to South Pacific
This breathtaking and lavish Lincoln Center Theatre production reinvented Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical.
It swept the 2008 Tony Awards, played for two years to sold-out houses on Broadway and was televised across America.
Reader Offers
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Health & Wellbeing
Patients to benefit from better advice on pain control
New guidance for doctors and other prescribers on the use of strong painkillers for patients with chronic or incurable disease has been welcomed by researchers at the University of Leeds.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is today (23 May) launching a new clinical guideline on the safe use of opioids – a family of drugs derived from the opium poppy that have been identified by the World Health Organization as essential in the treatment of severe pain. The new NICE guideline should help ensure that when patients receiving palliative care for chronic or incurable illnesses start treatment with strong opiods, the drugs are prescribed safely and consistently..
Property & Finance
Older people need specialist housing
Britain’s housing market is failing to meet the needs of the elderly, despite a rapidly-ageing population and a growing demand for retirement housing, a charity has warned. Housing charity Shelter has found that if demand remains at current levels supply would have to increase by over 70 per cent in the next 20 years in order to keep up.
The report explored the housing options available to those over 55 - a group that will make up one in three people in England by 2030.
Lifestyle
Learn how the internet can make life easier for you
Stocking up on the heavy grocery essentials was a full day out for Sheila, age 82. “I could see the advantages of doing the supermarket shop on the internet: having the groceries delivered, saving the taxi fare and not relying on others to shop for me if I’m ill,” said Sheila.
“But although I used the internet for emails, I didn’t really enjoy or trust it. My daughter suggested that Pearson Love to Learn’s Internet Basics online course might give me confidence and when she offered to try it out with me, I decided to give it a go.
Travel & Leisure
New sat-nav for older people
There could be a new solution for the increasing number of elderly drivers in Britain who are driven round the bend by complicated sat-nav devices. Scientists are developing a new satellite navigation system - dubbed the Granny-Nav - to help technophobic pensioners. The new device, which tells pensioners to turn at a specific point, such as a pub and not in a certain distance, is being hailed as a new way to keep the elderly as independent as possible.
I have received a copy of you paper from our Community Centre for the last two years and really look foreword to reading it. Thank you!