TOW ARDS A WORLD SHIP TRUST
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"It might have been. " Carr's proposed installation of H.M.S. Implacable at Greenwich. Drawing by F.A. Evans, courtesy the Greater London Council.
When the restored ship is open to the public and making money, as most do, the sum advanced can be repaid to the Trust as it is earned, and will then go back into the central fund, where it will again be available for loan to other deserving projects. The second objective is to restore and exhibit as an addition to the Maritime Museum at Rotterdam the old Fleet Ram H. Nl .M.S. Buffel, built in the United Kingdom in 1868, which served for many years as a ship of the Royal Netherlands Navy. She represents an era of change in warship design and construction which she will be used to demonstrate. The plans include the provision of space on board where special exhibitions can be arranged illustrating the development of shipping and craft, not only in Holland, but throughout the world. It is my hope that one of these will be devoted to the work of the National Maritime Historical Society, from which the Dutch would gain both encouragement and inspiration. In these difficult days through which the world is passing, both would be invaluable. I know there is a school of thought that the preservation of historic craft might best be undertaken by the creation of Maritime Sections in existing National Trusts for the Preservation of Historic Buildings rather than by separate essentially Maritime Trusts. As a short term measure, there is probably
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much to be said for this, and so I welcome it, but only as a first stage. For the longer term, I view it with apprehension. It seems to me that with not enough money to go round, and there never is, with the maritime section in the minority, when it comes to a clash between a ship and a building, the building will always win. Again, maritime enthusiasts with financial resources from which they might contribute funds for ship preservation may be less likely to do so when the Trust to which their gifts are made can legitimately devote the sum given, or part of it, to other than exclusively maritime purposes . Of course, to build such an organization will take time, and like the oak tree, it must grow. As a first stage, I believe the most promising idea will be to encourage as many of the world' s seafaring nations as possible to form their own National Maritime Trusts, as Britain did in 1972, with H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as its President. More recently, in the Fall of last year, 1976, the Dutch have done likewise, following the dinner of the Netherlands Anchorites in the Scheepvaart museum, Amsterdam on the 23rd April, when I was invited to speak on the subject of Ship Preservation, and so to initiate the idea. Already the Netherlands Maritime Trust, under the Chairmanship of Commodore H .J.E . van der Kop, R.Na.N. (Retd.), has two major projects . First is the restoration of the old eighteenth century dockyard at Kromhout, in Amsterdam, to its original condition. It is, moreover, intended that this will not be a mere historic exhibit, but will serve also as an operational yard and workshop for the restoration of historic old craft and through this to preserve the ancient skills of the shipwrights and the various other traditional craftsmen in the allied trades .
continue to enjoy its national autonomy unchecked and unimpaired. This is what I know that Prince Philip, who takes a keen interest and is sympathetically inclined to the whole project, advises as the most promising way to proceed. I believe also, with equally firm conviction, that the pace at which progress can be made towards the desired end will depend more on the leadership that the United States may give than upon any other factor. The simple truth is that the maritime heritage of the United States is incomparably the greatest in the world. Writing as a Briton, I confess that I have, rightly as I think, real pride in my country's sea history, and in that my pride is second to none. But always I recognize that it is the maritime heritage of my own country alone . That of the United States is far wider, for it is an amalgam enriched by all the maritime traditions of all the seafaring peoples of the earth, whose forebears through the centuries crossed the ocean in ships to found that great free country in a new world that is the United States of America. Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, Germans, Dutch, French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Greeks, English, Welsh, Scots and Irish, not forgetting the Finns, the Russians, the Japanese and the Chinese, name them, and you have them . In this, in the richness of its sea traditions, the American maritime heritage is unique. Only the United States has the right to represent us all. Only the United States has the power to do so. Who will respond to the challenge?
.t Frank Carr in his 73rd year clearing a fo uled halyard in his k etch Dawn , July 1976. An avid sailor since childhood on, he has held a Yachtmaster's Certificate sin ce 1927. Photo by Da vid Goddard.
The World Ship Trust So I remain unshaken in my view that with a World Ship Trust as the ultimate aim, the best way to achieve this will be by persuading as many as possible of those nations whose history has been bound up with the sea to form their own National Maritime Trusts. Then these working together could jointly form an International Association of Maritime Trusts in which all would participate. This, in the fullness of time, could become the World Ship Trust, contributed to by all to their mutual advantage, but imposed upon none, so that each would
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