WWII MOTOR BOATS SAVED FOR THE NATION
Friday February 12th, 2010
The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) has been instrumental in saving two historic motorboats for the nation. The MGB81 took part in the D Day landings at Omaha Beach on 6th June 1944 and the HSL was used to rescue downed airmen in the waters off Calshot. They will both now go on display at Gunwharf Quays Marina in Portsmouth.
The boats were bought by the Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust with the help of a £580,000 grant from the NHMF along with funds from elsewhere including the Coastal Forces Trust and private donations.
Lt James Shadbolt MBE Royal Navy's 8th Motor Gunboat Flotilla veteran, Lt James Shadbolt MBE, said, 'I'm delighted these two motorboats will now be safeguarded. Organisations like NHMF and other generous donors play such a vital role in protecting our precious heritage and those of us who particularly cherish these boats are very grateful... It's wonderful to know that future generations will be able to experience first-hand these extremely exciting machines just as we did as young men during the war.'
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