Wartime boats saved from scrapheap (From This is Hampshire)

Wartime boats saved from scrapheap

4:27pm Tuesday 9th February 2010 in

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PEOPLE will be able to experience what soldiers went through on board two of the most significant Second World War motorboats after they were saved from the scrapheap.

As reported in the Daily Echo in 2008, High Speed Launch 102 and Motor Gun Boat 81 were close to being broken up because Hampshire owner Phil Clabburn was struggling with spiralling upkeep costs.

But the two boats were saved from their fate by a last-minute £580,000 buyout with public money – and will now take their place alongside other British naval greats HMS Victory and the Mary Rose.

The two high speed boats have been bought by Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust (PNBPT) which plans to charter them so that members of the public can experience what it was like for the crews driving at full speed 70 years ago.

Lt James Shadbolt MBE, a veteran of the Royal Navy’s 8th Motor G u n b o a t Flotilla, said: “I’m delighted these two motorboats will now be safe-guarded.

“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.”

Mr Clabburn, from Lymington, lovingly restored HSL 102, the only surviving vessel of the RAF’s wartime Air Sea Rescue team, after finding her rotting shell in 1992.

After spotting the derelict boat in Dartmouth, Mr Clabburn enlisted the help of a small band of dedicated helpers and, using his own money, set about restoring the boat.

She was relaunched at Calshot by the Queen Mother in 1996.

Mr Clabburn then bought MGB 81 in 1998 and carried out a three-year restoration in Marchwood.

However by 2008 high running costs had forced Mr Clabburn to look – unsuccessfully – for a new owner.

He said: “We were near to having to consider breaking them up.

“I also really did not want to sell them abroad as they are a crucial part of British naval history.”

Finally after nearly two years, the PNBPT stepped in after securing a grant for £580,000 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund plus a further £150,000 from other donors.

Both boats will now be berthed at Gunwharf Quays marina.

Peter Goodship, chief executive of the PNBPT, said: “These unique craft are a legacy to the heroism of those who crewed them. Both boats made significant contributions to the war effort and saved the lives of many.”