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Page last updated at 13:04 GMT, Friday, 10 October 2008 14:04 UK
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WWII warship is not coming home

Sailors boarding the HMS Whimbrel
Over 1,000 convoys arrived on Merseyside during the war

A charity's plans to bring the last surviving warship from the Battle of the Atlantic back to Liverpool have been put on hold.

Negotiations to buy HMS Whimbrel back from the Egyptian Government stalled when the two sides could not agree on a price.

HMS Whimbrel, which worked as an escort vessel during World War Two, is currently lying in dock in Egypt.

Once returned, the ship would have been berthed at Canning Dock.

'Enormous support'

A fund-raising appeal was launched in 2007 to bring it back to Liverpool.

Work on the project has been suspended, but the charity and company name will be kept alive in the hope the Egyptian Government changes its mind.

HMS Whimbrel
The ship would have been berthed at Canning Dock

The Whimbrel was vital to the Battle of the Atlantic. Over 1,000 convoys arrived on Merseyside during the war, and it was the called the "Rolls Royce of wartime escort ships" by the navy.

It ensured the safe passage of ships bringing supplies and equipment into Britain, defending them from German submarines.

Vice-admiral Mike Gretton, chairman of the Whimbrel Project, said: "She would have been a memorial to those who served in the Battle of the Atlantic, a heritage site, a visitor attraction and an educational focus for the Atlantic campaign."



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Appeal for WWII warship launched
20 Sep 07 |  Merseyside

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