
A final snap of Ark Royal?
For £2.9 million, a Turkish scrap metal company will end her days. When this government announced the decommissioning of the aircraft carrier some three years ago there were suggestions that it become a training school, a London heliport or put to another good use. One suggestion was a museum and, as I saw it just a few hundred yards from the new Mary Rose museum which opens in a fortnight’s time, HMS Victory of Battle of Trafalgar fame, HMS Warrior and HMS Monitor that served at Gallipoli, I wondered why –for a paltry £2.9 million – she didn’t remain at Portsmouth as a floating museum.
In San Diego in the US, USS Midway – another carrier – draws visitors from far and wide. Different historic aircraft are parked on her decks and her shop does very well with souvenir sales. In New York, another carrier, USS Intrepid is used as an air and sea museum. Nearby is one of our Concordes and, on board, is a space shuttle. Again, that has become a successful attraction.
I can’t say that Ark Royal has been one of the most illustrious aircraft carriers we have ever had. But for £2.9 million? Look how much recent museums refurbishments have cost such as the Ulster, the National Museum in Edinburgh or even the new Hepworth. Money has been found to preserve HMS Caroline and to keep her in Belfast. All are in many millions. In this time when governments, regions and cities recognise the value of tourism in bolstering economies, an Ark Royal attraction would entice many people to visit.

Ark Royal as she was yesterday
It’s too late to do anything now but – in the future – maybe the ministry of Defence and the government could employ some joined up thinking.