Dear RNA Members,
The Historic Dockyard Chatham is delighted to let you know that HMS Cavalier, our Second World War Destroyer, has reached the semi-finals of the National Lottery Awards. The Awards are an annual search to find the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded project, and they aim to celebrate and recognise the difference that those projects have made to people, places and communities all across the UK.
HMS Cavalier is competing against nine other projects in the Best Education Project category for the chance to win the national award and a £2,000 prize, and we need your votes to help crown HMS Cavalier as a winner! This would be a major achievement, not only for The Historic Dockyard Chatham and all the volunteers that have dedicated hundreds of thousands of hours restoring this ship, but also for all of those that have served on Royal Navy Destroyers and the next generation of people that are learning about life in the Royal Navy during the Second World War as a result of educational programmes run onboard HMS Cavalier.
As you will know, 143 British destroyers were lost at sea during the Second World War, and more than 11,000 people perished with them. Today, the Royal Navy’s last operational Second World War destroyer stands in The Historic Dockyard Chatham, alongside a commissioned monument of public art dedicated to those men who lost their lives, as the National Destroyer Memorial. Royal naval Associations and the Royal British Legion were consulted with on the design and development of the memorial and provided valuable support to help make the memorial a reality. This is far more than just a memorial however; the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust has turned the ship into a unique educational tool.
Lottery and Memorial Fund funding meant that the Trust was able to purchase and transport the ship to Chatham, Kent and undertake a large-scale restoration project. The after accommodation had been completely gutted and the team wanted to re-create the layout and look of the destroyer’s mess decks, while turning them into a place where children could learn and even sleep overnight to get the real experience of life on board a Second World War Destroyer.
HMS Cavalier could be in with the chance of appearing on a BBC1 primetime show, and we need your vote to help HMS Cavalier win! Please support us; just click on the button below and follow the on screen instructions to cast your vote.
Alternatively, please visit:
http://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards/shortlistitem.cfm?id_category=2&id_entry=106
…or call 0844 686 1038 to cast your vote. Calls will cost no more than 5p from a BT landline. Calls from other networks may vary; calls from mobiles could cost considerably more.
Every vote counts, so we really appreciate your support. Voting closes on 18th June 2010 so please register your vote before then. If we are successful in reaching the final round of voting, we will contact you and let you know. If we reach this stage we will need you to support us again by voting for a chance to be crowned the nations favourite educational lottery funded project. Please pass this message on to your friends, families and colleagues as we need the support! Thank you!
Royal Naval Association, Almuñécar Branch