Little ship with a big history
The little ship with a big history is almost ready for another adventure.
The Sunderland-based Willdora was one of the Dunkirk Little Ships which saved more than 330,000 people from the beaches in May 1940 – as depicted in the recent hit movie starring Tom Hardy.
Back then, Willdora and her crew safely rescued 220 soldiers before she was shelled by the Germans and abandoned on La Panne beach in France.
But she was later rescued and returned to Britain.
Lately, she has been going through a restoration project thanks to the Sunderland Maritime Heritage society.
Now, she is almost ready to be returned to the waves after years of a major and detailed overhaul.
Society chairman Chris Carolan said: “She is virtually ready to be returned to the water. We are tidying up one or two bits of things.
“We have been working on the engine and got it successfullyrunning, and it is running champion.
“We are doing final things such as hand rails and wiring, and to all intents and purposes, the main work is finished.”
The next stage is to paint the ship, but that won’ t happen until the weather gets warmer.
“We don’t want to paint it when it is cold and there is condensation ,” said Chris.
After that, the Willdora will return to the water with a crane lifting her in.
The aim is to have Willdora ready in time to hopefully be a part of the Tall Ships parade in Sunderland this summer.
Chris told the Sunderland Echo last year how the aim was to eventually have Willdora lead out the fleet in the Tall Ships Races when they come to Wearside in July.
Rotting timbers, new decks, beam and cabin have all been successfully handled.
It would be yet another milestone in an extraordinary history of the little 30-tonne boat.
She was built in 1901 with two sister vessels in Scotland, the Willmarie, and Willanne.
In 1940, she answered the call for little ships to cross to Dunkirk and help in the evacuation, where she saved 220 people.
In the 1970s, she was the camera boat used for the filming of the famous television series, The Onedin Line.
Later she was sold as a pleasure craft and came to Sunderland where there were plans for her to be used as a training vessel for schoolchildren. It never happened.
Later still, a Trust was formed on Tyneside and in 1993, she was given the honour of leading out the Tall Ships Races out of Tynemouth.
Since 2001, she has been in open storage at the Port of Sunderland, on a rent-free arrangement.
Now she is very close to being ready for her return to the waters.
The Sunderland Maritime Heritage, based in Church Street East, would love to hear from people willing to either help, or make a donation to their cause.
For more details on the society, visit https://www. sunderland maritime heritage. org.uk/