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Tourist attraction to surface at Woodside
MERSEYTRAVEL
has rescued a World War II German U Boat which never saw combat and
will re-site it at Mersey Ferries’ Woodside Ferry Terminal as a
major tourist attraction. Plans submitted to Wirral Council
include the provision of a visitor exhibition centre, which will
include artefacts from the submarine along with its history.
The future of U543 has been in doubt since the Historic Warship
Museum at Birkenhead, where it was housed, closed last year.
Neil Scales, Chief Executive and Director General of Merseytravel,
which owns and operates the Mersey Ferries, said:- ”The Mersey
Ferries are already the most popular paid-for attraction in our
region and this development will reaffirm that position. We
have Spaceport located at the Seacombe Ferry Terminal which has
proved tremendously popular and we also have plans for attracting
tourists to the new £10 million ferry terminal at Pier Head.
We’ll make a trip on the Mersey Ferries an even more memorable
experience for the ever increasing number of visitors to Merseyside.
Our scheme will also complement the wider regeneration of the
Woodside development which is the subject of a master plan.
The Mersey Ferries fleet has undergone a £10.5 million refurbishment
programme and we spent £9 million on Spaceport as part of our plans
to reposition the Ferries as a tourist attract and secure their long
term future.”
The plan is paying dividends. Of the 700,000-plus annual passenger
journeys leisure ventures accounts for around 70% of the business.
U534 was never involved in active combat but used for meteorological
purposes. For technical reasons the boat will be cut into 3
sections for transportation to its new site by water using a
floating crane. At Woodside huge high quality glazed panels
installed over the end of each section will allow visitors to see
inside the submarine from specially built viewing platforms.
Mr Scales added:- “We are still in negotiations with
specialists about moving U534 but work can start as soon as we
receive planning permission which we anticipate, will be in
September. The U Boat exhibition will also complement both the
Resurgum, the world’s first submarine, a full scale model of which
is located on the north side of the ferry terminal, as well the
historic connection between the Mersey Ferries and U Boats through
the 1918 Zeebrugge raid.”
U534 was launched in February 1942 and for the first year and a half
of its life never appears in the records of the combat flotillas. It
is thought that during this period it was used as a school boat,
kept in the Baltic to train new crews and test new systems.
In May 1944, U534 was released for operational duty but it was not
sent on offensive patrols. It was assigned the duty of weather
reporting and required to avoid contact with the enemy to ensure
regular reports.
On May 5, 1945 U-534 was sailing in the Kattegat, North-West of
Helsingor and although Admiral Dönitz had ordered all his U-boats to
surrender as from 08:00 May 5, U534 refused to do so. She was
heading North towards Norway, without flying a flag of surrender,
when she was attacked by a Liberator aircraft from RAF 547 Squadron
which dropped depth charges. U534 took heavy damage and began
to sink by the stern. 49 of the 52 crew members survived including 5
who escaped via a torpedo hatch as she lay on the sea bed. |
BRITS CONFUSED ABOUT HOW TO DETECT AND DEAL WITH ID THEFT
NEW research
from Capital One reveals that over 42 million adults in the UK don’t
know how to discover if they have been a victim of ID theft, while
only 1 in 10 knows exactly what do if they suspect their ID has been
stolen. Encouragingly, almost everyone surveyed (99%) was aware of
the problem of ID theft. Nearly 25 million (41%) were worried it
would happen to them.
Identity theft is on the increase in the UK. By obtaining somebody’s
personal details a fraudster can apply for credit cards, loans and
other financial products in their name. They can also obtain mobile
phone contracts, driving licences or even passports. The unpaid
debts subsequently accrued are then lodged in the innocent person’s
name. Ultimately, this can lead to encounters with debt collectors,
court actions and problems getting a mortgage or even a job.
The research, carried out by YouGov on behalf of Capital One, also
revealed that despite such high awareness, and levels of concern,
many Brits are still not taking action to ensure the security of
confidential information:-
* 16 million people take no preventative action at all against the
crime * 2.5 million throw documents such as bank statements away intact
* 5 million leave important personal information lying around
“on
the kitchen table”
* 4.5 million regularly carry sensitive documents in their wallets
and bags when outside the home
* 32.5 million store personal information in their homes but
insecurely * 14 million do not shred confidential personal documents
Professor Martin Gill, Criminologist from Perpetuity, a research
consultancy associated with the University of Leicester, says:-
“Although these figures encouragingly show an almost universal
awareness about ID theft, and a high level of concern, it is
worrying that people are still being blasé about storage and
disposal of confidential personal documents. Young people
particularly seem to be showing high levels of careless behaviour
with 55% of 18-24 year olds taking no action to protect themselves
against the risk of ID theft. Despite the high awareness of identity
theft the research also highlights a real need for increased
knowledge about how to identify and resolve the problems that result
from fraudulent use of someone’s identity.”
Sanjiv Yajnik, Principal Managing Director, Capital One says:-
“It is concerning how many people we asked had no idea how to
tell if their ID had been stolen, or what to do about it if they had
unfortunately become a victim. The tell-tale signs of ID theft often
include unexplained items appearing on bank and credit card
statements, receipt of bills and receipts of goods or services you
haven’t asked for, being told you are already claiming state
benefits you weren’t aware of, or being refused a financial service
despite having a good credit history. The best advice for
preventing ID theft is to take steps to protect your personal
information by redirecting your mail when you move house, keeping
important documents in a safe place, and safeguarding your PIN and
password details at all times. Additionally, regularly getting a
copy of your personal credit file from a credit reference agency
will allow you to spot applications or accounts that have been set
up without your knowledge.”
Over 80% of those researched said they would value advice and
assistance if they had their ID stolen. Capital One can help its
customers to protect themselves against the perils of ID theft, and
to pick up the pieces if they fall victim. Its newly updated free ID
theft service will provide a named adviser to provide to help at
every stage of the resolution process if a cardholder discovers they
have been a victim of ID Theft. |
