Dear Editor:
The Flamborough Head was a Second World War Liberty ship, a utilitarian freighter designed to be used as an expendable vessel in a time when many ships faced a very short lifespan.
The Flamborough Head was neither beautiful nor built to last. Nevertheless the ship lived long beyond its expiry date, languishing on the North Shore. At times it was used as a film set and more than once used as a platform for special effects to be blown up. Then somehow it was determined it had become a historical relic and would be the centrepiece of a maritime museum.Nevertheless, the main body was scrapped as it was no longer salvageable, so they cut her up and kept the butt, proudly displayed on the waterfront as an example of how we like to preserve our history.
The maritime museum never happened and we are now facing the hard decision of what to do with the propped up butt of a freighter neither pretty nor useful. Substantial money will be poured into another valiant attempt to preserve history, transparency and placating the ire of disgruntled citizens that do not have enough parks and monuments to commemorate the war.
It is somewhat ironic that the news of revisiting this decision to scrap the stern of an old boat shared the front page with Tim Jones, a fallen leader and a true hero with a legacy worth saving.
In his memory, the North Shore Search and Rescue team continues to save lives in the mountains of this majestic and at times unforgiving land. Needless to say, I can think of better ways to spend money to commemorate our heroes and honour human life other than saving the ass of a tired old war horse.
Hans Ter Horst
North Vancouver
