A Hull trawler could be returned to the city as part of commemorations to mark the centenary of World War I.
This is Hull and East Riding reports the Viola, which is currently rusting in South Georgia, is the last remaining boat of its kind to have been used in the war.
Dr Robb Robinson of Hull University said: ‘The Viola sailed from Hull barely a few weeks after the war started and, a century later, it has yet to return. The centenary commemorations are probably the last chance to bring it back.’
The Viola was one of hundreds of trawlers seized by the government at the outbreak of war in 1914 and turned into fighting boats. It served in the Shetlands and on the River Tyne.
The ship was used for minesweeping patrols and also to hunt U-boats.
After the war the boat was sold to new owners in Norway and used for whaling off the coast of Africa, before being sold again to an Argentinian firm, which used it for sealing and exploratory trips in the Falklands.
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First World War Centenary, 1914-1918 
I’m not sure £1.5M is best spent on a trawler. It would be a lasting legacy, but a bit remote from the heart of the conflict. Plus the City of Hull could spend £1.5M much more wisely.
NB Despite study of a Lancs. Regt. I was dragged up on the better side of the pennines near Hull.
As an exHully-Gully myself, I agree with 8055bell. £500K to ship the old rustbucket back to the UK then £1M to restore it? That doesn’t sound like a sound investment for the City to me. You might need to ‘crowd source’ that sort of cash, or as we used to say, put out a public appeal. Not that the public is so easily fooled. Memories of the short-lived campaign for public subscription towards the restoration of Roald Dahl’s old writing shed come to mind. Not only did people think the Cullum-Dahl pockets might be deep enough to cover the costs themselves, they also felt that £400K was a bit steep for an old shed, no matter what provenance it had.