Battle of the Atlantic Memorial (BOAM), the charity leading the campaign, is looking to raise £2.5m to build a memorial on the Pier Head. It would comprise a eight-metre monument in the shape of a merchant ship

A campaign to raise £2.5m to build a memorial to the Battle of the Atlantic on Liverpool’s iconic waterfront is to embark on a US tour to raise awareness across the Atlantic.

Battle of the Atlantic Memorial (BOAM), the charity leading the campaign, is looking to raise £2.5m to build a memorial on the Pier Head. It would comprise a eight-metre monument in the shape of a merchant ship split in two.

The design is the brainchild of acclaimed sculptor Paul Day whose works include the Battle of Britain Monument and the Iraq-Afghanistan memorial, both in London.

Crucial to the outcome of the Second World War the Battle of the Atlantic last from 1939 to 1945 and cost an estimated 100,000 lives. Liverpool was home to the nerve centre of the Allied operations during the battle but, incredibly, it has no dedicated national memorial.

Now BOAM has received the backing of the British Ambassador to the US, Sir Kim Darroch, and he has suggested the campaign holds events at the British Embassy in Washington as well as consulates including Chicago, New York, Boston and Atlanta.

Sir Kim is further offering the resources of the British Naval Attache to the US Commodore Martin Connell and his team to help the campaign engage with the US Navy and Coastguard who were integral to winning the Battle of the Atlantic.

“Keeping the North Atlantic open to British and American shipping is as important now as it was 75 years ago at the height of the Second World War,” Sir Kim said.

“At that time, the North Atlantic shipping channels were a vital lifeline, without which the war could not have been won. So it is entirely fitting that a campaign should have been launched to raise the funds to build a UK memorial to the brave and selfless men and women who were wounded or sacrificed their lives in the Battle of the Atlantic. 

BOAM chairman Vice-Admiral Mike Gretton, whose father Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Gretton served during the battle as an Atlantic Escort Group commander, said the campaign is planning to stage the fundraising tour of America in the autumn.

For more information on the campaign, sponsorship packages and to make donations visit: www.battleoftheatlantic.org  email: info@battleofatlanticmemorial.org or call 01243 545939.