Alan Johnson, the Patron of the Viola Trust, seized the opportunity to take the campaign to a corporate audience when he was interviewed for the cover feature for a new business magazine.
Alan, the former MP for Hull West and Hessle whose government posts included Home Secretary, told Business Works magazine of the commitment he made to help to secure recognition and recompense for the Hull fishing families who lost thousands of men at sea.
He added that the only obstacle to bringing the Viola back to Hull is money – all the necessary permissions are in place.
Alan also chatted about his work as an author, and about his fourth book, In My Life, which was published last week. But the main focus of the article is the story of the Viola and its growing appeal.
He revealed: “We’ve had interest from film companies but they have to know Viola is going to come home. They were struck by the wonderful story – the link with the First World War, the distinguished military service, and the fishing links as part of the boxing fleet.
“Throughout the long campaign for compensation, the men and their families were bemoaning the fact that we didn’t have any real fishing heritage centrepiece. There should be more to show for everything they went through.
“A survey has shown the ship to be in good condition – they built them to last in those days. Her engines are intact. She couldn’t possibly get here under her own steam but we have the permissions we need and she could be brought back – everything is in place except the money.
“We can’t get any help from Heritage Lottery until we get her back into British waters, but everybody we speak to sees the benefit and is enthusiastic. We need a lot of help from businesses, and the important message to them is there’s no doubt that if the money comes in, Viola will come back.”
“In My Life” is published by Penguin Random House and is available now.
To ready the full article http://bw-magazine.co.uk/read-online/
Picture by Karl Andre Smit.
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