Local MP Caroline Dinenage has welcomed the news that Coastal Forces Heritage Trust's will receive a £925,000 cash injection from the fines levied on banks for manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) financial benchmark.
Coastal Forces Heritage Trust is a small charity with the mission of preserving the history of the Royal Navy's Coastal Forces. Coastal forces volunteers made an immensely important, but often forgotten, contribution in WW2. The small sea craft they operated went into enemy waters at night, achieving remarkable success totally disproportionate to the numbers and size of the vessels.
They are seeking to establish a permanent exhibition at Explosion! Museum in Gosport to commemorate the achievements of Coastal Forces personnel. The proposed museum will fulfil three significant functions: firstly, commemorating the memory of those brave citizen sailors of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and "Hostilities Only" ratings who rallied in great numbers to the defence of the nation in WWII; secondly, informing and educating young people about their achievements; and thirdly, providing local employment and investment within a challenging part of Hampshire.
Following the news Caroline said
"I am delighted to hear that the Coastal Forces Heritage Trust have received LIBOR funds for this fantastic proposal.
It's absolutely right that fines paid by bankers who helped create the financial crisis are being used support the armed forces community. Our brave service personnel have sacrificed so much for our country and the Coastal Forces Heritage Trust is a way of ensuring we never forget their achievements."
For more information about the Coastal Forces Heritage Trust please visit www.coastal-forces.org.uk.
