The aim of the restoration is to take the ship back to her refit appearance of the late 1950's to early 1960's, which is how the ship returned to Chatham when she paid off in July 1972. The ship is now well over 50 years old and even areas of wear and tear, as long as they are stable, tell part of the story of her history. We try therefore to retain as much of the historical fabric and character of the ship, whilst balancing the future preservation needs.
The photo to the left illustrates that the repairing corroded areas of the ship is essential to ensuring structural integrity.
Since early 2000, a small but highly dedicated group of volunteers have been engaged on a weekly basis in assisting the full time shipkeeping team working on Cavalier's restoration. Many of these volunteers served either in the armed forces or were employed within the Dockyard; some even served on board HMS Cavalier or her sister ships.
So far most of the upper 3 decks of the forward end of the ship have been restored to how they would have looked in the 1950s/1960s. Luckily Cavalier paid off with many fittings still in place. However essential maintenance was given to the overall fabric and details such as sourcing and replacing missing fixtures and fittings have meant compartments including the Forward Seaman's Mess, the Ship's Office; the Captain's Day Cabin, the Wardroom and the Operations Room are now fully restored.
The Operations Room one of the latest compartments to be fully restored.
More recently work has included the painstaking restoration and reactivation of the hand powered 40 mm Bofors Gun within the workshop: the gun is now back onboard. One of the ship's boats is currently being restored by an ex-shipwright with the hope of returning it to the davits where it originally hung onboard. Work on the ship's Sick Bay is nearly complete with a number of members of the Royal Naval Medical Branch ratings and Sick Berth Staff Association working alongside the regular volunteer crew to return this fascinating compartment to its in service appearance. On a grander scale 2006 has also seen the entire superstructure nearly fully repainted. The mainmast is also undergoing essential work including re-painting and the replacement of some steelwork.
The sickbay before restoration in 2005, and after in 2006.
Looking into the future, work is now moving towards the aft end of the ship. Whilst technical compartments such as the Boiler Rooms are within reach of becoming open to the public. Ongoing restoration of the main armament and anti-aircraft weapons will also continue into next year.
The mainmast currently surrounded by scaffold as it is repainted
The 'Historic Warship' volunteers meet every Monday and Wednesday and work the ongoing restoration of HMS Gannet and HM Submarine Ocelot as well as HMS Cavalier. If you would like to get involved please contact the Trust on 01634 823800 or email info@chdt.org.uk|
