Warship Weeks were

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

National savings campaigns during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with the aim of a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

being adopted by a civil community. During the early parts of the war, the Royal Navy not only had lost many capital ships but was facing increasing pressure to provide escorts for convoys in the Atlantic. While there was not a shortage of sailors, ships sunk by enemy action had to be replaced. The equivalent for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

was

Salute the Soldier Week Salute the Soldier Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the aim of British Army equipment being sponsored by a civil community. The Royal Air Force equivalent was Wings for Victory Week and the Royal Navy ...

and the equivalent for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

was

Wings for Victory Week Wings for Victory Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the aim of Royal Air Force aircraft being sponsored by a civil community. The British Army equivalent was Salute the Soldier Week and the Royal Navy ...

Campaign

Local fund-raising

Kington Museum - 2015-07-15 - Andy Mabbett - 06

A level of savings would be set to raise enough money to provide the cost of building a particular naval ship. The aim was for cities to raise enough to adopt

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

s and

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s, while towns and villages would focus on

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s and

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s. Smaller towns and villages would be set a lower figure. Once the target money was saved for the ship, the community would adopt the ship and its crew. Local charity organisations, churches and schools would provide the crews of the adopted ship with gloves, woollen socks and balaclavas. Children would often write letters and send cards to the crew. When possible officers and men from the adopted ship would visit the local community. To celebrate their visit a parade would often be organised in their honour. The ship's commanding officer would exchange plaques, objects and photographs with the city or town that reached the target set, and an ''adoption'' would begin. The number of warships adopted was over 1,200, number including battleships, cruisers, destroyers and trawlers. 2015-03-07 - ThinkTank - Sasha Taylor - 09

2015-03-07 - ThinkTank - Sasha Taylor - 09

National savings

Between 1941 and 1942, the concept of National Savings was introduced by the British government. Each region in the country was provided with a savings target to achieve. This was based on the region's population, with each general level of savings having a class of warship assigned. This became known as Warship Week, due to its similarities with War Weapons Week – which was a drive to replace the materiel lost at Dunkirk through a savings campaign.

Success

The total amount raised by the Exchequer over the 24 weeks of the Warship Week campaign was £955,611,589, equivalent to about £ in . This included an amount realised in the weeks specifically designated Warship Weeks of £545,640,770, equivalent to about £ in . A community would sponsor a ship through individual savings in government bonds and national savings certificates. The campaigns were organised by the National War Savings Committee with the support of the Admiralty. There were a total of 1,178 warship weeks organised during the campaign, involving a total of 1,273 districts. A press announcement quoted the adoption of eight battleships, four carriers, forty-nine cruisers, three hundred and one destroyers, twenty-five submarines, one hundred and sixty-four corvettes and frigates and two hundred and eighty-eight minesweepers.

References

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External links