A RENEWED association of the Second World War frigate HMS Wellington with its namesake town has continued with a request for more information about a distinctive trophy presented to the warship in 1942 by the village of Langford Budville.

The ‘Wellington Cup’ is still in the possession of the Royal Navy and is awarded annually to the winners of a tri-Service canoe marathon.

It will be presented during November aboard HMS Wellington, in London, to the triumphant Army team.

Ahead of the ceremony, organiser Lt Cmdr Adam Egeland-Jensen has contacted Wellington Museum to ask if anything locally was known about the reasons for Langford Budville presenting the silver cup to the ship.

One possible clue was that in April, 1942, residents across Wellington and its surrounding area were involved in a national savings drive to raise the then-enormous sum of £120,000, more than £7 million at today’s prices, for British Warship Week.

Lt Cmdr Egeland-Jensen said: “As the RN Trophy store does not hold the historic detail, my key question is, is it known for what specific part of the fund-raising Langford Budville commissioned a cup?”

Wellington town Cllr Keith Wheatley, who is liaising between the town council and trustees of HMS Wellington, has contacted Langford Budville Parish Council to ask if it has any records which might help.

Cllr Wheatley said: “If there are any residents of the village who do have information to share about the origins of the Wellington Cup they can contact me and I will pass the information on.”

He can be reached by email at [email protected].

The town council has been re-establishing links with the warship that bears the town’s name, which is moored permanently on the Thames Embankment just downstream from Waterloo Bridge.

Wellington adopted the ship in 1942 at the height of the Battle of the Atlantic when it sailed nearly 250,000 miles escorting 103 convoys bringing food and essential supplies to Britain.

The ship’s ‘HMS’ status was restored in September by King Charles to mark its 90th birthday and the 85th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Atlantic.