Few warship names capture the public imagination like that of HMS ARK ROYAL. HMS ARK ROYAL (RO9) was the last conventional aircraft carrier in service with the Royal Navy. The ARK ROYAL would have been the centrepiece of a wider urban redevelopment of a run down area. Their proposals envisaged moving ARK ROYAL to Southend, to replace the pierhead that was destroyed in a fire in 1976. The First Sea Lord agreed, and in a memo stated: “In my view the proper end for ARK ROYAL is a speedy disposal for scrap”.