Aguila had been part of a convoy from Liverpool to Gibraltar when she was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-201 in the early hours of 19 August 1941.

She is a Liverpool-class lifeboat, with her hull formed of double diagonal-skinned Honduras mahogany laid on English oak frames.

Among those present were Captain Arthur Frith of Aguila and Dame Vera Laughton Mathews, former Director of the WRNS who had selected the 22 Wrens for Gibraltar service.

Her status as a war memorial led to discussions about the possibility of preserving Aguila Wren in a museum at Portsmouth, but these talks came to nothing.

As a training ship Aguila Wren sailed extensively around Britain and in Europe, including what was described as a "memorable trip" along the Rhine.

She was in a poor condition when she was found in mid-August 2004, bought by the son of one of her former shore crew members at Redcar, and put in storage.

Aguila Wren's original port and starboard navigation lights and her steaming light were tracked down to an owner in New Zealand who had bought them when he lived near Keadby; they were subsequently reacquired by Aguila Wren's present owner and have been refitted to the boat after a round trip of around 23,000 miles to New Zealand and back.