Big Heritage are pleased to announce that we are the new custodians of U-534 and operators of the U-Boat Story in Birkenhead. 

The deal will link up the Birkenhead site and Western Approaches to create a ground-breaking Battle of the Atlantic Centre across both sides of the River Mersey – the most fitting location in the world for such an endeavour. 

We are hugely grateful to Merseytravel for believing in our vision for the site, and how we will be able to take it to the next level in terms of visitor experience, conservation and social impact.  

Whilst still in the early stages, we can confirm that our plan is to extend the display narrative to include the efforts and impact made to mitigate the U-Boat threat.  Much of this was planned in Western Approaches and executed in part due to the brilliance of Cammell Laird, both located minutes away from the U-Boat Story site.  

We are working with some world-class technology companies in the US and UK to create a new immersive digital experience and working with maritime & heritage partners locally and nationally to create a long-term conservation management plan for U-534 and its archives. 

Finally, we are hugely proud to be taking on our first permanent site in the place where Big Heritage began 10 years ago this month. Birkenhead has an incredibly bright and bold future, and we are excited to be able to play a small part in making this a reality. 

Dean Paton 

Big Heritage Founder & CEO