Post by Administrator on Sept 3, 2014 11:05:21 GMT
Merchant Navy Day, a Time to Remember:
September 3rd is Merchant Navy Day. Celebrated annually around the world, it is a day to remember merchant seafarers who died in war.
During World War II, Australian merchant navy ships were at just as much risk as Royal Australian Navy warships as they delivered critical supplies. Hospital ships were also crewed by merchant seamen.
Contrary to popular belief, merchant seamen were not well-paid, did not have comfortable working hours, and their living conditions were often very poor, says Don Fraser in “Men of a service’ : Australian merchant seamen”.
Figures published by the Seaman’s Union of Australia (SUA) in 1972 indicate that 386 members of the union lost their lives during the Second World War. Given the union’s claim of a total membership of 4,500 at the beginning of the war, the overall fatality rate among seamen members of the SUA during the Second World War was 8.5 percent, a rate higher than that sustained by Australia’s fighting services.
LINK
September 3rd is Merchant Navy Day. Celebrated annually around the world, it is a day to remember merchant seafarers who died in war.
During World War II, Australian merchant navy ships were at just as much risk as Royal Australian Navy warships as they delivered critical supplies. Hospital ships were also crewed by merchant seamen.
Contrary to popular belief, merchant seamen were not well-paid, did not have comfortable working hours, and their living conditions were often very poor, says Don Fraser in “Men of a service’ : Australian merchant seamen”.
Figures published by the Seaman’s Union of Australia (SUA) in 1972 indicate that 386 members of the union lost their lives during the Second World War. Given the union’s claim of a total membership of 4,500 at the beginning of the war, the overall fatality rate among seamen members of the SUA during the Second World War was 8.5 percent, a rate higher than that sustained by Australia’s fighting services.
LINK