Post by KG on Sept 17, 2018 1:38:13 GMT
They Couldn't have done it without Them:
The Cenotaph on London’s, Whitehall is the memorial designated the United Kingdom's official national war memorial. Its origin was a temporary wooden structure erected for a peace parade following the end of the First World War, and after an outpouring of national sentiment it was replaced in 1920 by a permanent structure.
In the years following 1919, the Cenotaph has displayed the Red Ensign of the British Mercantile Marine on one side and a Union Flag, together with the Ensign’s of the Armed Forces. The flags displayed as of 2007 represent the Royal Military forces authorised by a sovereign state and the Merchant Navy.
The Red Ensign representing the fallen of the merchant navy and the fishing fleet has been there every day as were the men of the “Forgotten Service”. Despite its wartime contributions, it was not until 2000 that the Merchant Navy was allowed to join the official march past the Cenotaph, although the Mercantile Marine / Merchant Navy’s Red Ensign had been flown on the Whitehall monument since 1919.
Although, London hosts the Country’s main 11/11 tributes and remembrance, virtually every city, town and village conducts local services the length and breadth of the country.
Although many sailed from Barry Docks, especially during conflicts, many never to return. All were not only from the town but, from throughout the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, Wales itself and indeed from all over Great Britain and Southern Ireland. Many did settle locally and families remember the fallen.
Barry has been noted amongst other things as being a former Merchant Navy Town, our historic port once described as the “Gateway to the World". During conflict, together with the other South Wales ports, the part that Barry and her docks, built mainly for coal, was vital and its proportion of fatalities per head of population in comparison to other similar sized ports would become the highest in Britain.
In wartime, Britain depended on civilian cargo ships to import food and raw materials, as well as to transport soldiers overseas, and keep them supplied. The title 'Merchant Navy' was granted by King George V after the First World War to recognise the contribution made by merchant sailors.
In 1928 George V made Edward, Prince of Wales "Master of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets"; a title he retained after his accession in January 1936 and relinquished at his abdication in December 1936. Since Edward VIII the title has automatically been held by the sovereigns George VI and Elizabeth II. When the UK entered the Second World War in September 1939 George VI issued this message:
In these anxious days I would like to express to all Officers and Men and in The British Merchant Navy and The British Fishing Fleets my confidence in their unfailing determination to play their vital part in defence. To each one I would say: Yours is a task no less essential to my people's experience than that allotted to the Navy, Army and Air Force. Upon you the Nation depends for much of its foodstuffs and raw materials and for the transport of its troops overseas. You have a long and glorious history, and I am proud to bear the title "Master of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets". I know that you will carry out your duties with resolution and with fortitude, and that high chivalrous traditions of your calling are safe in your hands. God keep you and prosper you in your great task.
King George V, in recognition of the contribution made to the British war effort by merchant ships, granted the title of ‘Merchant Navy’ to non-military sailors. Despite sharing the word ‘Navy’ in their titles, the difference between the Royal and Merchant Navies was that sailors in the latter were classed as civilians.
After the outbreak of war, Germany declared that every vessel of the British mercantile marine was to be regarded as a warship, meaning that the sailors of the Merchant Navy faced tremendous risks. Tragically, 30,248 merchant seamen lost their lives during World War Two, a death rate proportionally higher than in any of the armed forces.
In July 1941 Winston Churchill said, "The Merchant Navy, with Allied comrades, night and day, in weather fair or foul, faces not only the ordinary perils on the sea, but the sudden assaults of war from beneath the waters or from the sky."
“But for the Merchant Navy who bring us the food and munitions of war, Britain would be in a perilous state and ...the Army, Navy, and Air Force could not operate." Winston Churchill, April 1941.
The name "Battle of the Atlantic" was coined by Winston Churchill in February 1941. The outcome of the battle was a strategic victory for the Allies—the German blockade failed—but at great cost: 3,500 merchant ships and 175 warships were sunk for the loss of 783 U-boats.
On 30 October 1945 the Houses of Parliament unanimously carried the following resolution expressing gratitude to the Merchant Navy on the victorious end of the war : "That the thanks of this House be accorded to the officers and men of the Merchant Navy for the steadfastness with which they maintained our stocks of food and materials; for their services in transporting men and munitions to all battles over all the seas, and for the gallantry with which, through a civilian service, they met and fought the constant attacks of the enemy."
The Right Honourable Alfred Barnes, Minister of War Transport said: "The Merchant Seaman never faltered. To him we owe our preservation and our very lives."
Following many years of lobbying to bring about official recognition of the sacrifices made by merchant seafarers in two world wars and since, Merchant Navy Day became an official day of remembrance on 3 September 2000. In honour of the sacrifices made in the two World Wars, the Merchant Navy also lays wreaths of remembrance alongside the armed forces in the annual Remembrance Day service and service’s on 11 November.