Post by Administrator on Aug 25, 2020 18:21:01 GMT
On the 3rd September, we will stand still and remember all those brave Merchant Seamen who died during WW1 & WW2. In WW1, approximately 14,661 merchant seamen died as the result of direct attacks in British shipping. In WW2, a staggering 30,248 Merchant Seamen died. This is a death rate that was higher proportionately than in any of the Armed Forces. However, the most significant and crucial conflict in which merchant seamen were involved was the Battle of the Atlantic. In the longest campaign of the war, the British merchant fleet, with its naval escorts, struggled to bring food, fuel, equipment and raw materials from America and elsewhere across the Atlantic, while Germany mobilized U-boats, battleships, aircraft and mines against them in an attempt to sever Britain's supply lines. At the same time, British and later American shipyards attempted to produce enough ships to replace those that were sunk. It was not until May 1943 that the Battle of the Atlantic was won, although U-Boats continued to operate until the end of the war.
Royal British Legion - Paris France
Royal British Legion - Paris France
