|
Wartime
Merchant Ships
"But for the
Merchant Navy who bring us the food and munitions of war, Britain
would be in a parlous state and indeed, without them, the Army,
Navy and Air Force could not operate."
(Winston Churchill, January 27, 1942) |
Merchant shipping
was essential to the wartime effort; ships were needed to carry
food, raw materials, troops, and equipment from North America
to Britain. In 1939, however, the world's shipping fleets were
relatively small. At the outbreak of World War Two, every available
ship, regardless of age or condition, was pressed into service.
Britain's merchant fleet was augmented by older ships, many of
which were originally built at the end of World War One under
United States Shipping Board (USSB) requisitions, as well as by
captured and confiscated enemy tonnage.
Merchant ships of allied governments in exile also
operated under the command of the British Ministry of War Transport
(M.O.W.T.). Crews included seamen in their sixties and seventies,
as well as teenagers as young as fourteen, and came from every
allied nation.
A massive shipbuilding project was undertaken, particularly
in the United States and Canada, and ships were mass-produced
using assembly-line techniques. Thousands of Liberty
ships came from American shipyards, while Canada contributed the
Parks and Fort ships. Most British ships had
the prefix Empire added to their name. |
Empire Ships:
In 1939, the British Ministry of Shipping adopted
a standard naming system whereby all merchant ships ordered to
be built in Britain to Government account, except very small ship
types, would be given the prefix 'Empire' to their name. This
applied to ships acquired through purchase, requisition, or taken
in prize, with some exceptions. It also applied to older ships
acquired from the USA, modern ships acquired on Lease/Lend arrangements,
salved and refitted ships, and captured enemy ships. |
Allied Merchant Navy
shipping losses reached a peak in 1942, exceeding those recorded
for any other year during the Second World War. That year
total losses in all spheres of the war amounted to 1,664 merchant
ships, totalling 7,790,697 gross registered tons. The majority
of these losses were in the Atlantic Ocean, where U-boats sank
5,471,222 tons (1,006 ships) of allied shipping, with the British
Merchant Navy bearing the brunt of these losses.
During World War II, some 50,000 allied merchant
seamen lost their lives, of whom over 32,000 were British. Although
the Merchant Navy was essentially a civilian force, during wartime
it was recognized as the "fourth arm"
of the armed forces.
Crew members from Merchant ships were trained to
operate light machine guns. Merchant ships also had heavier guns,
such as oerlikons, that were manned by army or naval gunners referred
to as DEMS (Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship) gunners. |
Wartime Merchant
Service
(1) Badge (Merchant Navy)
|
WARTIME
MERCHANT NAVY
|
British Merchant Navy lapel badge (left) was
issued to all merchant seamen in World War II. The badge
issued to members of the Canadian Merchant Navy was similar,
but had the word "CANADA" added at the top.
Ships'
officers in the Merchant Navy wore uniforms, but the other
members of the crew (stokers, deckhands, etc.) did not have
an official uniform. If they were employed by a large shipping
company, however, they may have been issued with a company
uniform.
Ashore,
the men would wear this badge to identify them as merchant
seamen.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
(2) Campaign Medals
|
Merchant
seamen qualified for eight medals during World War II: the 1939-45
War Medal, the 1939-45 Star, and six campaign star medals. Medals
are worn on the left hand side, left of the centre across to
the left shoulder, in order of the campaign date. Medals may
be worn by next of kin on certain occasions, such as Remembrance
Day, but must be worn on the right hand side. There are also
commemorative medals available
These
are the campaign medals of Gordon Mumford: 1939-45 Star; Atlantic
Star with France & Germany Clasp, Africa Star, Burma Star,
and War Medal 1939-45.
(a) War Medal 1939-45. Ribbon: colours of the flag
(British Union Jack).
(b) 1939-45 Star. Ribbon: dark blue (royal and
merchant navies), red (army), and light blue (air force).
(c) Atlantic Star 1939-45. Ribbon: colours
represented the Atlantic Ocean.
(d) Africa Star 1940-43. Ribbon: buff (desert sand),
dark blue (both navies), red (army), and light blue (air force).
(e) Pacific Star 1941-45. Ribbon: central colours
represent the forests an beaches of the Pacific, dark blue (both navies),
red (army), and light blue (air force).
(f) Burma Star 1941-45. Ribbon: colours represent the
British Commonwealth forces, both navies, and the sun.
Note: a person qualifying for both the Pacific and
Burma Stars is awarded only the first Star earned;
with a clasp to denote service for the other Star.
(g) Italy Star 1943-45. Ribbon: colours represent the
Italian flag.
(h) France and Germany Star 1944-45. Ribbon: colours
represent the British Union Jack, France and Holland flags. Any person
qualifying for this Star and the Atlantic Star is awarded only the first
earned, plus clasp. On the ribbon bar, there would be a silver rose emblem
to represent the clasp.
|
(3) Seamen's
Continuous Certificate of Discharge
Merchant Seamen had a Continuous Certificate of Discharge that they
produce when signing Articles of Agreement.
The certificate was given into the safe keeping of the Master according to the
"Notice to Seamen."
A master document must have been kept by the Shipping Office as well. Shown below is the front cover of Gordon's Continuous Certificate of Discharge.
The Certificate was continuously updated because the information in it was changing
on a regular basis.
This is the certificate that he had when he left the sea in 1947. |
|
|
|
This is 4.5 x 6.5-inches with
a (faded) blue cover (light cardboard). There is a square cutout
on the cover so you can see the surname and certificate number
from page 2. The crest on the cover is that of the Ministry of
War Transport |
| On the first page of the booklet, there was a picture of the
seaman, showing the Continuous Certificate of Discharge number.
This picture, dated Dec 30, 1946, has been pasted
over an earlier photograph. The epaulets on the bridgecoat show
that Gordon is a First Radio Officer.
The Seaman's Identity Certificate number has been altered.
|
 |
Below is the Notice to Seamen
from page 2.
Seamen did not have passports. The Continuous Certificate was used instead.
|
 |
Pages 3 and 4 of the booklet
contains the actual certificate. It was probably filled out in
a hurry, because they forgot to include the inches. Gordon was
actually 5 foot 9 inches.
The page is stamped to show that he was issued with
a Merchant Navy badge (see above) and a ribbon for the 1939-43
Star.
|
The next pages show information
about Gordon's ships.
The MV Luling was handed over under lend-lease in
Shanghai. There is a note saying "as per F1" in lieu
of the captain's signature. This probably refers to the Articles
when they signed off. |
 |
On page 7/8, there is a note
to the effect that he ceased seagoing services at his own request,
and that this certificate was issued at that time.
Pages 9/10 are not shown, because there are no ships
given on those pages.
You can see that the book was stitched together
by hand at the time that it was given to him. |
 |
 |
There has been no information
written on either of these two pages.
Although no clothing coupons are mentioned, Gordon
did receive clothing coupons in January 1945 when he was on survivors
leave. He had lost all his uniforms and other clothing when the
Empire Path was sunk on December 24, 1944. |
 |
These are the final two pages
of Gordon's Certificate of Continuous Discharge.
The last page shows his home address and next of
kin. He was married when he returned to England in 1946.
When he went to sea in September 1942 and throughout
the war years, the certificate showed his mother's name and address. |
|
(4) Clothing Coupons
Clothing Book issued to Joe Barnett in 1944 |
Wartime Merchant Navy |
Contact |
African Adventures |
|
