MERCANTILE MARINE HONORED.
The honor which His Majesty the King has been pleased to bestow upon the mercantile marine and the fishing fleets of the Empire will be highly appreciated by those callings. To mark the importance of their services in peace and war, the Prince of Wales has been given the title of Master of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets, and it is to be presumed that it will be borne also by all future Princes of Wales. In addition to the military colonelcies which he bears, the Prince was already a captain of the Koyal Navy and group captain of the Royal Air Force, as is also the Duke ol York. The new title is a recognition of the callings which it honors as national services, belonging to the same class, though not in the same rank, as the Navy-something more than mere commercial professions. That national character has always belonged to them, though it has not been so directly recognised before. In time of war they become naturally a second navy, and nobly in the last war did the men of the merchant service and the British fishing fleets rise to the height of that responsibility. Before the Great War the Admiralty had a list of vessels of the mercantile marine which could be placed at its disposal in the event of war. Within two weeks of its outbreak twenty-two liners were put into commission as auxiliary cruisers, and in most cases their crews
volunteered to remain for war service under the Admiralty, and were transferred to the naval reserve. By August, 1918, more than 100 auxiliary cruisers were on active service, and over 100 cargo boats in commission as “ mercantile fleet auxiliaries,” charged with the duty of keeping the fleet supplied from day to day with everything it required. In order to maintain the commercial blockade Britain relied mainly upon the mercantile marine, and the perilous work of mine-sweeping fell to the men of the fishing fleets. The merchant seamen who were torpedoed, some of them time after time, and wont back to their task, were as much heroes as any on land or sea. A partial return of casualties to merchant shipping registered in the United Kingdom, tho dominions, and India showed that the number of vessels lost during tho war period by marine casualty was 915, and those lost by enemy action 3,781, making a total tonnage of 9,412,000. And these were only the ships lost on or near the coasts of the United Kingdom. In Elizabethan times the merchant navy and the fishing fleets played a like part in the national defence, and fast days, on which only fish could be oaten, were encouraged for the express benefit of the fishing fleets, which supplied men for the Navy.* Among themselves it has been an old grievance of the men of the mercantile marine that in time of peace they take their full share of tho hardships and the dangers of the sea, with a minimum of glory to be hoped for. Now a small measure of glory has been shed on them, which is a debt due. The recognition given, on the King’s initiative, to the merchant navy and tho fishing fleets as both national services is an instance of His Majesty’s considerateness, as it is not likely to have been even indirectly asked for. And the title chosen by him to be added to those of the Prince of Wales must be considered as supremely fitting. Jt lias a true Elizabethan ring.
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Evening Star, Issue 19791, 15 February 1928, Page 6
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591MERCANTILE MARINE HONORED. Evening Star, Issue 19791, 15 February 1928, Page 6
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