MERCHANT NAVY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 December 1943, Page 4

MERCHANT NAVY

GREAT RECORD OF HEROISM OVER 4000 AWARDS WON MAGNIFICENT WAR SERVICE Over 4000 honours and awards have been conferred upon members of the Merchant Navy since the war began. While no record is available of the number of men wounded or prisoners of war, it has been reliably estimated that so far well over 20,000 have lost their lives in this magnificent service, which has lived up to its traditions of the last war, in spite of the added danger of aircraft and the perfection of under-water warfare. During the last war the Merchant Navy suffered 44,000 casualties, of whom 16,000 were killed. Of the total casualties in the British Empire in the last war, 7.1 per cent were members of the Merchant Navy, compared with 5.j per cent from the Royal Navy, a proportion of which was drawn from the Merchant Navy. ENDURANCE AND COURAGE According to figures quoted by the Merchant Navy Journal, four members of the Merchant Navy have so far been awarded the George Cross, while three knighthoods have been conferred. Other honours have been awarded as follows:—C.B.E., 18; 0.8. E., 537; M.8.E., 607; D. 5.0., 17; D.S.C., 154; Albert Medal, 8; D.S.M., 224; George Medal, 35; British Empire Medal, 664; Sea Gallantry Medal, 12; Mentioned in Despatches, 345; commendations, 1479. In addition, over 250 seamen have been awarded the Lloyd’s War Medal for bravery at sea. Typical of the citations which have accompanied the latter awards is the following:—“The ship was sunk by the gunfire of a Japanese submarine, and the master saw that she was abandoned in good order. He then got away in one of the boats and sailed to the Dutch East Indies, where he saw his crew housed and the wounded attended to. With six volunteers, he then set out in a ship’s lifeboat for Ceylon, and was picked up off Madras by a Greek vessel after 24 days. The voyage was made in an open boat and without proper navigational instruments. In these difficulties he showed exceptional seamanship, endurance and courage.” SHIP SINKS QUICKLY “The ship sank six minutes after striking a mine, while sailing alone in foggy weather,” reads another citation. “Debris was flung into the air, and the master was struck by a piece of falling concrete. He recovered quickly and immediately organised the launching of the lifeboats, and 27 of the crew of 30 were rescued. He has twice before been in ships which have been mined, he has been wounded in the face by machine-gun fire, and has been torpedoed, but his spirit remains undaunted.” A third citation reads: —“The ship was sailing alone when she sighted an pnemy surface raider. The master was not misled by her false signals, and when the raider commenced shelling he conned his ship with such ability that she was not hit. Then a fast motorboat, which flew the White Ensign, was sent to but the master man-

oeuvred his vessel with such skill that he avoided a torpedo from the enemy craft. Having failed in this attempt, the raider started shelling again, but without success. The master eventually eluded the enemy, and, by his resolution and good seamanship, saved his vessel.”