Merchant seamen deserve war medal

7:56am Saturday 29th December 2012 in Letters By Reader's letter

CONGRATULATIONS are due to Bill Sunderland and his surviving shipmates on finally winning a special medal in recognition of their Royal Navy service in the Arctic convoys.

Not wishing in any way to diminish the heroism of the Royal Navy, it should have been made clear in your report that the Arctic convoys were made up of merchant ships crewed by merchant seamen and escorted by the Royal Navy.

The more-than 3,000 men who died in those dreadful days were, in the main, merchant seamen. Being civilians, they are unlikely to qualify for the medal if past history is anything to go by.

So, once again, is the role played by the Merchant Navy in the Second World War to be ignored?

Bill Murphy, Browney Croft, York.

Comments(1)

Seadog says...
5:25pm Sat 29 Dec 12

No. The undoubted heroism of the Merchant Navy on convoy duty during World War II is already well documented a understood. Public recognition in the form of a bit of tin is nice enough in itself, but ultimately of no importance. What matters is that they got through and delivered the goods. Our enduring freedom is their reward. That's what they did it for, after all ... not for "a ribbon to stick in his coat".

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree