General Chat

Can't see a thread on this.

The poppy girls, beautiful voices. Can't believe they sprang that on that little one. Lovely surprise but she was in bits. Tissue time here too.

I must admit to sobbing like a baby at the little girl running to her father .What a lovely and tearjerking time for her.

She was quite nervous singing too. Lovely girls all of them.

they were interviewed on BBC breakfast one morning this week

At last a tribute to the Merchant Navy - they are often overlooked.

Both OH and I had tears - all that little girl could see was her Daddy and ff she went!!! Bless her.

Agree with you Chris, when I joined in 1949 heard some horrendous tales
from the old seafarers who were in the war, some were torpedoed several
times, at least 30 thousand with no known grave.

F.

Those who served in the Merchant Navy during conflict and supported the armed services can now apply for their own version of the HM Armed Services Veterans badge. Details can be found at:


http://www.veterans-uk.info/vets_badge/merchant.html

Frederick - having come directly down from a long line of MN captains - get very uptight about this. My Dad loathed convoys. One of his brothers was twice on the receiving end of a torpedo - the second time he was on the bridge and saw it coming.

Was in the sea three days on a raft - there were others but some died. When he arrived home - his son aged 8 did not recognise him and shouted to his Mum that there was a dirty old man wanting to come in. I know from my Dad that my Uncle would not sleep in the house but slept in the air raid shelter in the garden
and after a period of weeks, he was called back to sea in spite of still being badly shell shocked - but they were so short of seamen.

My maternal g.father (again he was a MN captain) went up with his ship (all hands gone) entering the Thames Estuary, hit a mine the sweepers missed (in WW1 he was also had a torpedo hit his ship) and two months later his brother a Chief Engineer lost his life also.

Staffs
I was about 14 and a neighbour asked my Dad as he had served
during the war if he was entitled to any medals. I can always recall his answer - that if he was - he would not claim - he was doing his job - the same job he had always done. As far as he was concerned medals were for a heroic act.

I remember Fred telling me when I was about eight that he would not have wanted to be on one of the mercantile vessels because they were so big they were always visible to the enemy.