The Merchant Navy Memorial, Tower Hill -- Tower Hill, Tower Hamlets, London, UK - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

These interpretive panels on the Tower Gardens side of the Merchant Navy Memorial explain the expansion of the Merchant Navy Memorial, which when it was built after WWI was dedicated to those of the Merchant Navy who perished in that conflict, the "War to End All Wars." The second panel tells the tale of a few of the Merchant Navy ships who were lost in WWII.

The first panel reads as follows:

"CWGC
THE MERCHANT NAVY MEMORIAL, TOWER HILL

After the Second World War, the question arose of commemorating the thousands of men the Merchant Navy, who had lost their lives at sea and had no known grave. It was agreed to the new memorial in their honor should be combined with the existing 1914-18 monument at Tower Hill. The architect, Sir Edward Maufe, achieved this by creating a semicircular sunken garden adjoining the First World War monument, reached via stone steps, flanked by stone pylons bearing Merchant Navy badges and wreaths designed by sculptor Charles Wheeler. The enlarged memorial was unveiled by her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II on 5 November 1955. The Second World War this panels record the names of over 23,800 officers and men who died while serving in the merchant Navy and have no grave, but the sea.

The Merchant Navy’s War at Sea, 1939-1945

When war broke out in 1939, Britain was a maritime superpower with vast overseas empire to which it was connected to the largest merchant fleet in the world. This great fleet was targeted by the Axis powers in their attempts to block Allied trade, starve the population of the United Kingdom, and destroy the British war effort. Merchant seamen and their vessels were attacked by submarines and surface ships, their routes to British ports were sown with mines, and both at sea and in harbor, they were attacked by aircraft.

During the course of the conflict, the Merchant Navy made a vital contribution to the British war effort by carrying food, raw materials, and oil to the British Isles, and transporting Allied troops and war matériel to the fighting fronts in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The total number of merchant seamen who served during the wars unknown, but it is been estimated that the average number at sea in any given time was about 144,000, a figure that does not include fishermen. Merchant mariners served in a wide variety roles and vessels, from immense oceangoing liners and oil tankers to pilot boats and fishing trawlers. In all, close to 36,000 civilian seamen died as a result of their service between 1939 and 1945; more than one quarter of these were lost in home waters due to enemy mines, submarine and surface craft activity, and air attacks.

The U-Boat Peril

German U-boats posed a serious threat throughout the war years, from the sinking of the passenger liner Athenia within 12 hours of Britain's declaration of war, until the last merchant ship, the Empire Unity was torpedoed off the coast of Iceland in the early hours of 5 May 1945. The Atlantic was the chief battleground in this long conflict at sea. The fall of France in 1940 gave German forces direct access to the Atlantic and U-boats and aircraft wreaked havoc upon merchant and naval shipping. In 1942 in 1943, over three quarters of all merchant ships lost were sunk by U-boats, and most of these attacks took place in the North and South Atlantic. During 1943, new technology increased ship production and sophisticated signal intelligence turned the tide in the Allies favor, but what Winston Churchill called “the U-boat peril” did not absolutely cease until the German forces surrendered in 1945.

Vital convoy lifelines stretched across more than just the Atlantic. Merchant men making their way to Russia around the North Cape with supplies of all kinds were particularly vulnerable to attack, as for a considerable distance. They passed within range of enemy-occupied Norway. In the Mediterranean, convoys to Malta, dependent for its existence upon supplies from outside, ran the gauntlet of sea and air attacks on an increasingly heavy scale, as did the ships supporting the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and Italy.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The commission is responsible for almost 1,700,000 members of the Commonwealth forces who gave their lives in the two world wars. The graves memorials of these men and women, who came from all parts of the Commonwealth, and who were of many faiths and of none, are found around the globe in 153 countries. For more information about the Commission, our work, and how to search our records online, visit www.CWGC.org. Enquiries are also welcome at our offices."

Immediately adjacent, the second panel reads:

"THE MERCHANT NAVY MEMORIAL, TOWER HILL

This panel features a selection of ships on which some of the men commemorated on the memorial at Tower Hill were serving when they lost their lives during the Second World War. Tens of thousands of British merchant mariners were killed during the war when their vessel struck minds or were attacked by enemy ships, submarines, or aircraft. Almost 12,000,000 tons of British merchant shipping -- over half of the total merchant fleet in 1939 -- were sunk during the war, but with the help of the Royal Navy, merchant convoys imported enough supplies to the United Kingdom to ensure Allied victory in 1945.

The SS Athenia (13,500 tons), an ocean liner operated by the Donaldson Atlantic line, was the first merchant ship to be sunk by a German submarine in the Second World War. On 3 September 1939, while steaming from Belfast to Montréal with over 1000 passengers on board, she was struck. I torpedoed began to sink. Most of the passengers and crew were rescued by other merchant and Royal Navy ships as the Athenia remained afloat for several hours.

In June 1940, the Cunard liner RMS Lancastria 16,200 tons) was sent to evacuate British personnel from Saint-Nazaire in France, where thousands of men of the British Expeditionary Force and many civilians awaited rescue two weeks after Dunkirk. On 17 June the Lancastria was attacked by bombers while taking on board the last of several thousand people. She sustained several direct hits and rolled over, leaking fuel onto the surrounding water, which then caught fire. The estimated death toll at between three and seven thousand souls is the largest in British maritime history.

On 18. September 1940, the SS City of Benares (11,100 tons) was struck by a torpedo fired from the German submarine U-48, while steaming more than 170 miles northwest of Ireland. The ship was bound for Canada and among her passengers were 90 “see evacuees” and their chaperones traveling as part of the Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) scheme. More than 120 merchant seamen were lost, including the master, along with 77 child evacuees and more than 50 of the adult passengers.

Cunard’s RMS Laconia (19,600 tons) was lost in 1921 to replace the liner of the same name torpedoed in 1917. On 12 September 1942, she was carrying British and Polish troops, civilians, and many Italian prisoners of war between Cape Town and Freetown. The German submarine U-156 fired two torpedoes at the Laconia but surfaced to help rescue people. when the captain realized there were prisoners and civilians onboard. A passing American bomber subsequently attacked U-boat, and the incident caused in order to be issued forbidding U-boats to assist survivors in any way.

The Union-Castle liner MV Warwick Castle (20,100 tons) carried mail, cargo and passengers tween Southhampton in Cape Town from 1930 until the outbreak of war in 1939. On 14 November 1942, she was returning to Britain after assisting in the Allied invasion of North Africa. The ship was relatively empty, having transported troops to the ”Operation Torch” landings. Shortly before 7 AM. She was hit by two torpedoes from German submarine U-413 and sank about 200 miles off the Portuguese coast, becoming one of the largest troop ships to be sunk in the war.

The Ceramic (18.700 tons) began commercial life as a White Star liner in 1913, served as a troop ship during the First World War, and work the Liverpool-Australia route until war came again in 1939. After early war services troopship, she returned to merchant passenger service. On the night of 6 December 1942, in rough and stormy conditions West of the Azores, the surrounding out was struck by three torpedoes from German submarine U-313 and sank with only one survivor."

Type of Historic Marker: panel Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Commonwealth War Graves Commission Age/Event Date: 01/01/1939 Related Website: [Web Link] Give your Rating:

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