The Merchant Navy Memorial is a bronze life
size figure, mounted on a Cornish granite plinth, looking out across Dover
Harbour. It was unveiled on 3rd September 2008 by Winston Spencer Churchill,
grandson of WW2 Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
All four faces of the Cornish granite plinth
have inscription:
The South Face reads:
In Remembrance of Merchant Navy Seamen who lost their lives in
World War II - 1939 - 1945
They sustained heavy losses, 1 in 3 Merchant Navy Seamen did not
survive the war.
Merchant Navy Seamen killed: 30, 248
Missing: 4,654
Wounded: 4,707
Prisoner of War: 5,720
Total of Casualties: 45,329
Look out to sea and say a prayer
For those who rest beneath,
They gave their lives, that you may share
A Europe that is free.
(Donald Hunter, 2008)
The East Face reads:
In remembrance of Merchant Navy Seamen who gave their lives in
operation Neptune, the code-name for the D-day
Landings on June 6th to September 1944, the large seaborne operation to
land and supply our armies in Normandy, France.
Its objective was to free France and so complete the first phase
of the liberation of Europe.
One of these convoy routes to the landing beaches was from London
Docks via the Dover Straits to Normandy.
The enemy attacks on this convoy route along the French occupied
and heavily fortified coast took a heavy toll in the lives of Merchant Seamen.
The North Face reads:
This Merchant Navy War Memorial was funded by donations to the
Dover and District Merchant Navy Memorial Fund, in remembrance of the Merchant
Navy Seamen who lost their lives in World War II.
Founder and Fund-raiser: Donald Hunter, Legion
D'Honneur M.N. (WW II)
Sculptor: Vivien Mallock.
The West Face reads:
The Battle
of the Atlantic
This was the longest battle of World War II which lasted from
September 1939 until May 1945.
During the battle the Merchant Navy sustained their heaviest
losses in ships and their crews.
In remembrance of those seamen who gave their lives in order to
keep Britain's 'lifeline' open to transport troops and vital war materials.
They paid a heavy price.