Hello all, I thought I would post some information on the Tower Hill Memorial in London. I have outlined the criteria for commemoration below as many people are not aware why certain merchant seamen who died at sea during the war have no official memorial. I have also linked to a PDF/HTML file which hopefully will give a bit more information. I should mention at the outset that the CWGC commemorates a casualty only once, either by a headstone marking a known grave, or by name on one of the Commission's memorials to the missing. The Tower Hill Memorial is the Merchant Navy's official memorial to the missing. The Tower Hill Memorial commemorates all those from the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleet who have no grave but the sea - in other words their bodies were never recovered. Unfortunately only those merchant seamen who died while their ship was involved in military operations were commemorated. So, for example, if a ship was lost after a bombing, mine or torpedo attack then clearly that would be defined as military operations, but if a ship foundered in a gale or a collision then casualties from that occurrence would not qualify. Similarly, if a merchant seaman died of an illness or an accident then they were not remembered on the memorial. If a merchant seaman was lost through a war cause, however, but was buried ashore, then his name would also not be on the Tower Hill Memorial because only those who have no known grave are remembered there. This is in stark contrast to military personnel who qualified for war grave status no matter how they died or where they died. The only qualification was that they were serving members of a Commonwealth armed force. There is clearly an injustice here but the CWGC apply a strict rule set as laid down in the Royal Charter. I understand that any change to this Royal Charter would also need the agreement of 16 other Commonwealth countries. Tower Hill Memorial PDF file: http://www.cwgc.org/admin/files/cwgc_towerhill.pdf Tower Hill Memorial HTML file Commonwealth Information War Graves Sheet Commission Regards Hugh
Thank you Hugh, for an excellent post. The THM is, indeed, and a fitting tribute but represents only a fraction of the sacrifices made. Are there any other Memorials to Merchant Seaman in this country?
Hello Andy, Yes, that is my understanding but I could be wrong. I believe the Merchant Navy Association are also involved in trying to get parity for Merchant Seamen with their military counterparts. A few dedicated individuals are also on the case but as ever these wheels turn ever so slowly. Regards Hugh
Thank you, K, Yes, I agree with you. As regards other UK memorials, Tower Hill is the national memorial for the missing and there is a MN memorial in Liverpool - which had a large MN presence during WWII. There are smaller memorials to the MN about the country but I am not aware of others on the scale of those mentioned. Incidentally, the CWGC has the names of 516 boys age 16 & under killed while in service, which includes fourteen boys who were only 14 years old. There were also 36 men aged seventy and over. The two oldest casualties were both aged 74 years. (Courtesy of Billy McGee) Regards Hugh
Hi Nana, It would possibly have to have the involvement of politicians (and we know how interested they are ). I intend to make some more enquiries myself to see where we stand. Regards Hugh
Just in case anybody has yet to visit Hugh's website (click on his signature flag), I urge you to do so without delay. It is beautifully presented and a very touching tribute to his Dad.
Carol, I've just seen Hugh's website and it's wonderfully presented and it has lots of interesting information about the Merchant Navy too. I'll join with you guys too; the men of the MN also served their country, and I don't see why they shouldn't be on the same level as the Army, Air Force and Navy.
Thank you! Hello Pathfinder, hello Nana, Thank you, you are both very kind, and I appreciate very much the comments about my website. A labour of love for me and a cause I hold very dear. The men and women of the Merchant Navy deserve to be remembered equally with their armed services counterparts. I am grateful to the site owners, mods and members for allowing me space to help keep the profile of the Merchant Service and their immense sacrifice where it belongs - at the top, along with the armed forces, lest we ever forget. I will keep you posted; I intend to get some facts first from the CWGC. Regards Hugh
The rules for the commemoration of the three armed services personnel as war casualties are different and much simpler to interpret, as they only had to have died whilst on active service during the war period. Active service seems to be deemed as once in uniform and the circumstances have no significance of how they died. To show how ludicrous this is. The ten men named below all have a number of things in common. First they were all members of the armed forces during WWII. Secondly, they all died between 1942-1944. Thirdly, they all received official war grave status and are commemorated by the CWGC. Last but not least, they were all hung for murder. Arthur Peach murdered a Miss Kitty Lyon (apparently murdered another person as well) August Sangret murdered his girlfriend Miss Joan Wolfe Charles Raymond murdered a lady named Marguerite Burge Cyril Johnson murdered a lady named Maggie Small David Jennings murdered a Mr Albert Farley Dudley Rayner murdered his wife Mrs Josephine Rayner Ernest Digby murdered his daughter Dawn Digby Ernest James Kemp murdered a lady named Iris Deeley Frederick Austin murdered his wife Lillian Austin Terence Casey murdered a lady named Bridget Mitton All ten have no marked grave (as in accordance with those hung for murder to be buried in unmarked ground), but are commemorated on the Brookwood Memorial, which commemorates nearly 3,500 men and women of the land forces of the Commonwealth who died during the Second World War and have no known grave, the circumstances of their death being such that they could not appropriately be commemorated on any of the campaign memorials in the various theatres of war. I have undertaken the task of transcribing the whole of the Deaths at Sea Register (some 4500 pages) covering 1939-1945 on behalf of the MNA. ( I must be :der Up to now I have now sieved through all the 700 pages and more of the 1940 Deaths at Sea Register, while cross referencing those commemorated from CWGC database and have compiled the names of 1,042 Merchant Seaman & Fishermen who are not recorded by the CWGC as dying outside of the considered remit of the day for war grave status. Amongst these names are four seamen who did die from enemy action and have been overlooked by the said authorities of the day. (information to be passed onto the CWGC in due course) Also interested to find that another 18 are buried ashore who are commemorated as "Non War Dead" by the CWGC who have official Commonwealth headstones and whose graves are looked after by the Commission, while a further 3 are commemorated on the Suez War Memorial who are also recorded as "Non War Dead" There is also one Junior Engineer who died from Influenza & Heart Failure, who did receive full war grave status and is commemorated on Tower Hill. One other strange scenario is that of a young seamen, who went ashore from his ship and was subsequently killed in an air raid. He is not commemorated as war dead, but he would of been if his ship had been hit and he had been killed in the same raid. Once complete the details will be forwarded to the CWGC in the hope they will receive some sort of official recognition. Anyone looking for an individual covering this period, give me a shout. Information available includes ships name (including O.N where available) name, age, date and place of death, rank/rating, last place of abode and brief cause of death. Please note for me to search these pages I need the year of death and name of ship NB: Please note some deaths were not recorded in the registers up until 6 month after the date of death. So someone who died in late 1940, may not appear until the 1941 Register.
For those that do not know Billy, I know of no other individual who has campaigned as hard and as tirelessly and for so long, for true recognition for this brave band of men and women who served. As can be seen in the post above a lot remains to be done. Regards Hugh
Boy thats some project Billy ! .... thank you for your sticktoitiveness ! - and of course you're more than :loco: but how terrific of you to take on the challenge ! if theres anything I can do research-wise ... I'd be glad to give it a shot ! Annie
A great project to ensure rightful status to those brave men whose service had for so long been vastly underrated.
