An example from then, my home town Barry Dock.
At the end of the Second World War a "Victory Parade" for servicemen was organised by the council in Barry and sponsored by the Mayor. Objections were received from a number of councillors because Merchant Seamen were going to be included in the Parade. These councillors stated that the Merchant Navy were not entitled to march, as the parade was for personnel from the three services, Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force only. A greater insult to the people of Barry could not have been made, most families having lost a member, a relation, or a near neighbour at sea during the war. These men, some as young as 15, and others as old as 68, were unsung heroes, and only through their efforts and sacrifice was Britain fed and armed, to enable it to keep fighting. Most Barry servicemen had relatives or friends who had served in the Merchant Navy, and refused to march unless the Merchant Navy were included. It was a situation reminiscent of the Luton Riots*, and if the parade went ahead without these men the same action might take place. The council backed down and quickly took another vote and included the Merchant Navy in the parade.
Tom. Clemett.
The Forgotten Service :
They Couldn't Have Done it without Us:
The British merchant seamen faced up to the difficulties and horrors of war with courage and composure.
Many words, have been used to achieve recognition for the MN.
The road has been long, but so much has been achieved and most by working with all others.
The way forward is to continue to work together for them and for Barry a combined Services Tribute and remembrance "We were in it together"
Barry and Barry Dock a former Merchant Navy Town - when it mattered:
A WELSH SEASIDE TOWN AT WAR: WW1
Monday August 3rd, 1914, the last day of peace, was a bank holiday. On that warm sunny day an estimated 50,000 day trippers from Cardiff and the mining towns and villages of the Welsh valleys flocked to Barry Island.
The holiday season would finish early in 1914.
By the close of 1914 many Barry men had seen action on the continent and across the sea lanes of the world. These men were, of course, the regulars, reservists and merchant seamen of the town. The firat reported local fatality was that of Royal navy reservist W.Cowling, a married man from Graving Dock Street. He was killed in action serving aboard the cruiser HMS 'Hawk' which was torpedoed in the North Sea on 15th October, 1914.When HMS 'Monmouth' was sunk with all hands on 1st November ai the Battle of Coronel, she took with her five Barry men. The first street to feel the full effects of the war was Brook Street, a small street situated off the small shopping centre of Holton Road. On 29th October, John Durman, of number 37, a reservist of the 2nd Battaloin Welsh regiment, was killed in action. Just eight days later, Bert Clements, who lived at number 30, was killed while serving in the Grenadier Guards. The saddest story of 1914 concerns the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Whitty of Barry. On 21st. november, Stanley junior died of wounds while serving with the 2nd Welsh. On Boxing Day his brother John was killed while serving with the Grenadier Guards, and a third brother was invalided home from the front at the end of the year. The war was just a few months old and already one family had given it al it could. This was a sign of things to come.
BarryWW1
Remembering the sacrifice of Barry's Merchant Seamen:
DURING the First World War no fewer than 262 Barry men lost their lives whilst serving with the Merchant Navy. Whilst there is rightly a focus on the part that the Merchant Navy played in the defeat of Germany in the Second World War, the role that the service played from 1914-18 is often overlooked.
Some of their stories involving Barry men are told here.
Remembering the sacrifice of Barry's Merchant Seamen | Barry And District News
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