Fly the flag in tribute to Merchant Navy heroes

IN May this year, the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic will be marked in London, Londonderry and Liverpool. The battle lasted nearly six years but the tide turned in favour of the Allies in May 1943.

A significant feature of the Battle of the Atlantic was the convoy, protected by warship escorts and sometimes aircraft against U-boats and surface raiders.

From 1943, the Atlantic Ocean afforded safer passage for the vast amount of shipping that brought men and supplies for the invasions of occupied Europe. Central to the Battle of the Atlantic were the ships and men of the British Merchant Navy, and of other allied nations, often making no more than eight knots in convoy, bringing essential food and supplies to our islands.

Some 5,000 merchant ships and more than 30,000 British merchant seamen were lost. Our nation rightly salutes the armed forces’ contribution to victory.

Rather less is made of the hugely important contribution of the Merchant Navy – its part in our economy still significant today with over 90 per cent of our trade carried in ships.

BOA 70 affords an opportunity for the United Kingdom to salute the Merchant Navy and its seafarers and I trust we will see the Red Ensign, the flag of British merchant ships since 1674, flown from public buildings next month.