Breverton's Nautical Curiosities by Breverton Terry

Author:Breverton, Terry. [Breverton, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Published: 2013-08-31T16:00:00+00:00

MERCHANT NAVY LOSSES IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR Of the 61,631 men killed on Allied merchant ships, 34,541 (56 percent) were on British ships. The following table puts into perspective the merchant losses at sea:

MERCHANT SEAMEN Just like the Royal Navy, many of these had been forcibly “impressed” into service, and had to endure disgusting food, disease, dysentery, minimal wages, cramped conditions and cruel masters. Dr. Samuel Johnson said “no man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into jail; for being in a ship is being in jail with the chance of being drowned…A man in jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company.” It is little wonder that they were unwilling to fight pirates, and that former merchant seamen formed the vast bulk of the pirate brethren. Punishment was so harsh for trivial offenses, as in the Royal Navy, that the popular saying “You might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb” comes from this time—the punishment was the same for small offenses as it was for serious ones. In times of peace, seamen’s wages remained unchanged between 1700 and 1750. A merchant captain took about £5–£6 per month, and his first mate and surgeon around £3–£4. Cooks, carpenters and boatswains received around £2, and ordinary crew members around 50p–£1. They were often not allowed to leave the ship in port, especially at home, in case they were tempted to desert, and were often unpaid while a ship was in port or at anchor.

Long stays in port, seeking a cargo, could sometimes lead to mutiny by the unpaid crews. During the First and Second World Wars a merchant seaman’s pay was stopped immediately his ship was abandoned. There was no financial relief for his family at home, who often did not know if the lost sailor was dead or alive. Prime Minister Winston Churchill formally stated that the only worry he had in the Second World War concerned the outcome of the Battle of the Atlantic, the war’s longest battle. Britain’s forces at home and abroad needed merchant ships to supply them, and Britain’s population also needed food and supplies. The bravery of the merchant seaman, returning to his local port to sign on for a new voyage time and time again, helped to win the war for Britain.

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