In Memoriam:

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Merchant Navy 1939-1945

In Memoriam

No cross marks the place where now we lie
What happened is known but to us
You asked, and we gave our lives to protect
Our land from the enemy curse
No Flanders Field where poppies blow;
No Gleaming Crosses, row on row;
No Unnamed Tomb for all to see
And pause -- and wonder who we might be
The Sailors’ Valhalla is where we lie
On the ocean bed, watching ships pass by
Sailing in safety now thru’ the waves
Often right over our sea-locked graves
We ask you just to remember us.

Author's Note: When a merchant ship was sunk, the seaman’s pay stopped on the day of the sinking. He did not receive any more pay until he joined another ship. The seaman was given 30 days survivor’s leave, dated from the day his ship was sunk. This leave was unpaid. It only meant that he didn’t have to report back to the pool for 30 days. If he spent 10 or 15 days in a lifeboat, or on a life raft, that time in the boat was counted as survivor’s leave. There were many merchant seamen who joined the Navy because it was extremely short of experienced seamen. They joined under what were known as T124X and T124T agreements. These men were in naval uniforms on naval ships under the White Ensign, with naval officers and subject to naval discipline. They received naval rates of pay. At the end of the war, they were not allowed to claim any compensation or any benefits, because they were discharged as merchant seamen.

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Don’t forget our merchant marines’ sacrifices too

Kawartha Lakes This Week

We have just come through that time of the year when we remember those who served in our armed forces in both world wars and Korea.

At the beginning of the second war. merchant ships were given protection from U-boats and aircraft by mounting naval guns. To man those weapons, naval gunners, who were volunteers and highly trained, were placed on those ships. Most ships carried about 7 gunners. This continued all during the war during which a total of almost 1,200 served.

This branch of the Navy was called DEMS, Defensivly Equipped Merchant Ships. Not all who served in this branch of the navy survived. I don’t think that this branch of the navy has ever been noticed or explained, at least, not to my knowledge. I don’t think many of these men are still alive after all these years.

John Parker

Lindsay

www.mykawartha.com/opinion-story/4223350-don-t-forget-our-merchant-marines-sacrifices-too/

DEFENSIVELY EQUIPPED MERCHANT SHIPS:

FOR ALL DEM'S.

DEFENSIVELY EQUIPPED MERCHANT SHIPS


D.E.M.S. The Arming of Merchant Ships in WWII

The D.E.M.S. GUNNERS:


They sailed aboard our merchant ships and manned outdated guns,

To defend against our enemies, Italians and the Huns,

They were gunners from the army or navy volunteers,

The rattle of the ack-ack was music to their ears.


Sea Ports kept artillery from the war before,

Handy now to give each ship to guard a little more,

Usually a Lewis gun they went and cheerfully manned,

But always took a hammer as it often stuck or jammed.


During those hostilities while trying not to drown,

Using Oerlikons or Bofors, to shoot the shells around,

They angled high for bombers that gave `em such concern,

Most likely from a four inch gun perched there at the stern.


Twelve pounders were the norm, set upon the bow,

That would be a three inch shell describing it just now,

They were standing by to shoot every minute of the hour,

In case a deadly U-boat showed its conning tower.


Mounted on the bridge wing, the fo'c'sle or the poop,

Ready for the action when bombers came to swoop,

They fired away at anything threatening with a will,

Showing loads of courage and not a lack of skill.


The two-man crews were legendary in annals of the sea,

Included in with seamen when naming pedigree,

They couldn’t stop torpedoes submarines would send,

But mostly those brave gunners stayed there `till the end.


Dedicated to Ted Thomas. D.E.M.s Gunner

Bristol M.N.A.

Joe Earl Dec. 09

LINK