Merchant Navy Day commemorates the civilian seamen who served on merchant ships during both World Wars. The merchant navy played a crucial role in supplying Allied home fronts and military forces. The date marks the anniversary of the first attack on an Allied merchant ship on 3 September 1939.
A merchant navy gun crew at sea on the deck of the Australian troopship HMT Zealandia in about 1940. Left to right, back row: Angus McLeod, Douglas Evans, Chief Officer E.J. 'Paddy' Cloke, Tom Rees and unidentified. Left to right, front row: Tommy Drinkwater, Jimmy Archbold and unidentified. This first Australian merchant navy gun crew trained at Rushcutters Bay, NSW. Zealandia was later sunk on 19 February 1942 during the Japanese air raid on Darwin. (Donor T. Rees). AWM P02112.001
Significance of 3 September
We commemorate Merchant Navy Day each year on 3 September. This is the anniversary of the first attack on an Allied merchant ship in World War II. The attack happened only hours after the United Kingdom declared war on Germany in 1939.
Without warning, the German submarine U-30 torpedoed the British liner SS Athenia, and the ship sank the next day. Of more than 1,400 people on board the Athenia, over 110 crew and passengers died in the torpedo attack or during later rescue efforts.
Merchant navies in wartime
The merchant navy refers to a nation's commercial shipping and civilian seamen. The merchant navy includes freight, passenger and transport vessels operating along coastal routes and across global waters.
Australians served as crew on the merchant ships of Australia and many Allied nations in both World Wars.
Merchant navy crews served globally, from the brutal cold of the Atlantic and the Arctic Circle to the heat and humidity of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Their work was hard, and they were constantly fearful of attacks during wartime.
During both World Wars, merchant ships were vital in providing Allied armed forces with:
- transport for military personnel, including the wounded
- food, equipment and ammunition for Allied forces and home fronts
- evacuation and transport of civilians.
Because of their important cargoes, merchant ships were constantly a target for attack from enemy forces. Most merchant ships were not armed and were reliant on escorting destroyers for protection from attack by surface raiders, submarines, aircraft or sea mines.
In World War II, some merchant ships were refitted with limited defensive capabilities. A few were converted into auxillary warships, called Armed Merchant Cruisers.
Some merchant ships were commandeered by the armed forces. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) requisitioned the Australian passenger liner MV Manoora in 1939. HMAS Manoora was initially fitted out as an armed merchant cruiser. In 1942, the Manoora was converted into the RAN's first landing ship infantry (naval designation LSI). It took part in most of the Allied amphibious landings in the Pacific in 1944 and 1945.
Merchant shipping in Australian coastal waters was attacked during World War II. Following attacks off the eastern coast, the Naval Board introduced a convoy system to protect merchant shipping.
Some merchant ships were converted into hospital ships for medical wartime service. Being clearly marked as hospital ships did not always save them from attack. The Japanese submarine l-177 sank the 2/3rd Australian Hospital Ship (AHS) Centaur on 14 May 1943 off the coast of Moreton Bay, 80 km north-east of Brisbane. The ship sank in 3 minutes, with only 64 survivors from the 322 aboard. AHS Centaur was brightly lit with large red crosses on its hull as specified by the Geneva Convention.
Merchant navy crews worked with the constant threat of attack from enemy submarines, surface raiders, aircraft and sea mines. Their work was especially dangerous when their ship was part of a slow convoy or travelling alone and unprotected.
The Battle of the Atlantic is a well-known campaign involving Allied merchant ships. It lasted almost the entire duration of World War II. The battle was fought across one of the war's most dangerous shipping lanes.
Closer to home, more than 40 Allied merchant ships were sunk by enemy action in Australian waters during World War II.
Commemorating wartime service
Around 20,000 Allied merchant seamen died during World War I and at least 45,000 during World War II.
We will never know the exact number of Australians who served or died while serving in the merchant navy during both World Wars. Estimated figures change as more research is done.
Around 1,000 Australian merchant seamen are known to have died serving the Allied cause during the 2 World Wars. Figures from the Seamen's Union of Australia give an overall fatality rate of 8.5% for merchant seamen during World War II, higher than any branch of Australia's military.
Merchant Navy Day remembers the vital role and efforts of the merchant service through both World Wars.
The Merchant Navy Seamen's Memorial at Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra commemorates the contributions of the Australian merchant navy during the World Wars. It names the Australian seamen on merchant ships who are known to have died during both World Wars.
You can also find their names on the Australian War Memorial's Commemorative Roll, which is separate to the Roll of Honour for service personnel. The roll includes 182 Australian seamen who died during World War I and 386 who died during World War II. But many more Australians served, and died, on Allied merchant ships.
The Survivors memorial outside the Australian War Memorial commemorates the service and sacrifice of Australian civilian seamen on merchant ships in all ports of the world during both World Wars.
Glossary
- merchant ship