Allied Merchant Seamen’s Association of WA
Allied Merchant Seamen’s Association of WAIn 1995, the members of the Allied Merchant Seamen’s Association of WA erected a memorial to all the Allied Merchant Seamen who served in the many theatres of war during World War II in support of both the fighting forces and civilians as they conveyed essential supplies, military equipment and the fighting forces themselves across the globe. World-wide it is acknowledged that approximately 50,000 allied merchant seamen sacrificed their lives between 1939 and 1945. The German U-boats were ordered to make the virtually unarmed merchant ships their primary target. The first loss of life during World War II was the 98 passengers and 19 merchant seamen who were killed when the SS "Athenia” was torpedoed and sunk within hours of the declaration of war. Australians served amongst the crew.
Whilst the memorial was primarily erected to recognise the sacrifice made by merchant seamen during World War II, Australian merchant seamen have supported the fighting forces in conflicts since the Boer War. In 1928, King George V granted the title of the “British Merchant Navy” to the merchant marine service in recognition of the sacrifice made by approximately 14,660 British Empire merchant seamen during World War I and the essential services the merchant marine service had provided during that period. Queen Elizabeth is currently the “Master of the Merchant Navy” whilst she holds only honourable titles in the Commonwealth’s Navy, Army, and Air Force.
In speeches following World War I, King George V referred to the Merchant Navy as the “Fourth Service”, as did Sir Winston Churchill during World War II.
The Allied Merchant Seamen’s Memorial sits on the top of Monument Hill, Fremantle, WA, next to the Fremantle War Memorial. Seven plaques have been installed on the Allied Merchant Seamen’s Memorial over the years, the most recent being erected on 3rd September, 2017. The members of the Association maintain the Memorial and hold a service at it on International Merchant Navy Day (3rd September) each year and lay wreaths at other time times during the year.
