The purpose of this site

Merchant Seamen are always in the front line of wars that involve Great Britain. When a war starts, they don't suddenly find themselves doing a different job, for different people. They don't acquire the new respect of the public, don't become more glamorous. They simply work harder, in much more dangerous conditions.

They are also frequently overlooked.

This site is intended to help all to remember these people, and their greatly undervalued contribution to the war effort: without that contribution the war would have been lost - and that very quickly indeed. It is also an attempt to explain why Barry (and district) suffered proportionately more than most other areas in the loss of those whose normal life was working on ships.

Notes

This site is a work in progress. Because of the nature of the material, the sources of information and the ongoing gathering of information, it is unlikely ever to be quite finished... However, there are other sites presenting information, with perhaps a different emphasis, about the seamen and ships of Barry, which are worth a visit:

Her Name Was Tregenna is a site created as a tribute to the Captain and men of one particular ship, though it now carries additional material.