An extended weekend of events on the Mersey have paid homage to the heroes of Britain’s struggle to keep the Atlantic lifelines open 70 years ago.
Around 250,000 people are thought to have converged on Liverpool to see sailors past and present remember the sacrifices in the Battle of the Atlantic.
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Naval veterans lower their standards in salute during the service of commemoration in Liverpool Cathedral. Pictures: LA(Phots) Dean Nixon, Dan Rosenbaum and Nicky Wilson
FOR probably the final time the nation and Navy have paid their respects to the greatest generation of sailors: the men who fought – and won – the Battle of the Atlantic.
An extended weekend of events on the Mersey – witnessed by at least a quarter of a million people in person, and many more on national TV – honoured the sailors, shipwrights, staff officers and aviators who 70 years ago this month defeated the U-boat, and in doing so ensured that Britain’s maritime lifelines were no longer in danger of being strangled.
After events and ceremonies earlier this month in London and Derry-Londonderry, the 70th anniversary commemorations culminated over four days in Liverpool from the spectacular – mock battles on and over the great river – to the solemn: a service of thanksgiving.
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Sailors from Liverpool’s own unit HMS Eaglet provide a Guard of Honour during the parade through the city’s streets
Liverpool was both the focal point of the struggle against the U-boat as the headquarters of the Western Approaches Command from 1941-45, and the port of departure and destination for many Atlantic convoys.
So it was fitting that British and foreign warships converged on the city at the end of last week for the anniversary ceremonies.
They and the estimated 120,000 daily visitors to Liverpool’s waterfront were blessed with mostly fine spring weather – especially for the crucial day, Sunday May 26.
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Veterans hold a forest of standards outside Liverpool Cathedral
After laying a wreath at the Merchant Navy memorial, which honours 1,400 merchant sailors who served in 120 Royal Navy vessels, the Princess Royal represented the Queen in Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral for a service to remember the sacrifices made seven decades ago.
In all, around 30,000 merchant sailors – roughly one in six who served – were casualties of the battle.
Precise figures for the Atlantic theatre do not exist for the Royal Navy, but throughout the war 188 escorts were lost in the war against the Axis powers, a dozen of them sunk in 1943 alone by German submarines.
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HMS Edinburgh Sea Dart maintainer ET(WE) Chris Phelan chats with a veteran
Today the small band of survivors are all in their late 80s at the very youngest – making this month’s events the final official major commemorations of the battle, which raged from the first day of war with Germany till the last.
Nearly 2,000 people – veterans of the Royal and Merchant Navies, today’s generation of sailors, senior officers, local MPs, dignitaries, the Russian Ambassador to the UK, and the Deputy High Commissioner for Canada – attended the service.
Bishop of Liverpool the Rt Rev James Jones told those gathered in his house of worship: “Let us give thanks to God for the faith and courage of all those who have lived and died in the course of freedom and justice, and especially for those who gave their lives in the Battle of the Atlantic.”
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The wonderful Fairey Swordfish leads the fly-past in a crystal-clear blue sky spanning the Mersey
Capt Ian McNaught, Deputy Master of Trinity House, representing the Merchant Navy, said thanks had to be given to sailors for their courage and perseverance.
“In particular we remember the men and women of the Western Approaches Command: the leaders, Admiral Sir Percy Noble and Admiral Sir Max Horton, members of the Royal Air Force Coastal Command who supported them from the air, the brave men of the Merchant Navy who did not flinch from their accustomed duties, and the Maritime Regiment who served with them.”
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A sailor prepares to lower the White Ensign during a Ceremonial Sunset aboard HMS Bulwark
After the service Princess Anne took the salute at the beginning of a parade through the heart of Liverpool.
In places crowds up to ten deep watched the spectacle, applauding the marching veterans and personnel – including Poles, Canadians, Russians and Germans.
A flypast by a Fairey Swordfish of the Royal Navy Historic Flight – the Fleet Air Arm’s counterpart to the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight – and present-day RN helicopters – Merlin, Lynx, Junglie and Search and Rescue Sea Kings – brought the march to a close.
Later, Liverpool City Council hosted an official reception for the Royal and Merchant Navies in the port’s town hall.
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Patrol boats HMS Blazer, Smiter and Ranger churn up the Mersey during a mock pirate take-down
As well as solemn official ceremonies, there were action-packed displays aplenty over the weekend – field gun runs, semaphore demonstrations, old-time dancing, unarmed combat from the Royal Marines, while the Band of HM Royal Marines performed to a sold-out Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.
And on Liverpool’s great artery, ‘the Battle of the Mersey’, a pirate take-down by commandos after a ferry had been ‘hijacked’.
The international ships attending the commemorations, including the RN’s flagship HMS Bulwark, veteran destroyer HMS Edinburgh and minehunter HMS Pembroke, are due to leave the Mersey today at 2pm.
