Forgotten Heroes
- Episode aired Jan 12, 1994
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7.8/10
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Stories of the Merchant Navy and the Battle of the Atlantic
This is a moving documentary in the excellent BBC Timewatch series. While the Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945) itself is not always remembered, less still do we remember the men of the Merchant Navy and the important part they played in Great Britain's survival in World War II.
Britain's dependence on merchant shipping was an economic fact and never more evident than in total war. Huge quantities of food and raw materials had to be imported and soldiers and airmen shipped overseas and sustained.
Over 190,000 people were employed on British merchant ships in 1938, some 50,000 of whom were Indian and Chinese. 150 ships were sunk in the first nine months of the war. By the end of the war, nearly 32,000 merchant seamen had died and 4,786 ships flying the British flag had been sunk.
This documentary tells their story. British and foreign merchant seamen recall their experiences of life at sea, the terrific Atlantic weather, the convoys, the sinkings by U-boats and their survival for days and weeks in lifeboats, often in terrible weather conditions. All this and their feeling that their service was much ignored at the time; it is surely little recognised today.
The Tower Hill Memorial in London, England, records the name of over 20,000 of these men.
The documentary is a bonus feature on the DVD "The Battle of the Atlantic" (BBC, 2002) which itself is part of the 12-disc boxed set, "World War II Collection" (BBC Worldwide, 2005).
Britain's dependence on merchant shipping was an economic fact and never more evident than in total war. Huge quantities of food and raw materials had to be imported and soldiers and airmen shipped overseas and sustained.
Over 190,000 people were employed on British merchant ships in 1938, some 50,000 of whom were Indian and Chinese. 150 ships were sunk in the first nine months of the war. By the end of the war, nearly 32,000 merchant seamen had died and 4,786 ships flying the British flag had been sunk.
This documentary tells their story. British and foreign merchant seamen recall their experiences of life at sea, the terrific Atlantic weather, the convoys, the sinkings by U-boats and their survival for days and weeks in lifeboats, often in terrible weather conditions. All this and their feeling that their service was much ignored at the time; it is surely little recognised today.
The Tower Hill Memorial in London, England, records the name of over 20,000 of these men.
The documentary is a bonus feature on the DVD "The Battle of the Atlantic" (BBC, 2002) which itself is part of the 12-disc boxed set, "World War II Collection" (BBC Worldwide, 2005).
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- lestermay
- Oct 16, 2007
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