The British Merchant Navy was a term that applied to the employees of British shipping companies whose vessels ranged from the sleekest ocean liners to obsolete tramp steamers. Merchant seamen already included contingents of Black, Asian and Arab sailors and the British Merchant Fleet was swelled between 1939 and 1945 by the vital addition of ships and crew from the Nazi occupied countries of Europe. Around 30,000 merchant seamen perished yet their major contribution to Allied victory in campaigns spanning the globe has often gone unmarked.

These educational resources have been written by Andrew Wrenn.