Flying the Flag for Merchant Navy Day 2020

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council proudly flew the flag on Thursday 3 September, to mark Merchant Navy Day.
 
Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillor Jim Montgomery was honoured to raise the red Ensign flag at Mossley Mill along with the Deputy Lieutenant for County Antrim, Mrs Julia Shirley. A flag also flew at Antrim Civic Centre to show support for Merchant Navy Day. During the short service, the Deputy Lieutenant read a special message from HRH The Earl of Wessex KG, GCVO.
 
Speaking at the occasion, the Mayor commented;

“The Council recognises the immense sacrifices that the personnel of the Merchant Navy made in both the First and Second World Wars and so we pay tribute to the gallantry and sacrifice of those brave seamen, who ensured that vital supplies reached our shores and our ships.  Some 17,000 merchant mariners lost their lives in the Great War and over 30,000 in the Second World War -  in fact, one in three of our merchant seamen did not survive.”

 
The Mayor continued;

“We depend on our seafarers to defend our shores, trade with other countries and import essential food and fuel. Today, the Merchant Navy continues to carry over 90% of world trade in the face of not only long periods of separation, loneliness and storms, but also the more recent threat of piracy. To our Merchant Navy veterans, their families and friends, I extend the thanks of the Council for the courage, fortitude, and commitment shown by our seafarers during times of war and peace. All too often, seafarers are the forgotten or invisible service. By raising the Red Ensign today, they are remembered.”