Merchant seamen's memorial

Sunday, April 13, 2014: Lord Tollemache, Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk, unveiled the three-ton granite memorial, put in place on Orwell Quay after a year-long £13,000 fundraising campaign by the Ipswich branch of the Merchant Navy Association (MNA).

It is the first time Ipswich, with its rich merchant navy history stretching back more than 1,000 years, has had a memorial dedicated to the merchant seamen who lost their lives at sea in wartime, often taking part in dangerous missions to bring food and other necessary cargo home to Britain. During World War II alone, nearly twice as many merchant seafarers lost their lives at sea as Royal Navy seamen. A gap in our history is filled by this modest but important monument.