Black Merchant Seamen War Memorial

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Black Merchant Seaman – WW2
United Kingdom
Black Merchant Seamens Memorial 2019.jpg
The memorial, decked with poppies
For All Black Merchant Seamen who served during World War II
Unveiled27 May 1993
Location53°23′54″N 2°57′46″W / 53.3982°N 2.9629°W / 53.3982; -2.9629Coordinates: 53°23′54″N 2°57′46″W / 53.3982°N 2.9629°W / 53.3982; -2.9629
Liverpool, Merseyside

The Black Merchant Seamen War Memorial is a sandstone stone memorial, It is situated in Falkner Square, Liverpool. The stone is from the Liverpool Seamen's Hostel with a bronze plaque dedicated to all the Black Seamen who served during World War II. It was unveiled in 1993 on the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic.[1]

History[]

The memorial was installed in Falkner Square Gardens in 1993, following a campaign organised by community activist Joe Farrag, whose Egyptian grandfather, Ali Hussain Farrag, served as a merchant seaman during World War II. He went down with his ship, along with 36 other crew members, on 12 May 1943.[2]

Over the years since the memorial was installed, the plaque was defaced and pulled from the stone, it was returned by the local gardener.[3] The War Memorials Trust gave a grant to remove the graffiti by steam cleaning.[citation needed]

After several years of the plants around the memorial being overgrown by branches, a Facebook group was set up by local residents to raise awareness of it and have visitor and road signs installed locally.[2] A celebration was held in August 2019 to mark the installation of the signs and increase awareness of the memorial.[citation needed]

Description[]

The memorial consists of a freestanding red sandstone stone from the (now demolished) Liverpool Seamen's Hostel which bears an embossed plaque. On top of the plaque is the outline of a ship, "Fort Concord", which was sunk by German U-boat U-456 on 12 May 1943.[4]

The inscription on the plaque reads as follows:

THIS PLAQUE IS DEDICATED TO
ALL BLACK MERCHANT SEAMEN WHO SERVED
DURING THE 1939 – 45 WAR
"THEY HELD THEIR COURSE"
RESPECT DUE
IT WAS JOINTLY UNVEILED BY
MR. VESTY
PRESIDENT OF THE BRITISH SHIPPING ORGANISATION
AND
MR. B.H. SKEETE
EX-MERCHANT SEAMAN WHO SERVED DURING THE 1939 – 45 WAR
ON 27TH MAY 1993
THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE "BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC"
COMMISSIONED BY THE GALLERY & LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL

References[]

  1. ^ "Black Merchant Seamen – WW2". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b Rand, Lisa (19 August 2019). "'Forgotten' Liverpool war memorial campaigners have put on the map". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  3. ^ "War Memorials Trust". www.warmemorials.org. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Fort Concord (British Steam merchant) – Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII – uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
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