‘A tenuous link’ seems the right phrase: how else could you call a merchant ship British – a ship built in south-east China, its owner, Stena Bulk, a Swedish company, and its all non-British crew of Latvians, Indians and Filipinos recruited by a subsidiary of the aforementioned Stena Bulk.True, the recruitment agency (Northern Marine), is based in Clydeside no doubt employing Scottish workers, but as far as research goes…
I’m not sure what emotions we felt as a ship’s crew – fear or apprehension, perhaps.
For as the ship sailed into the heat and humidity of Freetown harbour, the rows of military Land Rovers parked on the quay – some painted with a distinctive Red Cross – were plain to see.
Today, to mark the 97th anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, a remembrance service was held in Liverpool, next to one of her salvaged propellers. RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner, named after the ancient Roman province of Lusitania, which is part of present day Portugal. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August…