Tim in Scotland wrote:

it always angers me that the thousands of seamen from the Merchant Fleets rarely if e er get a mention

Couldn’t agree more as an ex service man. In the first Gulf war there were more medals awarded at a UK American base to 2 USAF squadrons than were awarded to the whole of the RAF. There was a load of s h 1 t over this and now you only have to turn up to get a gong.

Unfortunately history is Full of such injustices and the Merchant Marine and the treatment of the crews of Bomber Command in WW2 are just two.

Quote:

...and the treatment of the crews of Bomber Command in WW2 are just two

This is quite interesting in that regard - makes it apparent that getting there and back was as much down to luck as anything else.

A chap living near here always wears his chestful of medals on Armed Forces Day (including his Arctic Convoy medal). People treat him deferentially and respectfully (much to my surprise) but there are lots of people out there who deserve that respect every day.

And then there's a friend of mine who was spat at in his face whilst walking through London in his dress uniform...

And then there are the who target people working in the defence industry...