Merchant Navy Day commemorated by council
Posted on Wednesday 30th August 2017
A flag raising ceremony to mark Merchant Navy Day will be held at Newport Civic Centre on Friday, 1 September.
The service starts at 10am and will include a flag blessing and raising ceremony where the Mayor Councillor David Fouweather will give a reading.
A message from the UK Merchant Navy’s president, HRH The Earl of Wessex, will be read by the Vice Lord Lieutenant of Gwent Lt Col Andrew Tuggey.
The flag will be raised by Alan Speight of Newport Merchant Navy Association.
Members of the armed service, councillors and council staff will also be attending and the public are welcome to join in the service.
Newport is supporting a nationwide call from the Seafarers UK charity and the Merchant Navy Association for the flag to be flown on public buildings and landmark flagstaffs.
The council, along with local authorities across the UK, is holding the ceremony to commemorate Merchant Navy Day which is officially 3 September.
The service honours the brave men and women who kept our ‘Island Nation’ afloat during both World Wars and to celebrate our dependence on modern day merchant seafarers who are responsible for 95 per cent of the UK’s imports, including much of the food we eat, the fuel we burn and virtually all the products and goods we use on a daily basis.
For more information on Merchant Navy Day visit www.merchantnavyfund.org