Tony Parker

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I was at the P.W.S.T.S in 1968 in Endeavour class, after leaving the school I shipped out on the British Architect with Paul Hollingsworth, first trip wet behind the ears Engine Room Boys. Boy was that an experience never been to sea before, (they never told you at the school it was going to get rough)(weather wise) but we made it for the first six months. After that trip we parted company and we never served together again, I served on 6 B.P Tankers altogether. The British Architect, Queen, Willow, Fern, Diplomat & Trust, Paul also served on the Trust but we missed each other by a few months.

After B.P I done some time on the Cross Channel Ferry's in Dover & Harwich, then on the North Sea Survey boats. I left the M.N in 74 and took up Lorry driving and have been doing that ever since all over Europe, strangely enough Paul started driving Lorries at the same time, but in England only. Just to finish I would like to thank the school for what they did for me, they turned a boy into a man and taught me how to work as a team with other like minded people, young and old.

 HEROES

Don't speak to me of heroes until you've heard the tale
Of Britain's Merchant Seaman who sailed through storm and gale
To keep those lifelines open in our nation's hour of need
When a tyrant cast a shadow across our island breed
Captain's, greasers, cabin boys, mates and engineers heard the call of duty
and cast away there fears
They stoked those hungry boilers and stood behind the wheel while cooks
and stewards manned the guns on coffins made of steel
They moved in icy convoys from Scapa to Murmansk and crossed the western
ocean never seeking thanks
They sailed the South Atlantic where raiders lay in wait and kept the
food lines open from Malta to the Cape
Tracked by silent U-Boat's which hunted from below shelled by mighty
cannons and fighters flying low
They clung to burning lifeboats where the sea had turned to flame and
watched there shipmates disappear to everlasting fame
I speak not of a handful but 30,000 plus some whose names we'll never
know in whom we placed our trust
They never knew the honour of medals on their chests or marching bands
and victory and glory to the rest
The ocean is their resting place, their tombstone is the wind, the sea
birds cry their last goodbye to family and friends
Freighters, troopship, liners and tankers by the score fishing boats and
coasters 2,000 ships and more, flew the proud red duster as they sank
beneath the waves and took those countless heroes to lonely ocean graves
There legacy is freedom to those who hold it dear, to walk with clear
horizons and never hide in fear.
So when you speak of heroes remember those at sea, for Britain's Merchant
navy who died to keep us free.