Royal Navy or Merchant Navy?

[violetsarentblue]

My DH father served in the Royal Navy.
My Grandfather served in the Merchant Navy.

According to DH, Merchant Navy is the poor relation.

I may have to divorce DH as I think my DGF was bloody brilliant. (he was, much better than twatting FIL)

Ones the military ones civvy street (as in drove the equivalent to p&o ferries or freight is my understanding)

Both get my respect. Anyone who works on the water is putting their life on the line and is at the mercy of the sea. I couldn't do it.

I may be wrong, but I thought that really it's like comparing apples and oranges. Totally different navies - one commercial and one military. Bit like comparing and RAF pilot and a British Airways pilot.

But it's wrong to act like one is better than the other.

My Grandfather was in the Merchant Navy and his ship was attacked twice.
My DH's dad was in the Royal Navy and never saw active service during the war once..

Any YET, the Royal Navy lot are more celebrated

Why am I not surprised.

When it comes to ww2 both are held in high esteem I thought due to us being an island nation and being so reliant on the sea and the Germans targeting both fleets indiscriminately

In that ceremony tonight, they were one of the last.

But they were there and someone had to be last.

Traditionally it's been the three military - land sea and air - then the civvy support

If it's WW2 service then both of them had incredibly dangerous and important journeys to make but only one of them had the ability to defend themselves or fight back.

Not to say that the Royal Navy wasn't incredibly important or dangerous but I think the Merchant Navy had a higher death rate than any of the armed services during WW2.

Merchant Navy is civilian, ferrying freight and passengers around the world.

Royal Navy is obviously military.

Both are worthy of respect and neither are "poor relations".

In WWII and before serving in the Royal Navy was regarded as being a more high status job than the merchant navy.

In reality men in both services faced horrific risks.

My grandfather served in the Royal Navy as a Petty Officer commanding one of the smaller gun turrets on The Rodney an old battleship that played a pivotal role in sinking the Bismark. He then served aboard while escorting Russian convoys and shelled the beaches at D Day.

The merchant navy suffered terrible losses from U Boat attacks while bringing desperately needed supplies.

Is hard to say who was the braver.

My Grandfather was a Captain in the Merchant Navy

My DH was an NCO in the Navy.

It's usually daft ego banter.

They know why the others needed, I'm proud of both of them, and FIL who was (oh the shame ) RAF.

The RN are the senior service, first to be established. Then the Army and Air Force.The Merchant Navy did some heroic things in the WWs but they don't 'go' to war, it finds them.
Hence RN believes they are superior.
Doesn't stop your dad being a nicer person :)

The Merchant Navy are unsung heroes.

There was an article in the telegraph yesterday

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11973063/The-young-generation-should-know-Britains-forgotten-Merchant-Navy-heroes.html

My dad was in the Merchant Navy (long after WW2). Just one of his many commercial shipping jobs.

Whether you believe the Royal Navy is better than the Merchant Navy would I guess depend on your opinion of the armed services.

My grandfather was in the Merchant Navy in WWII and served on the Murmansk convoys. They were utterly horrific conditions and risks comparable with those the RN faced. The Merchant Navy is far from the poor relation in my opinion.

I am a daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter and niece of a line of MN captains with Medals, Decorations and a fatality from both world wars among them. As said upthread, the difference is that the MN (and there is no British MN today of any substance, ferries aside), is a commercial operation like an airline - carries passengers and freight. The RN is a branch of the armed services. Apples and pears.

Those that put themselves in danger for the common good are pretty much equal

"Traditionally it's been the three military - land sea and air"

Are you trying to start a fight?
The Navy is the senior service, then Arny, the newbie Air Force.

OP: he's making an in-joke. These sorts of jokey rivalries between similar organisations (of all sorts) and are utterly unrelated to either their actual value or the underlying respect one set have for the other. For example, pongos tease garage mechanics, but know they may need air strikes to win battles (and leave more alive than if they couldn't call it in); the garage mechanics will risk their lives to provide air support, and to medevac.

Your DGF isn't here to answer back, but if he were I bet he would do, and chances are in good spirit.

Tell DH to shut up, it's a sore point for you especially at Remembrancetide. And watch the Cenotaph march past together (if you can) and look out for the white berets of the Arctic Convoy (if they still march).

A lot of what the merchant navy did in the Second World War is still covered by the official secrets act, my grandfather still has two years of his service record that is unavailable for this period we know he was on North Atlantic convoys running into to Russia maybe delivering tanks. Also a possibility of supporting the 'Shetland bus'.
I think the Merchant Navy is currently undervalued as no one knows what they actually did. The value in what he did is shown in his post war jobs positions far higher than you expect from his published service record.

He always called the Arctic convoy the North Atlantic.

There were convoys for both Arctic and North Atlantic. You're right, I should have mentioned both. But I think the Arctic convoys stuck in my mind because their campaign medal, the Arctic Star, was issued only in 2013. Before that, there had been only the Atlantic Star (issued at end of the war).

About 3000 people died running the Arctic convoys, which were used to re-supply the Soviet military, keeping them in the war.