The Dominion SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1928. A NEW TITLE

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 120, 18 February 1928, Page 8

The Dominion SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1928. A NEW TITLE

The British merchant fleet lost 14,000 men in the war, and in spite of perils and hardships the men of the merchant service never faltered in their tasks. And they were, not one of them paid to run any war risk. Neither did they ask for a single raising of wages. . At the Battle of Wagram Marshal Massena commanded his corps from a carriage, and his coachman never hesitated to drive into the hottest fire. Aides, officers, and guards were killed all round the marshal’s carriage. But the coachman preserved the calmness of a graven image and its immobility. He never turned a hair. Napoleon, who watched the whole business, was asked who was the bravest man on that bloody day of Wagram. He replied without hesitation, “Marshal Massena’s coachman.” ’ . . . A non-combatant compelled by no rule of discipline or agreement to be present, with no risk of life m his agreement of service. And, moreover, without hope of decoration of any kind, or even of mention in dispatches. Yet at every time of asking did he drive his carriage into action, keeping his seat regardless of bullets, balls, and bombs. He was truly, as Napoleon said, “the bravest man in that battle that day.” So it may be said of the British mercantile fleet that it was manned by the bravest men in the Great War. That the merchant and trawling services are entitled to. high honour for service in both peace and war is plainly the opinion of His Majesty the King. He has devised a reward. He has placed his son—the most popular prince who ever wore the three feathers —at their head with the title of “Master,” the title they know the best, and treasure the highest of all titles. The title covers command over all fishermen, all coasters, and all miscellaneous watermen who swept mines and chased submarines and patrolled a thousand waterways. The title honours the whole seafaring population as well as the mercantile marine.

The reward is not decorative. It is not as substantial a recognition such as the woolgrowers of New Zealand have generously devised in the shape of provision for the dependents of seamen lost in the submarine campaign. But, like the wreath of bays which was the only reward of the victors of old in the famous Olympian Games of Greece, it symbolises the highest honour. So the action of the King will command the approval of all who realise the value to the nation of the services of the mercantile marine and the fisher-folk of the Mother Country. And equally no doubt it will be appreciated by those on whom this recognition has been so graciously bestowed.