THE TRANSPORT SERVICE MEDAL. (Hansard, 14 May 1903)

LORD MUSKERRY

, in rising "to call attention to the long delay in granting the transport medal to captains and 657 officers of the Merchant Service, and to move that this House do present an humble Address to His Majesty representing that, if the preliminary announcement of the Admiralty regarding the award of this decoration be adhered to, many members of the Mercantile Marine, who have rendered most valuable service to the nation during the South African War, will be debarred from obtaining just and proper recognition; and praying that His Majesty will ordain that the rules regulating the issue of the transport medal will be of such a character that the fullest recognition will be given to those who have laboured in the transport service during the late war in South Africa," said: My Lords, in bringing this Motion before your Lordships, I should like, firstly, to express the unbounded satisfaction of the Merchant Service generally at the announcement that His Most Gracious Majesty had instituted a special decoration for the purpose of recognising the splendid services of those employed in our merchant transports during the late war. If I might venture to say so, I think that the institution of this decoration is by no means the least of the many graceful acts performed by His Majesty. What I desire to draw attention to in relation to my Motion is this. I fear that what I humbly think were His Majesty's intentions in the matter will not, under the preliminary announcement of the Admiralty, be fully carried out, and I address myself to His Majesty's advisers, who issued this announcement, and to your Lordships, whom I trust will give me your support, in humbly presenting an Address to His Majesty showing that the announcement of the Admiralty is far too restricted in its scope to ensure recognition for many who have rendered valuable service to the State. By the term "chartered troop transports" is meant those particular vessels of the Merchant Service which were chartered or hired at certain rates agreed upon, and had numbers affixed to their bows, being known as Transport No. 1, 2, or 3, as the case might be. These transports, or chartered troop transports, numbered, I believe, something over 100, but a very large number of 658 other ships were employed in doing exactly similar transport service, though, owing to the private arrangements between the owners and the Admiralty being of a different character, these ships do not come within the category of chartered troop transports.

I do not think there is a subject in this country who does not feel that a debt of gratitude is owing to the Merchant Service for the magnificent way in which it came to the aid of the country during the late war in South Africa, and the public statements of members of the Government and articles in the Press show what valuable service has been rendered. I will just draw your Lordships' attention very briefly to one or two of the comments made. The late First Lord of the Admiralty, now a Member of this House, when laying the Naval Estimates before Parliament, said, referring to the magnitude of the operations performed:— Since the beginning of July, 181 transports and freight ships I ask your Lordships to particularly notice this latter term "freight ships" have been engaged in the conveyance to South Africa of a force of over 32,000 officers and men, 22,300 horses and 23,600 mules, exclusive of the troops, horses, etc. which had been conveyed from India and the colonies under local arrangements, I ask your notice also to this term "local arrangements," and exclusive of certain Volunteers and such detachments. As far as we know the whole of these operations have been undertaken without the loss of a single life; and in these operations we have seen the reserve power of this country for all the subsidiary operations of war and the assistance which can be rendered by the Mercantile Marine in times of emergency. Not only have the ships been excellent but the masters of them have invariably acted with courtesy and ability in discharging their onerous duties, and have excited the admiration and praise of the military authorities. Speaking at the banquet of the Royal Academy last year, the present First Lord of the Admiralty, in replying to the toast of "His Majesty's Navy," said that— Were he to say that His Majesty's Navy is not efficient, he should say what is untrue. Then to testify to this efficiency he pretty well confined his remarks to the 659 Transport Department of the Admiralty—the Department, of course, which deals with merchant ships. That Department, he stated— Had conveyed to the Army in the field 1,250,000 tons of stores, and that without taking into account any of the forage conveyed for the horses and mules. It had carried across the seas to that Army 4,000 horses and mules, and it had transported 500,000 men, and this 500,000 men—troops and prisoners of war—had been transported without the loss of a single human life due to any cause connected with the ships. In this work nearly 600 British ships had been employed. I ask your Lordships' very particular notice to this expression, "600 ships." And this unrivalled feat had been the work of that splendid Mercantile Marine, the continued enjoyment of which by this country was inseparably bound up with its prosperity and its existence. The Times, in a leading article, referring to the announcement as to the transport medal, stated that— It is to be awarded by the Admiralty to a class of officers who, though not directly hi the service of the King, have nevertheless done work for the State both responsible and difficult in itself, and no less indispensable to the successful conduct of the campaign undertaken than any work done in the field. We are, perhaps, a little too apt to forget this aspect of the matter. We are so accustomed to the waging of wars in the uttermost parts of the earth that we seldom realise altogether how it is done, how paramount is the sea service of the Empire in the successful conduct of such an enterprise. The Times, giving some figures in connection with the work of the transports, stated that— When the last of the Boer prisoners returns to South Africa, the number of all ranks conveyed in Government transports on time charter will be upwards of 625,000, the total mileage accomplished being no less than 600,000,000 miles. Dealing with immunity from accident The Times goes on to say:— This is an unimpeachable and most emphatic testimony to the zealous efficiency and nautical skill of the officers of the Mercantile Marine engaged in the service. I have alluded to these comments in order to show your Lordships that if the present preliminary announcement of the Admiralty is adhered to, the great majority of the masters and officers of our transports will require to rest satisfied with these eulogiums, for no tangible form of the country's recognition will be granted to them. I will give your Lordships a few 660 illustrations from letters which I hold in my hand from certain masters and officers who have done splendid service for us, but who, as I have said before, must rest satisfied with mere eulogium showered upon the service. An officer of a naval collier states that he was at a China station for six months during the war there, and also for months at the Cape, where they coaled a great many transports and carried stores to the different ports on the coast. He very rightly thinks that he is entitled to a medal among the rest, as they had a great deal to put up with, both on the China station and at Capetown attending on the Fleet. They were the means of towing off one of our largest men-of-war, which had stranded, spent a whole night on deck assisting her, and never received any thanks for it. Another officer in a freight ship asks whether the steamers carrying stores for the Government are included, for he had some hard work out there loading and discharging night and day, and not even being paid overtime. The chief officer of one of the regular mail steamers trading out to the Cape, which has carried a very large number of our troops out safely, but does not come within the category of chartered troop transports says— No doubt you will agree with me that our ships have done a very fair share of trooping during the war without being hired transports. I suppose it would be too much to expect any recognition in our case, considering the whole of the Merchant Service was forgotten when the thanks of the country were voted to those who took part in the war. I am inclined to go one better in the case of the mail steamers, and say our duties were even greater than the hired transports that had troops only, for we had our own business as well to attend to—mails, passengers and cargo; and we certainly made a greater number of voyages in the year. A great deal more might be said with the pen of a ready writer, but I am not equal to it myself. The captain of another steamer says:— As regards the medal for transports, I certainly think it is hard lines that the freight ships get no recognition. I had a great number of troops on my ship, besides carrying about 700 Hollanders turned out by Lord Roberts. I also brought home the first lot of sick and wounded from Ladysmith after the relief. Besides, I believe that the transport commanders received a gratuity from the Admiralty, while we of the freight ships got neither a gratuity nor even any thanks. There were plenty of soldiers in South Africa on the lines of communication who did no more fighting than we did, and if we were not the most important of the lines of communication I am much mistaken. 661 Another captain says of the transport medal:— These medals, it appears, are only to be given to captains and officers on the numbered troop transports. This is a great injustice, seeing that we who were in the mail steamers or intermediate ships carried large numbers of troops; in many cases even more than those in the numbered transports. Yet we are to be debarred from participating in the recognition of service, which is manifestly unfair seeing that instead of being hired transports most of our ships were freight ships. The work and responsibility in each case was the same, and yet we get no reward whatever under the present intention of the Government. The captain of a large steamer writes— I notice that only captains and officers of chartered troop transports are to receive medals for their service during the late war. If this is so it seems very unfair. Surely the officers of monthly hired transports were equally deserving of recognition. I carried troops on four different occasions, twice to Africa and twice to China, and was engaged altogether about a year trooping on monthly hired transports, and I fully expected that if medals were to be presented I would receive one. I shall be glad to know if it has been definitely settled that the officers of other transports are not to receive any recognition for their services These, my Lords, are the feelings of gentlemen who rightly consider that they are faring very badly at the hands of their country, and it is really extraordinary to think that service such as theirs can be ignored. The figures which have been quoted to your Lordships do not by any means refer to the chartered troop transports alone, and as great praise has been showered upon all, it is highly inconsistent that only one portion should be eligible for the decoration. Munitions of war and Government stores were carried to an enormous extent, as also numbers of horses and mules, by vessels termed freight ships. Though the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty have informed the Merchant Service Guild that they fully recognise the efficient way in which the masters and officers of other British ships engaged for the conveyance of troops, horses, mules and stores at rates per head or ton, carried out the freight contracts, they are not disposed to recommend any further recognition. I would draw the attention of your Lordships to the case of many vessels carrying mules from America and other ports during the war, being months and months away, when usually they were regular traders to this country. The duties were most difficult and onerous, very much less pleasant than on 662 chartered troop transports, as will be apparent to your Lordships, and also there were extreme difficulties with the mule attendants, who were of the very lowest class, shipped in American ports. The mutiny on the "Milwaukee" whilst carrying mules was an instance of what captains and officers of such vessels had to contend with. Many other ships have been running with cargoes of Government stores, some of them being as much as two or three years away. Are all these magnificent services to go by unrecognised?

I venture to suggest that there is yet time to remedy a grave omission, not only on the score of gratitude for services rendered, but on the score of preserving the goodwill, loyalty and patriotism of what the late principal transport official at Capetown described as our magnificent Merchant Service. We shall be told, perhaps, that there are difficulties. I have thought the matter over very carefully, and cannot see that these are insuperable. In any case, it is the duty of the Admiralty to overcome them. To me it seems a great stretch of imagination that one officer will obtain a medal as against another, simply because the private arrangements between the Admiralty and the shipowners have been different. Though it is pleasant to say that the war in South Africa is now over, we cannot, of course, blind our eyes to the fact of future occasions when this country will require to uphold the honour of its traditions and its flag. Therefore in maintaining the efficiency of our Merchant Service, which is absolutely essential for success, we must, when the opportunity offers, err rather on the side of being too liberal than too niggardly in rendering honour where honour is due. I sincerely trust—and very many are with me—that this House will humbly represent the matter to His Majesty, whose sympathy with sailors, and whose promptitude in recognising the services of his subjects, will, I have no doubt, lead to pure and simple justice I being given to our Merchant Service.