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From the very beginning of the Second World War the Merchant Navy was in the front line of battle. Within hours of war being declared the first British casualty was the Donaldson Liner “Athenia” and the first radio distress call of the war was transmitted.

There were many more radio distress calls made during the next six years as hundreds of vessels were sunk, mainly by the action of U-boats. Almost 30,000 British seamen perished with the loss of over twenty million tons of shipping.

Winston Churchill wrote in his account of the Second World War — “The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril”.

Hence the excitement and relief experienced by crews on board all British and Allied Merchant Ships, world wide when the actual message pictured here was received. The text is as follows:

RECEIVED FROM GZH
BY J.W.C

IMMEDIATE-
FROM ADMIRALTY —
BRITISH BAMS LETTERED MESSAGE QK — 081324 —

“GERMANY HAS SURRENDERED UNCONDITIONALLY STOP CEASE FIRE HAS BEEN ORDERED FROM 2201 GMT 8TH MAY REPEAT 2201 GMT 8TH MAY STOP TWO STOP PENDING FURTHER ORDERS ALL EXISTING INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THE DEFENCE SECURITY AND CONTROL OF MERCHANT SHIPPING ARE TO REMAIN IN FORCE STOP MERCHANT SHIPS AT SEA WHETHER IN CONVOY OR SAILING INDPENDENTLY ARE TO CONTINUE THEIR VOYAGE AS PREVIOUSLY ORDERED.”

A second message followed 8 minutes later at 1721 and photograph of that message along with its text is contained in my story entitled “Further to Surrender”

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