On October 6th 2004 I visited the Imperial War Museum in London. I was actually there to present some documents regarding the Battle of the North Cape (sinking of the Scharnhorst) so I didn’t have much time to look around. However, I did briefly see the museum’s exhibition on Survival at Sea – Stories of the Merchant Navy in the Second World War and took some photos. There are items that mention four Radio Officers, whether or not they attended the Wireless College I have no idea.

 I didn’t reproduce the items on display because of copyright concerns. I just hope the Museum doesn’t mind me showing these few things. If you get chance, the Imperial War Museum London is well worth a visit. They also have other locations. Details on their website http://www.iwm.org.uk

I mention the Scharnhorst because I have digital copies of signals exchanged during the battle (my father has a message pad from 1943, which is now in the Museum). If anyone is interested in seeing them please contact me.

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Harold Goord

The museum states that over 30,000 merchant seamen were lost during the war - a greater proportion of deaths than in any of the armed forces. It doesn’t mention the fact that The Marconi Company alone lost 956 Radio Officers.