Female MN war veterans brought to the fore

Many of us have family stories of redoubtable maritime ancestors, but we don't know how to go about finding out more. If only we had a researcher like Nina Baker at our disposal.

The people whose lives Baker explores in Supposed Killed or Drowned by Enemy Action at Sea are not relatives of hers, but they are part of the Merchant Navy family. They are the Scottish women who served and died in the crews of MN vessels in the First and Second World Wars.

The idea came when Baker – herself a former seafarer – was attending a memorial service in Glasgow on Merchant Navy Day. She knew that some women were among the fallen war heroes being honoured, but were their life stories told anywhere?

As an experienced researcher and author, Baker knew how to answer that question, and the result is an engrossing and quietly moving book.

The seafaring women in those wartime crews were mainly stewardesses, as the era of female deck, engine and radio officers only really started in the 1970s. Although there would have been other women onboard as passengers or their employees, the author sticks to profiling women who were actually part of a ship's crew and had a seafarer's discharge book.

Trawling through sources including newspaper articles, memorial plaques, government archives and birth, marriage and death certificates, Baker manages to collect enough material to give a real sense of each woman's life.

Sometimes pickings are rather slim, but she adds context by describing where the seafarers came from and even taking pictures of the tenement blocks they once lived in.

In each profile, the woman’s age at death is given, and it is notable that very few are under 40. Perhaps they went back to sea to support the war effort after raising children, or they had always been there as adventurous souls or simply to make a living.

Another point the author makes is that the women's stewardess duties meant that they were highly vulnerable to dying on a sinking ship because they had to go down to the passengers in their cabins rather than out on deck.

All in all, it's an accomplished and fascinating piece of work, and let's hope these women are all given their due in future memorial ceremonies.

Supposed Killed or Drowned by Enemy Action at Sea
By Dr Nina Baker OBE
Self-published, £10.07 (available in the Nautilus Bookshop)
ISBN 978 09548 22019

• Watch our video interview with Nina Baker on our YouTube channel NautilusTV