On Sunday former Merchant Navy sailors will come out in force to remember their colleagues bravery and sacrifice in assisting Britains armed forces and helping the countrys allies during wars.
One such ex-merchant seafarer is Frankie Travers, of Burdett Road, Waterloo.
Frankie, 77, joined the Merchant Navy in 1947 and was a gunner keeping enemy planes away on the Canberra ship during the Falklands War of 1982.
He said: I was a volunteer. I lost my hearing in San Carlos when our ship was blasted by Argentine forces. She was shot on the port side. I have always believed in fighting for my country. It was our sovereignty we were fighting for.
I think that war was a waste of time though because Argentina was our friend for years. We got a bonus but a lot of it was taxed and if you were captured then you would only get half of it.
It was a terrible war and I saw a ship go down with a lot of Liverpool lads on.
Frankie has four adult sons and five grandchildren, to whom he tells his stories about the war.
He said: The Argentine soldiers were very friendly to us when we captured them and they did not want to be there. They had no choice though because they lived in a dictatorship and they were made to go. One of them wrote me a letter in English because some had a Welsh background. They thought we were going to kill them and they wrote me a letter because they were scared.
I think war is awful and I will go to the cenotaph in Liverpool on Remembrance Sunday.
