CWMBRAN Community Council will be supporting Merchant Navy Day by flying the Red Ensign at 10am on Thursday, September 3.

The chairman of Cwmbran Community Council will preside.

Everyone is welcome to attend the ceremony to commemorate this event.

The ceremony will take place at the offices of Cwmbran Community Council, Ventnor Road, Cwmbran.

Since the beginning of the century, September 3 has been the UK’s officially designated Merchant Navy Day.

The date was chosen because on that day in 1939, the first day of The Second World War, SS Athenia was the first merchant ship to be torpedoed and sunk with the loss of 128 passengers and crew.

During the two world wars, the British public realised that without merchant ships, the UK would soon be starved of food and essential supplies.

The merchant fleet also played a huge role in other national operations, including the recovery of the Falkland Islands in 1982.

In recent years the UK’s dependence on the Merchant Navy has increased, with more than 90 per cent of imports being carried by ship, including half of the food we eat.

With more sea ports than any other European country, the UK depends on the Merchant Navy to ship more than 75% of our exports.