Born 1938 in Southampton, England UK, Brian had an interest in ships and the sea from the early age of twelve. It was at that age onwards that he used to spend many hours during holidays and weekends on launches and barges with his father, running stores and crew down river to tankers tied up at Fawley refinery or anchored in Cowes Roads off the Isle of Wight.

Upon leaving school at the age of fifteen he then worked on the local tugboats, that handled the numerous liners etc in and out of the port of Southampton! He still yearned for a more adventurous life though and joined the merchant navy a year later serving with different shipping companies he saw most of the world as through the eyes of a seaman.

He tells me that his most memorable voyage was of nine months duration on a small fleet tanker supplying fresh water to the troops etc on Christmas Island, where they were testing H-Bombs during the late fifties!! It is interesting to note that a certain cruise line is now using it as one of it's port of call stopover's including Fanning Island which is just a short haul from there.

One of the early things he learned at sea was the fact that most, if not all merchant seamen had a bitterness inside them regarding the fact that allied wartime merchant seamen were a forgotten force so far as various governments were concerned. It was with this fact still deeply imbedded in his mind after all these years, that prompted him with the assistance of James Brown to put pen to paper and come up with the poem in memory of past and present seamen, who fought together with the armed forces in various campaigns around the world.

May they now rest in peace knowing that the world leaders are at long last acknowledging the great injustice done to these heroic volunteers aged from fifteen to sixty-five plus years.