Bell no. 43 (Merchant Marine)

Bell no. 43 (Merchant Marine)

  • Height  1168 mm
  • Width  1422 mm
  • Weight  1708 kg
  • Note  D
Bell Inscription

My Name is
The Seven Seas
Cherish me as a Tribute to the
British Mercantile Marine, 1914-18. 
‘If blood be the price of admiralty,
Lord God, we ha’ paid in full.’
 - Kipling
‘Lights are bright and all’s well.’

The fleets of British and New Zealand-owned merchant and fishing vessels, known as the Merchant or Mercantile Marine, provided crucial links between Britain and its colonies during the First World War, carrying much-needed food and supplies to the United Kingdom and to the theatres of war. These vessels, crewed by civilians, also served as troop carriers and hospital ships during the war. It was an extremely dangerous occupation, and many ships travelling between New Zealand and the United Kingdom were captured or sunk. Several thousand New Zealanders served in the merchant marine during the war, and although it is difficult to know exactly how many lost their lives, there is a list here of known New Zealanders who died. 

Although the men who served in the merchant marine were not officially part of the armed services, their efforts were recognised after the war. The symbolic name ‘the Merchant Navy’ was adopted in the 1920s, and those who had travelled through at least one danger zone were issued with a British Mercantile Marine War Medal; more than 130,000 of these medals were issued throughout the Empire.

This bell was also donated as a way to remember their efforts. The money for it was collected from passengers on Union Steam Ship Company liners, the girls’ committee of the Navy League, the Wellington Harbour Board, a number of shipping companies and others. At the time it was said that the bell would be ‘one of the finest and most effective means of preserving the epic story of the British Mercantile Marine during the Great War’.

The bell is inscribed with a quotation, well-known at the time, from Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘The Song of the Dead’, written in 1893. The poem is a hymn to the people who had made the British Empire, including, as in this quote, those who had served and died at sea. 

The phrase ‘Lights are bright and all’s well’ which is also included on the bell is a naval phrase called out by sailors to indicate that everything is right with the ship.

In the years that followed this bell was rung for special occasions, including on Trafalgar Day, the anniversary of Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson’s victory over the Spanish and French ships in 1805.

Further information:

'The Seven Seas', Evening Post, 1 September 1927, p. 8

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