seafarers

The following roll lists the names of seafarers who died while serving on New Zealand merchant ships and New Zealanders known to have been lost while sailing under the flags of other countries (mainly Britain). It currently contains 135 names (or 131 if the four Australian nationals are excluded – see note below).

New Zealanders in the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy

By 1944 more than 4700 New Zealanders were based in the United Kingdom and were serving in Royal Navy ships. They had joined the navy through a number of recruiting schemes. The most common, Scheme B, was for ordinary seaman aged between 20 and 30 years.