Dave Thompson MSP

Dave Thompson, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch has welcomed Merchant Navy Day which will take place on 3 September 2015 and has tabled a motion calling on the Scottish Parliament to acknowledge the campaign by Seafarers UK to celebrate the day by flying the Red Ensign, the Merchant Navy’s official flag.

Mr Thompson said, “I call upon the Parliament to acknowledge Merchant Navy Day and urge MSPs to remember the sacrifices of our merchant sea men, as we salute their courage and support the future of the Merchant Navy.

“My own father, John, was in the Merchant Navy during the Second World War as a ship's baker, travelling all around the world, taking part in Atlantic convoys, and he survived being torpedoed in the Mediterranean.

“Northern men in particular were much sought after in the Merchant fleet due to their seafaring traditions which should be recognised and celebrated as we show official appreciation to Scotland’s ancient seafaring and trading tradition”.

Note:

Motion S4M-13942: Dave Thompson, Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 13/08/2015

That the Parliament is aware of Merchant Navy Day, which will take place on 3 September 2015; acknowledges the campaign by Seafarers UK to celebrate the day by flying the Red Ensign, the Merchant Navy’s official flag; notes calls for MSPs to remember the sacrifices, salute the courage and support the future of the Merchant Navy; celebrates the time of John Thompson, father of Dave Thompson MSP, in the Merchant Navy during the Second World War as a ship's baker, circumnavigating the globe, taking part in Atlantic convoys, being torpedoed in the Mediterranean but surviving throughout the entire war; understands that northern men, in particular, were much sought after in the Merchant fleet due to their seafaring traditions; recognises Scotland’s ancient seafaring and trading tradition, and appreciates what it considers the great work that the men and women of the Merchant Navy still do all around the world.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msps/currentmsps/Dave-Thompson-MSP.aspx