During World War Two, between 1939 & 1945, more than 50,000 merchant mariners were lost in 2,535 British & Commonwealth ships or fishing vessels that never made port due to enemy action. Right in the middle of Great Britain more or less equidistant from our coasts, a grove of trees, one for each ship lost, has been planted in their memory.                                                                                                                    As will be seen from a couple of these photographs, death was no respecter of age or rank.