That’s mandatory. [It] shows he is not a selfish person, for by not volunteering he leaves room for the keener and more deserving matelots to offer their services.’1 Reg Osborn, who trained at TS Exmouth The boys of the Merchant Navy became the unsung heroes of the Second World War. Whilst war saw the evacuation of thousands of fourteen year olds, taken to the safety of the countryside, hundreds of their former classmates escaped the dangers of British cities for the far greater perils of the sea. The continual need for new boys to go to sea with the merchant fleet was shown by one stark figure: despite being civilians, the merchant fleet suffered a higher casualty rate than any of the armed services. Whatever their status, they shared the common experiences of a life – and often death – at sea in wartime. Some of these youths were already experienced sailors. Not disheartened by the sinking of his first ship in late 1939, Bristol-born Ron Bosworth soon signed on with another ship, the Port Dunedin, sailing to Australia in early 1940.
