Flag raised at Blackburn Town Hall to honour Merchant Navy Day

Brave men and women who kept the nation afloat during both World Wars are being honoured this Merchant Navy Day.

The day is marked by the flying of the Red Ensign outside Blackburn Town Hall.

Boroughs around the country marked the event, held every year since 2000.

The event also celebrates our dependence on modern day merchant seafarers who are responsible for 95 per cent of the UK’s imports, including half the food we eat.

September 3rd is officially designed Merchant Navy Day because on that date in 1939, the first day of the Second World War, SS Athenia was the first merchant ship to be torpedoed and sunk with the loss of 128 passengers and crew.

Dates between September1^st-4^th are earmarked nationally to fly the flag.