Founded in the 17th century, Britain’s merchant fleet between the two world wars was the largest in the world.

By 1939, a third of the world’s merchant ships were British. In the maritime city of Liverpool, it was thought every family had a relative serving in the British Merchant Navy.

Today’s British merchant marine accounts for only 3 per cent of the tonnage carried. It is estimated that the total number of seamen serving in the since decimated service is a little over 20,000, many if not most are of non-British extraction.

The Merchant Navy’s sharpest and indeed its terminal decline occurred from 1955.  By 1975, ‘the navy that once ruled the waves’ had shrunk and was mainly ferry-based transport with foreign crews.

Michael Walsh trained as a 16-year-old deck rating early in 1959 at the British Sea Training School, Sharpness, in Gloucestershire. Michael has the distinction of being one of the last surviving seamen who served on the RMS Britannic.

The 27,000-tonne vessel was the last of the White Star Line’s Ocean-going liners (1834 – 1960). The White Star fleet was best known for the RMS Titanic and the great liner’s ill-fated voyage.

The author went on to sail under the flags of nearly 20 different British-registered shipping companies. By the time he had reached the age of 24-years of age, the young seaman had visited and worked in over 60 countries throughout various parts of the world.

The Leaving of Liverpool is an amusing and informative illustrated collection of 55 first-hand experiences and exploits of the author and his shipmates.

Today, there is a growing fascination for what is now recognised as the zenith of Britain’s 400-year-old merchant marine, the vessels and great shipping companies of the past, and especially of the seafarers and their then way of life.

LEFT. British and Belgian seamen marooned in the wartorn Belgian Congo during the Congo crisis, 1960-965.

From the day of its publication, The Leaving of Liverpool has proved to be a great success, with bulk orders regularly being placed. This subject in this first-hand account form has never before been published.

It offers a unique opportunity for consistent high sales not only in the United Kingdom but also abroad. You can share this story on social media:

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THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL Illustrated best-seller of a seaman’s life in the greatest Merchant Navy in history (1955-1975) by ex-mariner Michael Walsh. https://michaelwalshbooks.wordpress.com/