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First World War (1914-1918)
The Merchant Navy

From 1914 to 1918, Canadian and Allied merchant ships and mariners transported personnel, munitions, weapons, and food to Great Britain and Europe as part of the Allied war effort. German U-Boats (submarines) and mines claimed tens of thousands of Allied lives and thousands of ships.

Artifact Record

Medal Set, Thomas Moore

Merchant Navy officer Thomas Moore's First World War medal set consists of the British War Medal (left) and the Mercantile Marine War Medal (right).

The Mercantile Marine War Medal was awarded to members of the Merchant Navy who made at least one trip through a war zone, or who spent at least six months at sea during the war. Moore served in British merchant ships for the entire First World War, including the SS Lord Derby, torpedoed and sunk on 27 December 1917 with the loss of three lives.

Medal Set, Thomas Moore
Tilston Memorial Collection of Canadian Military Medals
CWM 19810448-008