Harry Bennett from Swanage, joined the Merchant Navy in 1942, aged 15. His poem, 'How It Got There' was a reminder of the lifeline he and his fellow merchant seafarers provided to both troops and civilians in the Second World War.

The Sailors' Society displayed the poem on Merchant Navy Day on Sunday alongside the Sea of Remembrance, hundreds of messages of remembrance and gratitude for the unsung heroes of the Merchant Navy, written on the backs of Red Ensign flags and planted in the sunken gardens at Trinity House in London.

The British merchant navy, then largest in the world, made sure crucial supplies were delivered to the front line and also played a vital role in keeping the country, heavily dependent on food imports, running despite German torpedoes trying to cut off supply lines.

The Battle of the Atlantic was the most significant Merchant Navy campaign of the war. Escorted by warships they brought military equipment and supplies across the Atlantic and came under heavy attack by German U-boats and warships.

Almost 30,250 British merchant seamen were killed during the war, a death rate that was higher proportionately than in any of the armed forces, with the last merchant ship, the SS Avondale Park sunk in the final hour of the war.

Harry served in the Atlantic, the Bay of Bengal and the Mediterranean, receiving the War Medal, the 1939-45 Star, the Atlantic Star, the Burma Star and the Italy Star for his service.

Harry and his wife Peggy supported the Sailors' Society, a charity for merchant seafarers, for more than 30 years. After his death in 2014 his medals and poems were given to the society.

To donate or run a Merchant Navy Day contact sailors-society.org or call 023 8051 5950.