LAST week, Cardiff South and Penarth Assembly Member Vaughan Gething attended the Merchant Navy’s annual memorial service for Seafarers in Cardiff Bay on the Senedd steps.

Vaughan Gething said: “I was privileged to attend the Seafarers Memorial Service and speak to veterans about their experiences in the Merchant Navy and commercial seafaring life. Their stories are remarkable and too easily forgotten or taken for granted. Their sacrifice, loss and victory all helped to ensure that our country enjoys freedom and democracy today. I am reminded of their sacrifice every time I look out of the Senedd and see the memorial to the merchant seamen of Wales.

The service is a wonderful opportunity to remember the sacrifice of so many seafarers from Cardiff, Penarth and Barry, who gave their lives to keeping our country alive during two world wars. The Seafarers Memorial is a reminder of what we still owe to a previous generation. It was a real pleasure to meet Captain David Kettlety and his wife Marilyn. Their story of sacrifice and comradeship with seafarers around the globe is every bit as relevant to the challenges we face today as it was in decades past .”