A CAMPAIGN to get a legendary seafarer a posthumous honour has been backed by a Trinity House stalwart.

Last week, the Standard launched a campaign, alongside Harwich Town Council, to get Captain Charles Fryatt recognition from the British Government for his heroics in the First World War.

Captain Fryatt evaded capture twice while crossing from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, the second where he tried to ram a U-boat rather than surrender, forcing it to crash dive.

Capt Richard Woodman (below), an author and elder brother of Trinity House, said he believes Fryatt was revered by the government, despite not receiving any accolades.

He said: “As a former seafarer and maritime historian, the fate of Fryatt is of great interest to me and is covered in volume five of my History of the British Merc h a n t Navy.

“ The part played by the British Mercantile Marine in the First WorldWar is not well known and is not properly understood.

“It is true that the seamen who, like Fryatt, lost their lives in merchant ships did not receive many posthumous medals, but he did receive notable recognition by the state.

“In fact, his was one of only three bodies officially repatriated at the end of the war, the decision having been made to inter all the dead near the battlefields, largely thanks to the generosity of the French Government in giving land for the purpose, and thus established what we now call the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

“Like Edith Cavell’s execution, that of Fryatt was so outrageous that his body, together with Cavell’s and that of the unknown warrior, were ceremoniously brought home by way of Dover.

“I hope the campaign is successful, as the mercantile marine’s part in the war deserves to be better known and appreciated. After the war, King George V spoke in glowing terms of its service, coining the phrase ‘Merchant Navy’, which subsequently stuck.”

To sign the petition calling for Captain Fryatt to be honoured, fill in the form above and drop it at the Harwich Guildhall, Church Street, Harwich, or post it to Capt Fryatt campaign, 28 Jackson Road, Clacton, CO151QL, or Unit 1, Brunel Court, Severalls Industrial Estate, Colchester, CO4 9XP.