The "invisible fourth service" is often overlooked, but it was the plight of merchantmen in World War I that originally led to the establishment of King George's Fund for Sailors, and we're looking out for them still.
The British shipping industry suffered a massive downturn in the decades after the second world war, as air travel became commonplace, ships grew bigger and crews shrank. These changes have now levelled out - our merchant fleet is growing again, though only in terms of hulls, not people - but they leave in their wake thousands of former sailors now forced to make their way on land.
Merchant sailors are at sea for longer than most, and on shore much more briefly. As well as creating even more than the usual separation from family and friends, this can make it particularly difficult to build a new life after retirement or unemployment, and unlike the Royal Navy there are very few shore-based jobs available for merchantmen.
There is also very little industry-based welfare work, and until the 1970s the Merchant Navy pension was negligible: many ex-sailors find themselves right at the bottom of the welfare scale and live in conditions of great poverty, cut off from the sea and from their old shipmates. Retirement and unemployment can hit sailors very hard.
The modern Merchant Navy is a kinder place than it once was, but is still a harsh and dangerous way of life, and Seafarers UK still looks out for all the men and women who serve in British and Commonwealth shipping, past and present.
Just over half our grants last year went to Merchant Navy causes. If you're serving in the Merchant Navy, please consider lending your support.