Merchant Navy uniform: monkey jacket

This Merchant Navy uniform jacket belonged to Edward Henry South (1922–2015). It is double-breasted with two zig-zag stripes of gold lace on the cuffs, denoting the rank of Chief Steward, which South held between November 1945 and June 1946 while serving in the petrol tanker Nuculana.

Edward Henry South was born in Lambeth on 9 July 1922. He joined the Merchant Navy in September 1939 and served throughout the Second World War, rising from Steward’s Boy to Chief Steward. According to his record book, he served initially in the cargo liner Almeda Star on the London to Buenos Aires route, then in the Royal Star on the same route. In fuel tanker MV Narragansett, he served on Atlantic convoys. He married Mary Baker on 1 April 1943 and their son, Edward, was born three months later.

He was at the D-Day landings in the Goldshell, a support ship carrying fresh water, and then returned to Atlantic convoy duty in MV Rapana, another patrol tanker. In November 1945, he transferred to the tanker Nuculana, in which he served until July 1946 when his wartime service terminated, and he was discharged from the Merchant Navy at his own request.

His medal bar, which is sewn to the jacket, features the ribbons of the 1939–45 star, awarded in recognition of service during the war, and the Atlantic Star, a specific award for service personnel involved in the Battle of the Atlantic, including Atlantic convoys. The Atlantic Star ribbon has a rosette, denoting receipt of the ‘France and Germany’ clasp, for which South qualified by virtue of his involvement in D-Day.