Now that Nazi
Germany has been defeated I wish to send you all on behalf of His
Majesty’s Government a message of thanks and gratitude.
The work you do is
hard and dangerous. You rarely get and never seek publicity; your
only concern is to do your job, and you have done it nobly. You have
sailed in many seas and all weathers... This work could not be done
without loss, and we mourn all who have died and over 250 ships lost
on duty.
No work has been
more vital than yours; no work has been better done. The Ports were
kept open and Britain breathed. The Nation is once again proud of
you.
W S Churchill
Source: National Archives Ref PREM 3/314/5