Archive volunteer Sian England undertook research whilst working on the South East Co-operative archive. This post has been adapted from a talk given at Portico Library History Lab Open Mic Night.

I came across a report on the Sea War Library Services (SWLS)  tucked into the pocket of meeting minutes from the Sittingbourne Co-operative Society. It was accompanied by a letter thanking Co-operative Societies for responding to an appeal for donations of funds and books. Both the letter and the pamphlet detail how much money had been raised for the scheme as well as thoughts on the scheme from commanding officers and enlisted men.

What was the goal of the Sea War Library Service? Why go through the expense of putting books on board ships, especially during a war?

Origins

The main organisations behind the Sea War Library Service were the Seafarers’ Education Society and The British Ship Adoption Society. The Seafarers’ Education Society (SES) was founded in 1919 to encourage learning and career development in sailors, particularly those in the merchant marines. They sent out educational and technical books to ships’ libraries and provided correspondence courses for sailors to gain qualifications.

The British Ship Adoption Society was founded in 1936, and it encouraged schools to ‘adopt’ a ship. Through this adoption, students were encouraged to develop an interest in sailing and perhaps even pursue a career as a seafarer. While these organisations focussed on different demographics, they both were interested in furthering education and interest in the navy and merchant marines as a career.

World War II

With the onset of war there was an immediate recognition across society that supplying service members with reading material would be essential for morale. In the report the Governor General of Canada said that he believed that books ‘are as necessary for the comfort of the mind as food is necessary for the well-being of the body.’

Many larger ships already had libraries, but smaller ships often did not. The Sea War Library service decided that it was important that all crew members on all ships dedicated to war work should have the opportunity to access literature. The society coordinated with other maritime societies, as well as schools and public libraries, to mobilise a network capable of collecting donations and distributing reading material to vessels around the world. They sent out a call for donations of both money and books and the public immediately answered. At the time of the publication of the report, nearly 40,000 books and magazines had been distributed to 1,000 ships in just five months.

When the crew had read through all the books that had been distributed to them, they were told to move them on to other ships and to inform the War Library Service that they had done so. This way books were circulated more widely and sailors had access to fresh reading material.

Gratitude to Co-operative Societies 

Along with the report found in the meeting minutes, there was a letter from the co-chairman of the Sea War Library Service to the Co-operative Societies dated April 1940. It stated that 198 co-operatives from across the country had raised £197 16s and donated 6,000 books for the library service. Accounting for inflation, the donations tallied to about £11,000 (in 2026), plus the value of the donated magazines and books.

These donations were greatly valued by the sailors and officers, and the report included thanks to the War Library Service for its work. One officer remarked that his sailors were delighted with receiving the books and that he ‘did not cherish the faintest hope that we would have any reading matter this voyage.’ A member of the merchant marine said ‘[i]t is hard to know how to thank you for your kindness. Whenever the books are read we shall not forget from whom they came. Whether we read them in the best or worst of weather you may be sure that they will be terribly welcome. We thank you too for the kindly thoughts behind them. These will be a great help to us, particularly when in troubled waters.’

The Sea War Library Service operated throughout the war. The founding members of the service, the Seafarer’s Education Service and The British Ship Adoption Society were incorporated, along with many other societies, with the aptly named ‘Marine Society’ in 1976. The Marine Society still provides professional development services for seafarers to this day.

Literature is Still Important

Reading this pamphlet gives us an opportunity to imagine ourselves as one of these sailors; how the combination of hard labour, boredom and the constant threat of danger could have had a profoundly harmful effect on morale. Reading would have provided sailors an antidote to many of the negative mental and physical effects of these stressors. One of the most beautiful things about history is finding a connection with other human beings across time.

Like these men, when we find ourselves in troubled waters we can turn to a book and take comfort in learning something new or escaping to a different world.

All images SEC Collection, Co-operative Heritage Trust.

The Co-op Archives at Holyoake House in Manchester includes the South East Retail Group (CWS) We are currently reviewing the collection and as the collection is not yet fully catalogued, we advise researchers to contact us in advance of a visit. Requests for items from the collection may take time to retrieve and responses to remote enquiries may be delayed as we may need longer to locate items in the collection. To request material from the collection and book a visit to the archives, please look at our website for further details.

 

Sources

 

1. Sea War Library Service Report, January 1940. SEC Collection, Co-operative Heritage Trust
2. Sea War Library Service letter to Co-operative Societies, April 1940. SEC Collection, Co-operative Heritage Trust
3. Our History, Marine Society. https://www.marine-society.org/history
4. Record of marine charities absorbed by the Marine Society, Royal Museums Greenwich. https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/archive/rmgc-object-510052