A DISPLAY remembering the forgotten Merchant Navy men of Barry, and also commemorating the 70th anniversary of the loss of the Paddle Steamer Barry, will be held at The County Library, King Square, Barry, Monday-Friday, July 4-22.

The town of Barry lost more Merchant Navy seaman as a percentage of the town's population then any other in Britain, and there will be many photographs and exhibits on display.

A near ten-foot working model of Barry's own paddle steamer (WW2 name: HMS Snaefell) will also feature in the display and tribute, along with other static models, and will then take to the water at the Knap boating lake to mark the 70th anniversary of the sinking of this veteran of both the Great War and later conflict including Dunkirk.

Built for Barry town in 1907, the paddler was originally named after the town and at one stage covered the duties of an earlier Waverley before being called up to serve in the First World War. Renamed ‘Barryfield’, she was mentioned in dispatches and saw action at Gallipoli during the ill-fated Dardanelles Campaign.

After the Armistice, the paddle steamer returned to its pleasure sailings along the Bristol Channel and the south coast of England, where she again bore the name Waverley.

Called up once more for military service at the beginning of the Second World War, Barry's paddle steamer was renamed once more, this time being called HMS Snaefell.

Like other small craft that took part in the ‘miracle of Dunkirk’, evacuating thousands of troops from France, HMS Snaefell was unsuited to this task but performed heroically all the same.

The following year, on July 5, 1941 Barry's paddle steamer was sunk while on mine sweeping duties in the North Sea, with the loss of three lives.

Keith Greenway, an associate of the Merchant Navy Association (Wales) Barry Branch, said: “With the help of Barry Library and Barry at War, we're putting on a commemorative display to remember Barry's own paddle steamer, built for and named after our town.

"Last October, the wreck of the Barry was found off of the coast of Sunderland, where she is now a war grave. Although recorded as HMS Snaefell, she should also be remembered here as the Paddle Steamer Barry."

Barry Model Boat Club chairman Philip Trueman has created two scale models of Barry's own paddle steamer – the larger working model will be sailing on the Knap boating lake following an official launch after being displayed in Barry Library.

"We'd like to eventually house models similar to these, along with information about Barry's maritime heritage, in a museum in the town," added Mr Greenway.

"I’d like to thank everyone who has helped to make this tribute and commemoration possible.” More can be seen of Barry's wartime heritage at the Barry at War website, www.barryatwar.info More local Merchant Navy information is available at www.ss-tregenna.co.uk

The present-day PS Waverley, which along with the Balmoral continues the great tradition of pleasure steamer trips, also features in the exhibition. The main summer sailing season starts at Penarth Pier on July 2. Copies of the full programme are available from the exhibition, Tourist Information Centres, or by ringing 0845 130 4647.