Shown on these pages are some
photographs of Hull Trawlers, fishermen and Tugs of yesteryear which sailed from Hull,
most of these are now
scrapped, also other details of submarine crew and interesting pictures of the area, royal visitors and
strangers to Hull. There is a listing of vessels also, but not a modern one. The
page is a historical reminder of the once buisy industry that was a feature of
the Hull area,and indeed most of the ports of England in the early part of the
1900s. Hull's 'Queen's Dock(originally
called the 'Old Dock', and the first enclosed dock in the country) was built in
1775. A whaling ship, the 'Manchester', was the first ship to enter. The 'Delamore', with 'Skipper'
Albert Fuller, was a ship my father stayed with until 1934, when he 'signed on'
with the 'Lord Winterton', with 'Skipper' Walter Cook, before moving to the
'Sprayflower'; here another Hull fisherman, Lionel Connell, would become his
lifelong friend. At sea, fishermen made the most of things whilst steaming to
the fishing grounds, when things were a little easier.A few pictures here will
tell a few tales, not only of lifestyle, but of weather and working conditions
in the northern seas at that time.
The trawlers in these photographs
are side-fishers, and usually had a two/ three week round-trip per sailing .
Later on, freezer-ships took over, which severely damaged the working success of
the older/smaller ships. One ship shown below (The Fishpool from
West-Hartlepool, is in fact a 1930's trawler,but it's large size was also a threat to
the normal sized vessels.
The weather was cold, wet, and
windy at sea. The northern latitude was no place for light clothes. Many seamen
developed Rhumatism as a result.To reach retirement age was not common in
fishermen, most took other jobs. My father did this, joining 'The United Towing
Company' in the Tugboats in 1937. Although this work was hard, it was less
stressful than in the trawlers.
As can be seen from these
pictures, fishermen certainly made the most of a hard and tireing job. Yet
freindship was the key to survival and turning the cruel elements into a
lifestyle that only a handful of brave men could live with, day after day, in a
vessel completely cut off from the normal world that most took for
granted.
The Icelanders had their own
gunboats to stop any unlawfull fishing around Iceland, and in later years, made
fishing very tough in their waters, by enforcing a limit of a certain distance,
by which any trawler could fish fom the land. Some trawlers were actually shot
at, and catches dropped, as the best fishing was near to Iceland itself. So with
this and the introduction of the freezer-ships, the industry slowly died out. In
the Hull fish-docks today, at any one time, only a few trawlers can be seen,
tied up to discharge their fish.
Good books to read
are:- PAGE UPDATED
08-July-08
The very first successful power-driven marine vessel was a
Tug-boat.
It was a paddle-driven ship named the "CHARLOTTE-DUNDAS" and built
in Scotland in 1801 by William Symington. Built for 'Forth and Clyde Canal', the
engine(steam) was made by James Watt.
On this page are numerous Vessels, of
steam-power(coal and oil-fired) and more modern deisel.
My father was firstly
in employ as a fisherman, then a tugman, and 'Towmaster' connected to the
'United Towing Co.'and most of the photographs are his copyright . Many of the
pictures are of now extinct/scrapped vessels.You may note that I have been
aboard some of these ships/tugs as a boy myself.
Page1 FISHING AND
TRAWLERS
TRAWLERS AND
FISHERMEN.
The Old Dock had a bell, which, when rung, indicated that sickness was aboard ships in
the dock.
This bell is still hung up, not in Hull, but in the Castle Hill Hospital Cafe, near Cottingham,
a few miles away.
Next to be
built was the 'New Dock', later named 'Humber Dock'.
In the 1800's, St.
Andrews' dock became the 'trawler's' dock, after a breif use of 'Albert
Dock'
Many trawlers at the turn of the 1900s were still made of wood, which
had been a succesfull medium for hundreds of years. Iron and steel hull-shells
were now replacing these older ships in the fishing industry, although many
wooden boats were then, and are, even now, afloat.
Whaling started proper, in
the sixteenth century, but diclined in the early 1800's.In 1887, there were well
over 400 wooden 'smacks' registered in Hull, but by 1900, there were less than
40.
The first Steam Trawler to sail from Hull, was the 'Magenta'.The size of
trawlers in Hull was limitted to cost, and by the size of the opening to the
'fish-dock'.At first, the Prince Albert Dock was used, when opened in 1869, but
the St. Andrew's Dock was used after 1883, being built especially for the
trawlers.Pre-1930, there was practically no radio or echo-sounding on fishing
trawleres, and if a ship was in trouble, only rockets or lights, could be used
to attract other ships.
A trawler crew usually consisted of at least nine
men, in the small craft that was much less of course. Nets varied.The older,
more ancient Irish 'Hammer trawl', had a long iron beam, and a wooden, central
upright stay(much like a hammer) keeping the net open.
With steam, came a
larger 'Beam Trawl' which had a long(35ft.--50ft. wide in larger vessels)wooden
beam, and iron 'heads' underneath to keep it on the sea-bed. More recently, the
'Otter Trawl, with 'otter-boards' to keep the net down and open, were used from
the late 1800's. these were 125ft. long , and more. They had a 'cod end' secured
with a 'cod line', and could be emptied safely and quickly when aboard ship.Also
there was the V.D. or 'French Trawl', similar to the 'Otter'.
My father,like
many other young Hull men, started as a 'Decky-Learner', on a Hull Trawler. In
1930,his first Trawler was the 'Lord Davidson', a ship that would be a vertual
'second home' with 'Skipper' Soen Sorenson for a year, and again in 1935, with
'Skipper' George Adams.
At this time, there was poor radio contact at sea, no
radar or sonar, yet good catches of fish were had by the trawlers out towards
Norway, iceland, White Sea, Bear Island, Greenland and other fishing grounds.
Nets and rope/trawling warps were not nylon ar even steel then and still some
good catches of fish could be hauled up.Clothing was not as weather-proof as
todays 'super' materials are, and there was no 'central heating' aboard
ship.
On that first 'trip' from Christmas to January, the return from the
catch was -£2390,- quite a tidy sum in those days. From Jan.23rd.,until
February.14th., 1000 kits of fish returned- £1600 .
In April, the return on
fish caught was- £764- presumably the warmer weather effected fishing in that
area.
On the 'Lord Hewart' in 1931, returns were from £650 to £900, the
'Skipper' was Jon Thordarson, where my father was now 'Deckhand' These catches
were from Norway,Iceland,
Bear Island and White Sea areas.
Frequent visits to Norway(Norge) brought about the friendship of my father and a Norweigan
fisherman named 'Kris Christensen', fron Harstad (Rokenes), in northern Norway. The two men stayed friends all thier
lives.
Chris Christensen, Norge Army
There was a special friendliness with fishermen.
1932 was not such
a good year, with returns in March of-£415-for 650 kits,-In April of-£889-for
1050 kits, May of-£600-for 1600 kits,yet in July-£1500-for 1130 kits, all from
the 'White Sea' area.
In the 'Lord Irwin', similar returns came in except
for-£2408-in March, for 1375 kits. The 'Skipper was Peter Hanson. Iceland was
the place here and most fishermen got to know Iceland, Reykyavik was a supply
centre, and a means of a day's rest. Another three trawlers that my father
sailed in, in 1932, were--the 'Lord Beaverbrook', the 'Lord Melchet', with
'Skipper' Ellis White, and the 'Lord Inchcape',which was lost in 1940, all Hull
ships.
At this period, my father married a skilled net-maker, Maud Murial
Wingrove, who also worked on the fish dock making trawl nets. Later, during the
second world war, she made nets once more for the armed forces, in the front
room of our family home
LEFT -- The Northella, an
ex-Hull freezer-trawler that in the sixties/ seventies, shook the crews of
smaller ships by bringing home vast quantities of fish.Although still proudly
boasting her original launch-name, the Northella has been painted grey and
commissioned by the M.O.D. She is now used as a supply/service vessel. This
shows the fine build-quality of the Hull vessel. A photograph of the 'Cordella',
still rigged as a trawler, but now idle and up for sale, is also shown. These
trewlers and similar ships were owned by the Marr's group,
which along
with the Boyd Line, are the only two firms now left. Years ago. many firms were
conected with fishing.
Records show of Hull trawlers lost at sea between the 1830's and the 1980's
total 900 , with many men lost also.
My cousin, Norman.E.Richmond, arived to
'sign on' with the 'Sargon', GY858, in November, 1948.This trawler was built in
Beverley in 1913.
He arrived with two freinds, hoping to sign on together, on
a 'last before Christmas' trip to Iceland. At the last minute, bumping into
another freind, he decided to go with the 'West Hill', going to the 'White Sea'
area.
He was lucky, as, on December 1st. 1948, the Sargon, built at
Beverley-1913, after escorting another trawler into an Icelandic port, ran onto
rocks at Patreksfjordhur, in a blizzard. All crew on the wheelhouse and deck
were lost, including the two freinds of N.Richmond. Six men who sheltered under
the 'whale-back, were rescued two days later.
Below are photographs of Hull
trawler H863, with J.W.Richmond-centre-lost from the Strato, on 13th. April
1934, and the 'James Barrie'-H460, with N.E.Richmond on the far right,-taken in
Rekjavik. The last picture is of J.W.Richmond in Navy Reserves uniform, prior to
being 'lost at sea'. By kind permission of N.E.Richmond- Copyright-same.
Over the years, it has been
claimed that damage to fishing nets has sometimes been caused by the movements
of submarines. This is possible, but cannot be proved. Mines from the last war,
are also sometimes brought up in the nets of trawlers. During the last world
war, Trawler crews were very buisy with mine-sweeping. My father machine-gunned
floating mines from tugs he sailed on. Although usually below the surface, mines
sometimes broke loose and were a hazard. There are hundreds of sunken ships in
the oceans, - a hazard to ships and also submarines.
After the last world
war, my cousin, N.E.Richmond, was cook aboard the H.M.S.Reward, a Navy tug.
Moored next to them was a navy submarine, the H.M.S.Truckulant, in Chatham
docks. The submarine left anchor for the Medway, then was seen to dive below the
surface.----She never surfaced and many men were lost. The H.M.S.Reward went to
Scotland to pick up two 'Lifting Barges' and returned to the Medway to lift the
H.M.S.Truckulant with hausers and lifting 'camels'. So, submarines have hazards
also.
A tragic event took place on 12th August-2000. A Russian submarine,
The Kursk, sank in the Bearents Sea, near Norway, after a massive
explosion.
One of the biggest in the world, at 19,000tons and 150yards long,
the Kursk was the most silent of all submarines
It is presumed that torpedoes
carried, unexpectedly exploded, with a massive lethal force
As a member of a
family involved with the sea, my heart goes out for all Russian people connected
with this tragedy, and especially to the sub-mariner's families.Russian 'Kursk'
Accident
'Hull's Waterfront' by Philip.C.Miles
'The Story Of St. Andrew's
Dock-Hull' by Michael Thompson-Hutton Press.
'Lost Trawlers Of
Hull-1835-1987' by Alec Gill.-Hutton Press.
'Hessle Road' by Alec
Gill.-Hutton Press.
and 'Hull-The Fishing Years' by Rex Booth.(Hull Daily
Mail Publication)
Maritime Photo
Page-2-Tugs
Maritime
Photopage3--Hull's waterfront
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Page2,-Beverley/East-Yorks'
Page3,-North-Yorks'/East-Coast.
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e_laud@yahoo.com