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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780750957434 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | The History Press |
| Publication date: | 11/03/2014 |
| Series: | Book of Days |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 368 |
| File size: | 773 KB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
The Grimsby Book of Days
By Lucy Wood
The History Press
Copyright © 2014 Lucy WoodAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-7509-5743-4
CHAPTER 1
January 1st
1945: On this day, the Mayor of Grimsby, C.W. Hewson, issued his New Year message. It read:
We hope that the coming year may be a year of success and safe landings to our fishermen in their dangerous occupation; and may the time quickly come when we shall hear the crashing peal of the church bells telling us not of peace on earth and goodwill to men at Christmastime only, but peace on earth for all time and to all men.
(Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 1945)
* * *
2006: On this day, the man behind one of Grimsby's most prominent pieces of public art passed away peacefully, aged 84. Peter Todd created the five bronze figures, known as the Guardians of Knowledge, attached to the south elevation of Grimsby Central Library.
The artwork, measuring 11ft high, is among the last examples of its kind in public library buildings in the UK. Todd designed and built the figures in 1968 at his studio in Walesby. Generations of artists were taught by Todd, who was the head of Grimsby School of Art for thirty years. Among his many students was the actor John Hurt. (Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 2006)
January 2nd
1970: On this day, pop star Freddie Garrity, of Freddie and The Dreamers, underwent an emergency operation after a car crash in which a 19-year-old Grimsby girl was also injured. The girl was a passenger in his Lotus Elan sports car when it hit an unlit roundabout junction at South Mimms in Hertfordshire.
The 19 year old was described as 'quite comfortable' in hospital despite suffering a head injury and some abrasions. Her mother said the pair had been friends for some time.
Recently, Freddie and his group had performed at The Beachcomber and The Flamingo, in Cleethorpes, and the girl had renewed her friendship with the singer at this time. On the night of the crash she had been to see him performing in Cinderella at the Odeon, Golders Green, London. Freddie's role of Buttons was taken over by Peter Birrwell, the group's guitarist. (Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 1970)
January 3rd
1949: On this day, the Service Food Company was counting the cost of the biggest blaze Grimsby had seen since the Second World War. Four nights before, the sky had been lit up by flames, when fire engulfed the firm's imposing premises in Victoria Street. The building was gutted, despite a huge fire-fighting operation which saw sailors and soldiers voluntarily join in. It was reminiscent, said the local newspaper, of the great air raids of 1943. The building, which adjoined Spillers' Mill, was completely destroyed and at one stage, sparks were blown across the Alexandra Dock, threatening to set fire to wood yards in the area. Timber in JG Cutting's began to smolder as sparks ignited sawdust in the shaft of a lift. The company estimated the blaze had cost £14,000 – £4,000 for the building itself and the rest for the machinery and cattle food inside. (Grimsby Telegraph Bygones, 1996)
* * *
1976: On this day, flood warnings came too late to save towns along the Lincolnshire coast – from Cleethorpes to Skegness – from their worst night in years. Huge waves sent water and mud pouring through hundreds of properties. Within an hour, houses were engulfed in miniature tidal waves, the Grimsby–Cleethorpes railway line washed away and offices at Grimsby's Royal Dock badly damaged. Cleethorpes Bathing Pool was also wrecked. (Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 1976)
January 4th
2002: On this day, the stricken 3,000-ton oil tanker MV Willy was stranded on rocks near Cawsand, East Cornwall. The Cypriot-registered vessel had been chartered by Conoco in Grimsby and left Immingham on December 28th 2001, heading for Plymouth. The tanker ran aground on New Year's Day and remained stranded.
Although the 21-year-old vessel had offloaded the petrol she was carrying for Conoco, because vapour was still in her tanks, officials were worried about the risk of explosion and 150 villagers from Kingsand and Cawsand were evacuated from their homes.
The vessel's tanks still contained more than 80 tonnes of fuel, which could have been spilled if the vessel moved too violently on the rocks. Salvage workers removed as much of the fuel as they could, and absorbent booms were placed all around the vessel to ensure that any leakage was contained.
It wasn't until January 11th that the operation to refloat her, employing specialist teams, began. (Grimsby Telegraph, 2002)
January 5th
1980: On this day, thousands of Grimsby Town Football Club fans packed into cars, coaches, vans and trains for the mass exodus to Merseyside for the FA Cup clash with League leaders Liverpool.
Every street corner in Grimsby and Cleethorpes became a meeting place for eager supporters waiting for transport to ferry them on the three-and-a-half hour journey. As things began to move, the main roads out of Grimsby became a one-way system full of cars and coaches with black-and-white scarves streaming from their windows. It was estimated that between 7,000 and 8,000 Mariners fans made the trip.
Among them were Mr and Mrs John Baker, who had been going to watch Grimsby Town since 1947. 'We go to all the home matches and, whenever we can, we go to the away games as well,' said Mr Baker. 'We certainly were not going to miss this one.'
He predicted that Grimsby could humble the mighty League champions if Town played in their usual style, predicting a score of 2–1.
Unfortunately for the black-and-white army, Liverpool won 5–0. (Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 1980)
January 6th
1949: On this day, a record low landing of fish paralysed Grimsby's fish market and contributed to a fish famine throughout the country.
Bad weather at sea and a hold-up of trawlers over Christmas resulted in three North Sea trawlers landing only 393 kits. There were no deep-sea landings. Though an allocation of frozen fish alleviated the shortage to some extent, a large percentage of merchants were unable to fulfill their orders and Grimsby Fish Market was idle by 9 a.m.
Grimsby was not the only port where supplies were abnormally short. The eight major fishing ports in England totalled only 10,895 kits. Landings at Hull, for example, were 7,100 kits compared with over 19,000 the previous day.
Prospects for the following day were very bad; no deep-sea ships were expected to land. Landings had been lower in the past, but only when abnormal conditions, such as strikes, existed. (Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 1949)
January 7th
1850: On this day, the freemen divided land in Grimsby's East Marsh pasture into paddocks. In 1849, the Pastures Act stated that the 'borough hath of late years increased in trade and resort, and such pastures have become very valuable for building purposes'. That year, members of the freemen's Pastures Committee were appointed, and they deliberated on the best scheme for making their pastures productive.
Although turning the East Marsh pasture into a building plot would generate large amounts of revenue, it was decided that laying out roads and installing drainage would be expensive and unprofitable – that is, until the demand for building was great enough to take up a large plot of the pasture. The land was cut off by railway lines and the East Marsh Drain, so building was unlikely there at that time. So, in the meantime, the freemen divided most of their pastures into paddocks and allotment gardens. This yielded higher rents than pasture, and it also meant individual plots could be reclaimed for building when required.
On this day, 151 acres in the East Marsh, Haycroft and Little Field of Grimsby were let as paddocks and gardens, producing an annual rental altogether of £408. This continued throughout the 1850s. (Alan Dowling, Grimsby: Making The Town 1800–1914, 2007)
January 8th
1814: On this day, Susannah Knight was baptised in Grimsby. Her life was to end many miles away from home, the wife of a transported convict.
William Borrowdale was charged in 1835 with stealing a bay mare from a field in Halifax. He was convicted at the York Assizes on July 18th that year and promptly transported, aged in his early 20s, to Van Diemen's Land in 1836 on the ship the Elphinstone.
His convict records describe him as 5ft 4in tall, with light brown hair, a long head and dark hazel eyes. His profession was given as a groom.
He arrived in Tasmania on May 24th 1936, and was sent to Port Arthur, a convict prison settlement. On June 26th 1845, he was recommended for pardon, which was granted on June 12th 1846. He moved to Stanley, in the North West, where he ran an inn called the Black Horse.
In 1843, his wife, Susannah, travelled for weeks across the sea with their son James, leaving her family and friends in Grimsby behind to be with her husband. Sadly, James died shortly after the trip, aged about 10, of illness.
William later ran the Commercial Hotel and a butchery, and he was devastated when, after about sixteen years in Tasmania, Susannah died.
After a few years, he met Jane Carr. They married, had at least three children, and farmed land on the Stanley peninsular. William died, aged 69, much loved and respected, and is buried with his wives in Stanley. (Grimsby Telegraph Bygones, 1999; www.ancestry.com)
January 9th
1986: On this day, fishing magnate John Carl Ross died at his home in Humberston, aged 84.
He began his career modestly as a barrow boy on the docks, but went on to head a multi-million-pound frozen food empire. Today the Ross name is still synonymous with the fishing industry.
Mr Ross started working for his fish merchant father, packing and selling fish, at the tender age of 17. He planned on becoming a stockbroker or accountant and worked hard for the next ten years, studying accountancy in the evenings.
When Mr Ross Senior had a heart attack in 1929, John took full control of the business – at that time consisting of thirty-four workers – and set about expanding it. He began by building his own trawler with fish merchant Jack Vincent, who became a joint managing director of the empire after the two amalgamated their businesses.
In 1942, his good friend Sir Alec Black died, and Mr Ross purchased nine of Sir Alec's vessels. He also bought two businesses, which led to the firm becoming a public company, and then more, including Young's.
As the decades passed, the workforce grew to 15,000 and at its peak the firm was turning over £100 million a year. (Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 1986)
January 10th
1936: On this day, the Grimsby News carried the following report:
While the bells were being pealed before evening service on Sunday, the congregation gathered in the parish church were startled to hear the regular changes stopped by a terrific crash, followed by violent discord. The prolonged frost preceding Christmas had affected the rope of the largest bell, which weighs one ton, it parted and the bell careered violently in its cradle, then fell to the floor of the bell chamber with a crash which resounded through the church. The peal was brought to an abrupt finish and as the bell is the one on which the hours are struck, the clock was affected until the Tuesday, when the St James bell ringers managed to get the bell into position again. It was not damaged by the mishap.
* * *
1980: On this day, a Grimsby pub pool team managed to avoid defeat in a crunch game – thanks to a helping hand from one of their regulars! The Wheatsheaf Hotel team were losing 6–5 with one game to go against their rivals from the Royal Oak. Beverly Murgatroyd, of Grimsby, stepped up and got her hand firmly stuck as she attempted to release the balls for the last game, after the mechanism inside the table failed to release them. After the drama, landlord Tom Parkinson said, 'Beverly plays on the table a lot, but that was the first time she was in it!' Sadly we don't know exactly how they managed to extract Beverley's hand from the table but it obviously took some time! (George H. Black, Tales of Grimsby Long Ago, undated booklet)
January 11th
1912: On this day, Strand Street School – which famously had a rooftop playground – officially opened for business. Construction had begun two years previously, by H.C. Scaping of Grimsby, for the Grimsby Education Authority, although it actually began life as St Andrew's School in 1860. Commemorating its opening under the name of Strand by Lady Doughty, a plaque was fixed inside the west entrance.
The playground, towering high above neighbouring buildings and giving panoramic views of the town, was a talking point for many years. Even the Second World War did not prevent hundreds of children enjoying the fresh air and fun activities to be had there. A former pupil recalled:
I distinctly remember playing up there with some mates with our tennis ball. In fact, we were doing just that on the day a German plane bombed Burgon's Store. That's when the bullet marks appeared in the wall of the playground – and that's when I broke the land speed record! I can recall playing up there right until I was evacuated to Gainsborough.
(Grimsby Central Library)
January 12th
1898: On this day, Grimsby learned of the death of Albert Goodwin. He had died the day before in Ireland – horrifically murdered for £2 of savings. Many people knew him as the nephew of a one-time magistrate and councillor.
Against advice, he had taken the Queen's Shilling and joined the 8th Royal Irish Hussars, but chose a grim friend in Wilfred Kenny. A few days before he was to return home to Grimsby on leave, Albert revealed he had saved £2 for the trip. It was for this sum that Kenny, using his carbine and sword, cut Albert's throat.
Albert's body was found near the officers' mess at the camp at Cahir, his head terribly battered. At first it was thought a civilian had committed the crime and dragged the corpse back to camp but the blood-soaked carbine and a shovel was found in the cavalry stables.
Kenny – who had various aliases but was really Willie Kreutze from Germany – said nothing throughout his trial, never confessed and was hanged at Clonmel Prison.
Albert was buried with full military honours in Ireland. The entire regiment was on parade. (Grimsby Telegraph Bygones, 2001)
January 13th
1968: On this day, Don McEvoy resigned as Grimsby Town Football Club's manager – less than six months after taking over at Blundell Park. McEvoy took on the role, without a contract, after the club dispensed with the services of Jimmy McGuigan, who moved on to manage Chesterfield at the top of the fourth division.
McEvoy had been a centre half with Huddersfield Town, Lincoln City, Sheffield Wednesday and Barrow. After a period as coach with Halifax Town, he returned to Barrow as manager and after three seasons, took the club to promotion to the third division.
Before McEvoy took over, the Grimsby club – at the foot of the table – had gone ten league games without a win, apart from the shock dismissal from the FA Cup by Bradford, the bottom club in division four. The Mariners' last win had been against Bury on October 28th the year before.
No reason was given for McEvoy's departure. (Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 1968)
January 14th
1987: On this day, Grimsby was virtually isolated as driving snow cut off major routes, leaving a siege-like situation which lasted for several days.
Ambulance workers slept in their stations and had to be dug out to attend casualties. The cold weather brought on a spate of heart attacks, as well as a myriad of broken bones from people slipping. Tragically, one woman died and another man, aged in his early 40s, collapsed and died outside Scartho Road Swimming Baths. A 62- year-old died at the wheel of his car while attempting to start it.
Ploughs were sent out in a desperate bid to make headway but even they were defeated by the drifts, caused by strong winds. One motorist had to dig himself out three times in the space of 80 yards and eventually gave up; another, George Smith, was stranded for thirteen hours after setting off for work.
Milk supplies and morning paper deliveries were disrupted, bread was rationed at many shops and wholesale meat suppliers were selling three times their normal amount. (Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 1987)
January 15th
1937: On this day, Grimsby was shrouded in the worst fog it had seen for twenty years. Fifty ships were unable to leave dock, ambulance crews were hampered in getting to emergencies and a driver had a narrow escape in a crash between a lorry and a tram.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Grimsby Book of Days by Lucy Wood. Copyright © 2014 Lucy Wood. Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
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