Trawlers in ww1

[Guest]

Hello to all on forum

I'm recerching my great grandfather William Frederick Jenner born 1875 Lowestoft, he spent all his adult life as a fisherman. From 1907 to hid death in 1930 he was a skipper of fishing trawlers out of grimsby. I'm trying to find out what he did during and just after the Great War. I'm guessing he was on minesweeper but don't know any help would be greatly appreciated

Thank you tony

[Arthur]

Tony,

Try the museum below:

Lowestoft Maritime Museum
Sparrows Nest Gardens
Whapload Road
Lowestoft, NR32 1XG

Tel: 01502 561963

Regards

Arthur

[Guest]

Thanks Arthur its a start all research I've done so far has resuted in hitting a brick wall

[sotonmate]

Service record at Kew under BT377/7/126794 - 3 pages will cost 3.36 to download.

Born 22June 1875.

You can find the ordering page by entering the above reference on the NA Discovery database.

[Terence Munson]

Hi Tony - Welcome to the Forum,

I'm not sure how much you know but:

From Grimsby trawler crew lists:

1908 vessel Ariadne [GY 173]; owner J D Marsden; skipper William F Jenner, certificate 8057

1908 vessel Exeter [GY 426]; owner J D Marsden; skipper William F Jenner, certificate 8057

1911/12/13 vessel Ariadne [GY 173]; owner J D Marsden; skipper William F Jenner, certificate 8057

1913 vessel Claudius [GY 977]; owner J D Marsden; skipper William F Jenner, certificate 8057

Lord Percy GY 898 O.N.130171 (Grimsby)

4 June 1930 Trawler Stranded, Island of Swona Pentland Firth

W. Jenner (58) Skipper b. Lowestoft.

311 Wellington Street, Grimsby, Washed overboard (Drowned)

Here is the link to his service record as given above by sotonmate: Click Link

Terry

[Guest]

Thank you that will hopefully fill some of the gaps.

I have the the info on The Lord Percy and went to the grimsby library and found an article in the grimsby telegraph news paper about the ship running aground

Grimsby news Friday 6th June 1930

Trawler on rocks

Grimsby skipper drowned

An unusually high tide off Swona Island in the Pentland Firth early on Wednesday morning washed the Grimsby steam trawler Lord Percy on to the rocks. In endeavouring to get the vessel of the rocks the skipper William Jenner, of 311 wellington st Grimsby was drowned. The rest of the crew were taken ashore and reached Kirkwall late evening. A correspondent at Kirkwall stated that the vessel is holed in two places and is in danger of breaking up. If she washed from her present perilous position she will sink. The ships engineer and the mate are standing by endeavouring to keep the vessel in position pending the arrival of assistance. The vessel ran a ground at swona shortly after dawn, immediately the skipper accompanied by the fireman got into the ships small boat and tried to lay out an anchor by which to ease the trawler off shore. A length of rope was paid off from the ship and attached to another length in the small boat. The rope in the small boat ran out with a jerk and drew the small boat into the air causing it to stand almost on its stern. Both men were thrown into the water the fireman swam to the shore boat which had just arrived, but the skipper was drowned. His body was recovered.

The Lord Percy which is owned by the consolidated fisheries ltd was homeward bound from the Faroe Islands when the stranding occurred

Skipper Jenner was making his first trip to sea for some weeks

It's the war years that I'm interested in and hopefully the link will help in my quest

All the best tony

[Kath]

Tony, have you seen “Fishermen Against the Kaiser: Shockwaves of War 1914-1915”, by Douglas d’Enno.*

Once you have F. W. Jenner’s record you may find his ships mentioned in this book.

The Ariadne (p 103) was used to tow the submerged submarine C.29, as a bait for German U-boats in 1915.

Kath.

*

British fishermen are among the unsung heroes of the First World War. The conflict with Germany had an immediate and enduring impact on their lives and livelihood. They were immediately caught up in the sea war against the Kaiser’s navy, confronting the threats presented by the submarines, minelayers, gunboats and capital ship of the High Seas Fleet. Often they found themselves thrust into strange, dangerous situations, which put their lives at risk and tested to the limit their bravery and skill as seamen. This is their fascinating story.

For the first time in this two-volume study Douglas d’Enno provides a comprehensive and lasting record of the services rendered by the fishermen and their vessels, both under naval control and on their own account. His pioneering history shows the full extent of their contribution to the British war effort, from minesweeping and submarine detection to patrol, escort and counter-attack duties. The areas of action were not limited to the home waters of the Channel, the North Sea and the Western Approaches but ranged as far as the Arctic and the Mediterranean’s Aegean and Adriatic seas.

Extraordinary stories are recounted here of the hazards of minesweeping, battles with U-boats, decoy missions, patrols, blockades, rescues and capture by the enemy. First-hand accounts make up the essence of the material. Reports from the leading trade journals, specialist literature and personal manuscripts vividly recall the fishermen’s experiences and the hardships and dangers they faced throughout the war.

Douglas d’Enno is a historian, linguist and journalist who has made an exhaustive study of the impact of the First World War on Britain’s fishermen and their vessels. After a career associated with publishing and – primarily - as a professional translator, he has devoted himself to writing and research. During his 20 years’ employment at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (now DEFRA), he had access to substantial material on the nation’s fisheries and to contacts within the industry.

Edited 23 August , 2013 by Kath

[Guest]

Just downloaded the archive and found the handwriting hard to read but think he was skipper of the irwell any suggestions as to where I might find out about the trawler

[Kath]

S.T. Irwell GY1176 Official Number: 113181

http://www.fleetwood-trawlers.info/index.php/2010/06/s-t-irwell-gy1176/

To Request Crew Lists, Agreements and Official Logs :-

http://www.rmg.co.uk/researchers/library/crew-lists-agreements-and-official-logs-request-form

Search results for Crew Lists in the Maritime History Archive:-

http://www.mun.ca/mha/holdings/viewcombinedcrews.php?Official_No=113181

Official_No: 113181

1914: S1

1915: S1 up to 1938.

S1 = Official Log Present

Kath.

[Guest]

Thanks kath

[Guest]

Irwell GY1176

Official Number: 113181

Yard Number: 10

Completed: 1900

Gross Tonnage: 197

Net Tonnage: 79

Length: 111.1 ft

Breadth: 21.3 ft

Depth: 11.5 ft

Engine: T.3-cyl by Tindall, Earle & Hutchinson Ltd, Hull

Built: J. Duthie & Co, Montrose

History

1900: Launched by J. Duthie & Co, Montrose (Yd.No10) for Palatine Steam Fishing Co Ltd, Grimsby as IRWELL.

9.1900: Completed (Arthur Jeffs, manager).

26.9.1900: Registered at Grimsby (GY1176).

12.1906: Sold to George W. Jeffs, Grimsby.

8.1911: New boiler fitted.

29.5.1917: Requisitioned for Fishery Reserve.

1919: Released.

7.1925: Sold to Walter Garrett, Grimsby (managing owner).

8.1931: Sold to Thomas W. Baskcomb, Grimsby.(managing owner).

22.10.1935: Fleet of Thomas W Baskcomb sold to Fred Parkes, Fleetwood.

10.1935: Sold to East Anglia Steam Fishing Co Ltd, Grimsby (Harvey W. Wilson, manager).

29.11.1935: Registered at Grimsby as SAXONIA (GY1176).

27.11.1939: Requisitioned for war service as a minesweeper (Hire rate £49.5.0d/month).

24.1.1940: Returned to owner.

7.1944: Sold to James Johnson, Scarborough.

1948: Sold to Albert Sutton, Scarborough.

8.1948: Grimsby registry closed. Registered at Scarborough (SH??).

1951: Sold for breaking up.

I'm interested in what the irwell was doing from 1917 to 1919 when it was in the fishing reserve.

Anybody got any info from this time period

Tony

[Terence Munson]

Tony,

The simple answer is fishing, albeit in hostile waters, in sections or groups that included armed vessels.

I've not seen any record indicating the Irwell was armed.

More about the formation of the Fishery Reserve: Click Here

Terry

[Guest]

Thank you terry for this info.

So it looks like he was fishing all the time in the war years

Thank you agane this forum is so helpful

[Guest Alison1964]

William Jenner is also my great grandfather. Please feel free to contact me on bateman1964@hotmail.com