Local Heritage Initiative
The trawlers of Grimsby, along with other UK ports, were given the task of clearing mines laid by the German navy from around the coast of Britain. Grimsby lost over 300 trawlers and over 1,200 men and boys never returned home.
This project aims to locate the wrecks of Grimsby’s trawler fleet in the North Sea before they are lost, as well as the final resting places of the ancestors of many Grimsby residents.
Researching over 30 of these trawlers, the project has trained volunteers to scuba dive and become amateur marine archaeologists using sonar and underwater cameras. Researchers compile information on where the ships were built, the circumstances of the crew (often boats could have grandfathers, fathers and sons on the same vessel on the same day) and how the ships were sunk.
A book and a film about each wreck will be produced to leave a lasting record of the role Grimsby’s fishermen played during the First World War.