The voices of people who worked and visited Grimsby Fish Docks area are set to be heard at this year’s Heritage Open Days events as part of a Historic England funded project in Grimsby.
The “Stories of the Docks” community project, led by Heritage Lincolnshire and Our Big Picture, has resulted in an online digital scrapbook, where people can both see and hear memories that have been collected over the last 18 months by volunteers at different workshops and events.
People were able to record their voices and bring in artworks or documents to share their memories of their time on the docks, whether working there, or visiting there, so that future generations can understand what it was like during the height of the fishing industry on the port.
For many, Grimsby Docks was the ‘heart’ of the community and known as a ‘town within a town’. The memories people have shared show strong family and community connections were made through the hard working environment on the docks.
The local community, including young people, got the opportunity to be creative too, producing artwork and media inspired by the memories. Our Big Picture hosted a series of workshops with strands such as performing arts, painting and drawing, print making, plaster relief and mask-making.
You can read more stories of the docks at the Heritage Open Day event at Grimsby Town Hall on 19 and 20 September from 10am to 4pm. Or if you want to delve further into the digital scrapbook, you can see it online at https://thekasbah.co.uk/scrapbook.
David Walsh, Historic England, said: “The memories captured through the Stories of the Docks project give a powerful voice to the people who shaped Grimsby’s fishing heritage. The docks have been for so long the beating heart of the town, and these personal stories bring to life that community spirit. It’s such a worthy project recording these insights so that future generations can connect with and be proud of Grimsby’s history.”
Alice Ullathorne, Head of Heritage at Heritage Lincolnshire, said “The Stories of the Docks project has been a pleasure to deliver hearing all of the rich Stories of the Docks and helping people respond creatively to them. We would like to thank all those involved who gave their time and memories so generously. Hope everyone enjoys the Stories of the Docks.”
Cllr Hayden Dawkins, Cabinet member for heritage and culture, said: “It’s projects like this that bring the memories of the docks to life – actually hearing from real people who remember what it was like, working and visiting during some of the busiest times for the port. Soon, those memories will fade, and the voices will be lost forever, so it’s important we do what we can to capture them now for future generations.”
Docks at the heart of the community
Pat Gardner
Pat remembers watching her father return from sea and coming through the gates, him up in the wheel house waving and herself and her family collecting him. “When he was setting sail and leaving the house, he was in his up and down dock suit, and there was a family joke that he always polished shoes. He did. He really had shiny shoes, but he probably wouldn’t bother combing his hair”
She said his “up and down dock suit” was his third best suit. He proudly carried his marvellous sea bag which contained his gear, oiled woollen sea boot stockings knitted by her mother, and cream felted trousers called ‘fear-knots’.
Pat has many wonderful memories of the docks, but there were also challenges for her family while her father was at sea. She remembers her family all listening to the shipping forecast on the radio one night when a massive storm had hit the North Sea. To distract herself from thinking the worst, her mother stayed up late to rip all the wallpaper from the walls and entirely re-decorated them the next day.
A family affair
Lisa Smith:
Jeanette remembers the warehouse was a very cold place to work, with no sunlight. Picking the jellyfish out was the worst part as they would sting you!
At age 13, Lisa joined her mother on the docks to earn some pocket money.
Lisa fondly remembered the satisfaction of untangling a mess of nets that were covered in fish heads and other rubbish from the ocean.
Both women enjoyed working with the other women on the docks. They listened to music from the musicals to keep them working.
“It was really tough, so I don’t want to glamourise it. But the women got through it and I used to like going down because of the atmosphere they created. Just keeping jovial and singing and not looking at it as a negative thing, just come down and actually enjoy being together as women”.
Powering the port
Philip Harley
To support the fishing industry, engineering was crucial. These memories highlight the working lives of the engineers and give insight into daily life on the docks.
Philip was an installation engineer and repairman for marine electronics and electrical equipment on the trawlers at the docks in the mid-late 20th century, working for Marconi Marine.
In the early days, Philip worked on echo sounder recorders repairing and modifying them. Years later he spent most of his time working outside in all weather conditions to upgrade electronics on the ships
Each day he always made time at 4:30pm to go to the Jubilee Café for a cup of tea and a chatter and remembers mostly the noise of the docks.
Philip was awarded the CDM Award from his company for rescuing a dog that had got wedged between ships. This was featured in the Marconi Mariner magazine at the firm where he worked. When he asked what CDM stood for, he was told it was the “Cadbury’s Dairy Milk” Award.
Alan Herrickson
Alan describes the mugs in ‘Solly’s’ café (Salisbury Becketts) as ‘mini buckets’, with the ladies just going up and down with the teapot. Inside the café, you could barely see in front of you due to the blue-grey smoke cloud from cigars, pipes and cigarettes! It was a complete mixture of smells from the fish, diesel and the smoke. Alan admits that he was often quite pleased to leave by the end to get some air!
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