Hull Trawler Challenge

Images feature in lecture in Hull

james — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:19:02 +0000

I’m in Hull today, attending a lecture at the Fishgate market that will feature the Hull Trawler images. Dr Robb Robinson from Hull University’s Maritime Historical Studies Centre will be launching his new book, and there’s also a talk by ex-skipper Ken Knox about the Deep Sea Mission ships, of which the Queen Alexandra (see right) was one.

There’s a piece in today’s Yorkshire Post:

“Dr Robinson will also give a talk on recently discovered images of Hull fishermen at work on the North Sea “boxing fleets”. The fleets often spent years at sea, their numbers regularly replenished by a new ship as one left. The Hull steam trawlers were serviced by ships from London. Boxes of fish would be rowed across and taken to Billingsgate Fish Market to receive a fresh catch each day.”

Sounds like there will be a lot of very interesting people there and I’ve already had a fascinating talk with Robb about some future possibilities of using the images and also raising some funds for charity, as well as the ultimate aim of getting these images returned to Hull.

I’ll do a write-up of the lecture on the train on the way back to London tomorrow.

Update – two weeks on

james — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:14:08 +0000

It’s been two weeks since the site was launched and I’ve been bowled over by the response.

Firstly, the project has had some great press coverage. There was a piece last Monday in the Yorkshire Post, and then on Wednesday evening a two-minute feature on BBC TV’s Look North programme, which is also available online. There have also been posts on blogs and specialist interest sites, and articles promised in the Weekly News, BBC Who Do You Think You Are? magazine, and Family Tree Magazine.

Through this I have also made some fabulous contacts with people who have amazing knowledge and tales to tell, and we’re hoping that some of this could be revealed in a book featuring the photographs – just have to find a publisher!

The website has had over a thousand visits, and the photos on Flickr have been averaging a combined total of about a thousand views per day!

So a huge thanks to everyone who has contributed so far, and keep an eye on the site as the story unfolds.

Location identified – picture of ship moored at Custom House, near Billingsgate, London

admin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:38:33 +0000

Thanks to some keen detective work (and noticing that I had scanned the picture back to front!) Flickr user heppslt has identified that the ship in the following picture is moored outside Custom House, close to Billingsgate Market, London. In the distance you can see the Monument, St Paul’s, and London Bridge.

I wonder if anyone can help identify the ship itself? Is it one of the Hull fleet?

Mission ship identified – LO51 Queen Alexandra

admin — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:06:34 +0000

Thanks to some great detective work on Flickr, one of the images is now identified as being of the mission ship Queen Alexandra, and three further shots, including one of some crew men being treated for illness or injury, may well have been taken on board…

Mystery #4 – Can we name any of the crew of the SS New Zealand?

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:06:24 +0000

Given that we now have crew lists and have narrowed down the date range to 1908-14, can we start to work out who these people are?

Here’s a list of all the crew names recorded for that period:
Anderson, W (2nd Hand.)
Bastow, JW (AB.)
Binnington, A (AB.)
Bott, S (Bswn.)
Boughen, HE (AB.)
Burton, R (Owner.)
Croft, J (AB.)
Dickinson, J (2nd Hand.)
Fuller, EJ (Skipper.)
Fuller, S (Skipper./2nd Hand.)
Garside, J (AB.)
Green, T (AB.)
Grieb, F (AB.)
Hamling, C (2nd Hand.)
Hastie, T (Bswn.)
Holness, W (AB./Sailor.)
James, E (AB.)
Jefferson, H (Bswn./AB./Sailor.)
Jervis, Thomas (Skipper.)
Kemp, GW (Bswn.)
Kingston, G (Bswn.)
Miller, Harry Emil (Skipper./2nd Hand.)
Myles, J (AB.)
Shaw, G (AB.)
Vivian, J (Owner.)
Wise, Walter (AB.)
Worrell, WG (2nd Hand.)

That’s a total of about 25 candidates, for crew photos that show about nine to 12 people.

Mystery #3 – women on board, or men in drag?!

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:30:59 +0000

There are two photographs in the collection which at first glance would appear to show a man and his wife. But there’s something odd about them.

I was then told that it was superstitious to have women on deck, and on closer inspection you just get the feeling that it’s another crew member wrapped up in blankets as a dress and scarf. Then there’s the third guy, who in both shots appears to have quite a cheeky grin.

So, do we think these are both of a man dressed as a woman as some sort of practical joke?

Mystery #2 – Who took the photographs?

james — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:02:57 +0000

This is one of the most intriguing set of photos I have ever acquired. For their age they are certainly very high quality, both technically and in composition, and the hand-colouring is to an exceptional standard. They also seem just that bit out of the ordinary – showing real working lives rather than formal portraits or carefully composed landscapes or building.

I suspect that we’ll never find out exactly who took the photographs, but maybe somewhere there’s some clue that will provide some sort of answer. But there are lots of other questions linked to this…

Are there any known photographers who took photos on ships in Hull?

Why were they taken? Were they commissioned by the owner, the Hull Steam & Ice Co. Ltd, which is the common link between these two ships?

Is there any chance it could have been a crew member or someone else linked to these two vessels who had an interest in photography?

Over to you…

Mystery #1 – When were these photos taken?

james — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:35:09 +0000

Although we know the two main ships that these photos are of, lots of mysteries remain. Through these articles I’ll be posing some questions that I hope people will be able to help answer.

When were they taken?

Latest news: from comments received so far it appears we can date these to between 1908 and 1914, but it may be possible to narrow this down further…

This seems to me to be one of the most fundamental questions that will itself answer lots of other questions. We have detailed, accurately dated crew lists for the SS Canada and SS New Zealand, but over the years many men worked on board these ships, so having a date will narrow it down.

What clues do we have?

The earliest they could possibly be is August 1898, the date that the SS New Zealand was launched. The latest date would be 1916, when both ships were requisitioned by the Admiralty during WWI (SS Canada never returned to fishing after that).

Do we have any evidence in the photographs themselves? The fact that they are hand coloured lantern slides doesn’t help at all as they were popular for a long period. So we have to turn to the subjects. Do the clothes that the men, and in two cases woman (or were they?) wear help? And what about the single shot of a man, possibly the owner, more formally dressed (see right)? I’m no fashion expert, so all comments and opinions are welcome…