GRIMSBY TRAWLERS
STAUNTON & DRUMMER
STAUNTON
ON : 127821
Registration GY350
Built 1907 Cook, Welton &
Gemmell, Beverley
For the Standard Steam Fishing
Co Ltd, Grimsby
282 grt; 120 nrt; 130 ft x 22.25
ft
90 nhp; Amos & Smith
engine; 10.7 knots
November 1914 requisitioned;
Converted to Auxiliary Patrol Vessel; FY 710
Armament 1 x 6 pounder
Admiralty Nr 710
1920 returned to owners.
June 1940 Requisitioned by RN
as an auxiliary patrol vessel
She was only on Admiralty
service for about a month, in Brightlingsea, when she was lost. 28th
July 1940; Lost with all 13 hands on return voyage to owners. Presumed to have
detonated a magnetic mine 8 cables off Knoll Buoy in the Thames Estuary. [
Further details below ]
~~~~~~~o~~o~~~~~~~
The Grimsby Evening
Telegraph Tuesday 30th July 1940.
NAVY TRAWLER SUNK BY ENEMY
MINE
The Admiralty announced last
night that a former Grimsby vessel, now H.M. trawler STAUNTON (Skipper S.W.
Campbell, R.N.R.), had been sunk by an enemy mine.
Thirteen Grimsby families have
been notified that husbands, fathers or sons are missing.
The Grimsby men missing are:-
Skipper Wilfred Campbell (35)
40, Humberstone-road, Grimsby.
Mate James E Freer, 101
Patrick-street
Third Hand Frederick Horace
Bye (42),
45, Hildyard-street
First Engineer George Lovell
Garner (59),
62 Combe-street, Cleethorpes
Second Engineer Fred Cass
(42),
42, Albert-street, Grimsby
Deck-hand Edward William
Pennock (49),
66 King Edward-street, Grimsby
Deck-hand William Donaldson
(50),
149 Newhaven-terrace, Grimsby
Deck-hand Frank Horsley (33),
63 Albion-street, Grimsby
Deck-hand Joseph Alfred
Robinson (36),
218 King Edward-street
Trimmer Cyril Howden (34),
19 Eastgate-terrace, Grimsby
Trimmer Thomas Wilson (37),
89 Elenaor-street, Grimsby
Trimmer Alfred Horace Lingard
40),
125 Harold-street, Grimsby
Cook Thomas Henry Powell (41),
93 Duncombe-street, Grimsby
All except Wilson, who is
single, are married men with children.
The STAUNTON was formerly owned
by Standard Steam Fishing Co, Grimsby.
AWAITED LETTER
Mrs Campbell, wife of Skipper
Campbell, was expecting a letter from her husband when she received the news
that he was missing. Skipper Campbell has sailed in trawlers since leaving
school, and had been a skipper for the past five or six years, though he is now
only 35. He and Mrs Campbell have a family of four boys - Sidney, his father's
namesake, aged 10; Walter, aged five and a half; Alan, aged four and Malcolm
aged two and a half.
STILL HOPES
Twenty-one-years-old Mrs Hilda
Horsley, wife of Deckhand Frank Horsley, of 63 Albion-street, clings to the
hope that her husband may have been picked up He had been sailing in the
Standard Fishing Co. for 12 or 13 years. "We were so happy," she
tells a "Telegraph" reporter. Mr and Mrs Horsley have been married
only two years. Their little son, Tony, a lovely boy of fifteen months, is his
mother's greatest comfort at present. "He has us all waiting on him,"
she said with a tremulous smile as Tony pushed his toy dog, Bessie, sturdily
round the living room, then coaxed his mother to give him a ride in his swing
chair.
ALL HIS LIFE AT SEA
Mrs Cass, of 42 Albert-street,
wife of 2nd engineer Fred Cass was visiting her eldest son at Birmingham when
news of the Staunton's loss reached Grimsby. She is expected home today. Mr
Cass served in minesweepers during the last war, and has been at sea all his
working life. He and his wife have four sons, aged nine, fifteen, seventeen and
twenty.
THOUGHT FOR OTHERS
A true fisherman's wife, Mrs
Powell of 83 Duncombe-steet, wife of the cook, Thomas Henry Powell, spared a
thought in her own trouble for the wives of other members of the crew known to
her, particularly those with young babies. Her own bonny children, 11-year old
Tom, who is the image of his father, of Kitty aged nine, have been told only
that their father is overdue. Mr Powell has been a fisherman all his life
having sailed as cook for the past four years.
WENT TO HUSBAND'S BASE
Mrs Ida Freer, wife of the
mate, Mr J E Freer, lived at 101 Patrick-street with her mother and two
children, a boy aged six and a girl aged 18 months. Last week she took them to
a furnished house at her husband's base so as to be near him. "I received
a letter from Mrs Freer only yesterday," said Mrs F E Langden, a next door
neighbour. It said that while she was writing, Mr Freer was playing with the
kiddies. He was sailing that night." Mr Freer was a native of Grimsby and
came of an old fishing family. His two brothers are in trawlers, and his father
was lost at sea shortly after the last war.
RETURNED FROM LEAVE
Mr Thomas Wilson had only
returned from leave last Wednesday. He was unmarried and was the only member of
the family connected with fishing. A brother was killed in the last war.
SERVED IN LAST WAR
Mr F H Bye was expected home
on leave in the near future. He served throughout the last war in drifters and
came to live in Grimsby after demobilisation. He leaves a wife, Mrs Amy Louise
Bye and three children. A well known trawlerman who served throughout the last
war, Mr Alfred Horace Lingard had only recently been home on leave. Arthur
dark, who missed a ship, was taking some clean washing to Mr Lingard. He leaves
a widow and three children, two of which are under 16 years of age.
FEARED HE MIGHT BE TOO OLD
"My husband was extremely
pleased to be taken on," Mrs Ada Gamer, the wife of Mr G L Gamer told a
"Telegraph" reporter. He was afraid he might be too old to serve.
When his service was up he said he would go into minesweeping. Born at Hull, Mr
Garner served in minesweepers during the last war, and later came to Grimsby.
He had been in the Staunton for nearly two years, and was next on the leave
rota. He was well known as a keen member of the Constitutional Club, Fuller-street.
Mrs Gamer was the daughter of Mr George Hewlett, a noted Grimsby skipper.
THIRTY THREE YEARS AT SEA
A veteran of the last war
having served in minesweepers throughout it, Deckhand William Edward Pennock,
had been at sea for 33 years. "I'm trying to keep hoping," Mrs
Pennock, his wife, told a "Telegraph" reporter today. "He was so
proud of his home," she added, looking round her comfortable book-lined
sitting room.
HAD JUST RECEIVED LETTER
News that her husband,
Deckhand Joseph Alfred Robinson, was missing reached his wife half an hour
after she had received a letter from him. "He was a great believer in
fate," Mrs Robinson told a "Telegraph" reporter. "He always
said he wouldn't go before his time. Mr Robinson's six year old son who has
been told for the present that his father is in hospital went on with a hearty
dinner, his mother keeping up bravely for his sake. "He'll miss his
Dad," she said, "He was a real one for spoiling him - he took him out
every time he was home." Mr Robinson's own father was lost at sea at the
age of 28, when his son was less than two years old.
WENT BACK TO FISHING
Cyril Howden, the trimmer, was
married and had four children, the eldest of whom was fourteen and the youngest
three. He was minesweeping for three months and then went back to fishing to
Iceland before the ship was taken over by the navy. He had been home on leave
and went back to rejoin his ship a week ago. "He was one of the best to
us" said Mrs Howden. "I have been told since that he had said he did
not want to go back. This is the first time he has ever said such a thing. I
should have been very worried if he had told me."
PIGEON BROUGHT MESSAGE
A relative of William
Donaldson, a deckhand, tells a curious story. It concerns a homing pigeon that
came to the house the day the news was received and hovered about the house.
"I have thought since that it brought the message of his death" said
the relative. Donaldson was 50 and married with one son aged 17 who has a shore
job. In the last war he served with the Royal Engineers and had then gone to
sea on and off for thirty years. "He was of an open hearted generous
cheerful nature" said his wife. "When he came home from sea he had a
cheerful word for everybody, He was home on leave early in July and in his last
letter to a relative living in the house, he wrote humorously of the job of
painting the ship and their failure to get sufficient paint. He said the old
ship looked as though she had spotted fever. That was just like him, always
cheerful. It's hard after coming through the last war to be taken away like
this.
~~~~~~~o~~o~~~~~~~
DRUMMER GY
1097
Built 1915
Smith’s Docks, Middlesborough
As
minesweeper DRAGOON
For
The Royal Navy
276
grt; 130 ft x 23.5 ft x 17.3 ft
61
hp
Armament
1 x 12 pdr; 1 x 7.5 ins bomb thrower (A/S Howitzer)
1919
Renamed DRUMMER
1919
Sold to Consolidated Fisheries, Grimsby
1939
Requisitioned and converted to a Minesweeper
Admiralty
Nr 1152
Armament
1 x 6 pdr
1940
Converted to Auxiliary Patrol Vessel
4th August 1940
Mined off Brightlingsea, Essex
~~~~~~~o~~o~~~~~~~
THE EVENTS
26th July 1940 STAUNTON set off, at 1800, on her usual
night patrol off Brightlingsea; her tour was normally between Wallet Spitway
Buoy, off Clacton, and North Buxey Buoy, off Bradwell.
The night was busy and noisy. A plane came in the cloud
cover and fired cannon off St Osyth; enemy bombers came over, heading for South
Essex, and all this during a terrible rainy thunderstorm.
STAUNTON was seen before the over pass of the bombers by patrol
yacht SARAWAN. She was not to be seen afterwards. Yacht TRITON reported an
object falling from the sky.
Next morning, STAUNTON did not return, as the other patrols
had done. The wives were waiting, as they usually did, on the causeway. But
no-one had any answers. Patrols were sent out as usual, but with instructions
to look for STAUNTON.
Yacht GIROFLE sighted the tips of two masts, on the morning
of the 28th, two miles from St Osyth, SW of Knoll Buoy. STAUNTON had been sunk
with all 18 hands, probably by a mine.
Like DRUMMER, STAUNTON had not been protected with
de-gaussing cable. There were other trawlers like this, and these were usually
de-gaussed by a Mobile Wiper vessel. DRUMMER was sent out on the nightly
patrol. She had been wiped.
At 1830, on the 4th August, she triggered a magnetic mine,
and the blast was heard in Brightlingsea, six miles away. She sank just 400
yards from where STAUNTON lay.
Most of the crew of DRUMMER were rescued. Four men died.
The trawlers were found to be too deep draughted when in
the shallows.
Commander Campbell, of HMS Nemo, arranged for the bereaved
families to be taken out to Knoll Buoy. A naval chaplain said prayers, and
wreaths were hung on the mastheads of the sunken ships. Commander Campbell also
started a fund to help the bereaved families.
Thanks
to Jim Porter of Bosun's Locker
for
all his kind help.
Raymond Forward