Impression sketch
of Skipper Saves
Trawler - by Jamie.
An arrival at the
Port of Grimsby,
Was nearly never
meant to be -
For that of a
skipper and his crew
On the Trawler
Pelican.
Thursday 27
January 1916,
Had seen Captain
Frederick Firth
And the crew
working into
The dark night,
to haul in the nets.
As they heaved in
the gear onto
Deck from out of
the sea,
Their catch
pulled the weight
Of a German sea
mine.
With the winch
working,
It became too
late to stop mine
Becoming wedged
within
The gallows, the boat
tipped.
The heaving
action of trawler
In the sea it was
likely
The enemy mine
would explode;
Skipper Firth gave
orders.
The Pelican's crew
was
To launch the
small boat, to sail
A safe distance -
taking
Food, compass,
rockets and water.
The nervous
fishing crew did
As they were bid -
under
Further orders of
their skipper,
Should the mine
explode.
Captain Firth was
going
To attempt to
release the mine -
If this then
failed, they
Should find him, alive or dead.
With the men gone
the Captain
In a life jacket took
a torch -
Under gentle
force, the dislodged
Bomb sank 14
fathoms.
With mine still
in the gear,
He released the
winch to send
The object 120
fathoms
Deeper, for
trawler to drift clear.
He gave out a
signal to the men
To make their
return -
With their
approach, a sudden
Explosion lifted
the boat.
While the mine's force
Threw a high column
of water,
No real damage
was done -
The crew praised their skipper.
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1916. A Skipper's Heroism - German Mine In Trawl Net. The
Daily Telegraph, [online]
1
February 1916. P.6. Col.5. Available
at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12130490/Daily-Telegraph-February-1-1916.html
[Accessed: 1 February 2016].
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