Davara

Within days of the declaration of war four Fleetwood trawlers had been sunk by German submarines.

In six days in September 1939, the Davara, Rudyard Kipling, Arlita and Lord Minto were lost.

All four crews – 51 men – were saved. And so Fleetwood was plunged into war – her fishing fleet sailing into unknown perils.

Her trawlermen stalked by the silent submarines as they went to work in the inhospitable seas. The fishermen knew that far beneath the waves dark shadows were being cast on their lives and livelihoods. But these doughty, brave men of the sea had a job to do – keeping food on the nation’s table. And they did it – through five long years of war, through danger, death and disasters. They paid the price for their fish.

Fleetwood was stunned when news of the fate of the four trawlers reached the port. The town was propelled into the front line of hostilities – her ships not just going fishing but into the open seas where war knew no bounds.

Each voyage was filled with danger and dramatic incidents became part and parcel of a fishermen’s life.

The crews of the Davara, Rudyard Kipling, Arlita and Lord Minto had stories to tell when they finally got back to port.

Their stories differ – but all had the same result. Their trawler was sunk by enemy action.

Here are their tales;

DAVARA

The crew of the 291-ton Davara watched as their ship was pounded by over 30 shells.

The 27 year old trawler shuddered as each shell hit – but she recovered gallantly.

But after half an hour the Davara could take no more and sank.

Her 12 man crew – with nothing but the clothes they were wearing – had taken to the ship’s lifeboat. For four hours they rowed the open boat before being picked up. The men had to bail out as the boat had been damaged while getting away from the Davara.

“As soon as the boat was in the water we found she was leaking badly,” said Skipper William Boyles.

The Davara (Mount Steam Fishing Company) had been fishing when the submarine appeared about half a mile away.

Skipper Boyles said, “She gave no signal, but started shelling at once. “Most went over us – I imagine they were aiming for the wireless aerials.”

The crew rushed to get out the small boat and the submarine stopped shelling while the boat was lowered. Once the boat was in the water the bombardment began again with the submarine about 50 yards away. With their ship sunk and the enemy nearby the crew began to pull away. With their ship sunk and the enemy nearby the crew began to pull away.

Besides the leaks the little boat was shipping a lot of water.

Some 4 ½ hours later with the weather worsening and darkness falling the crew were picked up by a cargo steamer.

“We couldn’t have lasted another hour,” said Skipper Boyles.

Aboard Davara’s last trip were;

William Boyles, Skipper, of Broadway, G.T.Pugh, Mate, Littlewood; A Scott, Chief Engineer, School Road, Thornton; J Higgins, Second Engineer, Edward Street, Burn Naze;W L Spall, Bosun, Gordon Road; E Prentice, Deckhand, Radcliffe Road; D G Gall, Deckhand, Promenade Road; C S Hunter, Deckhand, Lowther Road; H R Wright, Deckhand, Elizabeth Street; C W Sharpe, Cook, Bramley Avenue; R O Welsh, Fireman, Poulton Road; J Greggor, Fireman, Whinfield Avenue.

RUDYARD KIPLING

The crew of the Rudyard Kipling spent 8 hours aboard a German submarine before being released 5 miles from land.

Their ship was blown up!

The 333-ton Rudyard Kipling was fishing when the U-boat surfaced and signalled the crew to abandon ship.

Crewmen immediately took to the ship’s lifeboat. Ten men were then taken back to the trawler. The Germans took tea, bread, butter, two boxes of fish, gas masks, the radio transmitter – and the ship’s cat!

They then put a time bomb on either side of the trawler at the water line and returned to the submarine with the fishermen. Minutes later there was an explosion and the Rudyard Kipling

sank. The German crew provided the fishermen with hot soup, cigars and rum – and gave each of them, an overcoat. They towed the ship’s lifeboat to within 5 miles of the Irish coast before ordering the crew into the lifeboat.

The trawlermen rowed ashore and the U-Boat resumed its patrol.

Skipper Charles Robinson said later; The U-Boat commander and his crew were courteous.

“They were unshaven and shabby and seemed to have been at sea a long time.”

But the skipper and U-Boat commander did have a argument about who started the war! The German apologised for sinking the trawler but said it was not his fault – but England’s.

The Rudyard Kipling was owned by the Sun Steam Trawler Company.

Rudyard Kipling’s last crew were;

Charles Robinson, Skipper, Romney Avenue; John Smith, Mate, London Street; H Spencer, Bosun, Park Avenue; C Shorrocks, Deckhand, Waterloo Road, Blackpool; H Ellerby, Deckhand, Radcliffe Road; H Mayor, Deckhand, Witton Avenue; G Harrison, Deckhand, Albany Road; F A Irving, Cook, Fleetwood Road, Carleton; C H Ashworth, Chief Engineer, Ariel Way; B Clark, Second Engineer, Shakespeare Road; L A Taylor, Fireman, Oxford Road; A J Willoughby, Fireman, Oxford Road; J Goffin, Deckboy, Oxford Road;

ARLITA and LORD MINTO

Three Fleetwood trawlers – Arlita, Lord Minto and Nancy Hague – were together when a submarine broke surface and fired a warning short. The Lord Minto had tried to escape, but was overhauled by the submarine. Each Skipper was ordered aboard the submarine and the crews took to their boats. The trawlers were searched and it was decided to sink the Arlita and Lord Minto and to put the crews aboard the Nancy Hague (Skippered by Mr Reginald King).

The 134-ton Arlita was owned by J Marr and Son Ltd and the Lord Minto (295 tons) by the Active Fishing Co and managed by Marrs.

Arlita’s crew was:

Ernest Christy, Skipper, Pharos Street; James Mayson, Mate, Addison Road; W Sloane, Bosun, Springbank Avenue, Thornton; Thomas Christy, Deckhand, Pharos Street; J Astles, Deckhand, Longton Avenue, Thornton; H Ramshaw, Deckhand, Harrison Avenue, Thornton; W Lee, Deckhand, Addison Road; C Bird, Half Deckhand, Grove Place, Hoylake; L Cashmere, Cook, Warrenhurst Road; Peter Croft, Chief Engineer, North Church Street, A Nyquist, Second Engineer, Warrenhurst Road; F woolfenden, Fireman, Radcliffe Road; H Dearden, Fireman, Hamlet Road;

Aboard the Lord Minto were;

Charles Pennington, Skipper, Romney Avenue; Arthur Dutton, Mate, Gordon Road; J R Rogers, Bosun, Milton Street; G Halliday, Deckhand, Warren Street; Bertram Lee, Deckhand, Addison Road; W Sharples, Deckhand, Rutland Avenue; J Beadle, Deckhand, Caryl Gardens, Liverpool; Robert Pooley, Cook, Agnew Road; T Hudson, Chief Engineer, Coniston Avenue; R Neill, Second Engineer, Warrenhurst Avenue; W Kneale, Fireman, Lancaster Road, Knott End; Herbert Coplin, Wireless Operator, Rydal Avenue.