# Northern Eagle



## Steve Farrow

I am seeking information about an incident when one or more crew members were washed overboard from the Grimsby trawler NORTHERN EAGLE in the early 1960's. Can anyone help with this? I understand that 'Bunny' Bernard Newton was the skipper at the time.
Kind regards
Steve


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## melliget

Steve.
Couldn't find any mention of the trawler Northern Eagle in The Times. Nearest to it was the report of an accident involving the Grimsby trawler Northern Sun off the coast of Norway in 1962, when first officer Roy Ferrand was killed and skipper, George Lively, badly injured. I don't think they were washed overboard though.

Seemed to be a number of mentions of Grimsby trawlers called Northern something or another. Some mentions of a Bernard Newton (not sure if the same man), particularly in relation to the "Cod wars" with Iceland in the 50's and 60's. In one incident, he got himself into hot water after locking some Icelandic police guards in his cabin and repainting the registration numbers on his Grimsby trawler Brandur. Sounds like a character.

regards,
Martin


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## trotterdotpom

Steve, from the "Lost Fishermen" section of Ray Richardson's "Sidewinder" site:

GY.22 Northern Eagle
H. J. Self. Died 8th November 1960.
S. E. Blackburn. Died 19th November 1962.

From the "Grimsby Skippers" section, Bernard Newton was Skipper of Northern Eagle from April to December 1962.

No other information. Maybe Ray can help.

Martin, Northern Trawlers were a large company with many ships - they were part of the huge Associated Fisheries group which also owned MacFisheries (remember them from every English High Street) and even, I've just discovered, the famous Harry Ramsden's Fish Shop near Leeds. In the early 70s (I think) they merged with or were taken over by Ross Fisheries and the two companies became British United Trawlers (BUT).

Bernard "Bunny" Newton has been mentioned on this site before. He did indeed do a runner from Reykjavik with two police on board. The ship had been arrested for fishing inside the limits. He was nicknamed "The Beast of Boston's" (Boston's being another trawler company) because he'd supposedly lost several men due to continuing fishing in unsuitable conditions. He was also rumoured to have a "two fisted" style of leadership.... I never met him but I had a landlord who was his ex radio operator and great friend and never stopped singing his praises. With the demise of the fishing industry, I heard "Bunny" went into the nightclub business or something similar. He died in tragic cir***stances - murdered by his son. Talk about larger than life!

John T.


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## Steve Farrow

Thanks for that information. From it I have found out that S.E. Blackburn was the mate with Bernard 'Bunny' Newton and was washed overboard from the Northern Eagle when fishing in heavy weather on 19th December 1962.
Bunny Newton bought some launderettes when he packed up the sea. Then he bought a nightclub in Cleethoropes.....Bunny's Place and did very well, attracting big names at the time. It burnt down mysteriously when times were not too good. It re-opened as a bingo hall.
He was indeed killed by one of his own sons who shot him in his garage with a shotgun then went back into his house.....re-loaded and shot him again!
Regards
Steve


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## trotterdotpom

Wow, nothing like making sure! Did they ever find out why it happened?

Maybe the loss of the Mate on the N. Eagle was the start of some of the other stories.

John T.


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## Steve Farrow

I don't know the reason for the shooting only that it was an internal family arguement. A top barrister was hired and the judge was lenient by passing a four year sentence..............out in two!
He wasn't called the 'BEAST' for nothing. His tough reputation was legendary. He fished in terrible conditions, lost some men along the way but earned a fortune. Many of his crew stayed with him through thick and thin where others steered well clear.
I spoke to one of his deck hands who said that Bunny had been giving him a real hard time, and when he came down into the fish-room, he started throwing his weight around. He said "I just snapped. as soon as the skipper turned his back on me, I hit him as hard as I possibly could on his head with an ice shovel. He went down and I legged it up the ladder and hid. Not a word was mentiond about the incident and I continued to sail for several more trips!"
Regads
Steve


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## trotterdotpom

Thanks Steve. Presume there must have been some sort of "extenuating cir***stances" to warrant such a lenient sentence. If there hadn't been a shotgun in the house, maybe it wouldn't have happened, who knows? Good job your mate in the fishroom only had shovel!

John T.


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## nicolina

Bunny the Beast once lost 2 men while fishing at Faroes 

The trawler he was skipper on at that time was the Isernia


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## nicolina

George Lively who was relief skipper lost an arm in the incident


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## nicolina

Henry J Self Who Was One Of Northerns Top Skippers Was Found Dead In His Bunk As The Trawler Was On Her Way Back From An Greenland Trip

He Took Northern Eagle On Her Maiden Trip And Stayed In Her The Rest Of His Career

Had Also Taken Another New Built One Either The Northern Sea Ore 
The Northern Isles

Was The Grimsby Skipper Who Fished Greenland Regularly


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## nicolina

The mate of Northern Sun killed in the accident ROY FERRAND was son of trawler skipper JOHN FERRAND of Northern trawlers GY
He had 2 brothers who also where skippers.
WILLIAM(BILL)FERRAND also skipper with Northern Trawlers GY
DAVID FERRAND Varios ships.Lost at sea while serving as mate on the BOJEN pair trawler wich capsized in the North Sea and the whole crew where lost


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## wolfee

Steve Farrow said:


> Thanks for that information. From it I have found out that S.E. Blackburn was the mate with Bernard 'Bunny' Newton and was washed overboard from the Northern Eagle when fishing in heavy weather on 19th December 1962.
> Bunny Newton bought some launderettes when he packed up the sea. Then he bought a nightclub in Cleethoropes.....Bunny's Place and did very well, attracting big names at the time. It burnt down mysteriously when times were not too good. It re-opened as a bingo hall.
> He was indeed killed by one of his own sons who shot him in his garage with a shotgun then went back into his house.....re-loaded and shot him again!
> Regards
> Steve


Although I didn't sail with him, I was in his company a couple of times ashore and although preceded by a fearsome reputation, found him a generous and likeable host. My mother couldn't stand his name though, as apparently on the one trip my father did he amused himself by taking potshots at the crew on deck with an airgun.!!


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## Alan Duggan

Afternoon all, Bunny Newton seems like a very interesting character. Im sure there are many more untold stories about him.

Would anyone be able to supply a link for Ray Richardsons Site ?


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## aavh

You will find it here Alan...
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/grimsby.trawlers/main.htm


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## Alan Duggan

Thanks Andy.


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## bob huxford

Hi Steve . I was fifteen years old and on my first trip to sea as deckie learner on that fatefull voyage aboard the Northern Eagle when the third hand Siddy Blackburn was tragically lost overboard.I believe at the time we were fishing off the west coast of Iceland it was dark and the weather was very bad, many of the ships fishing in the area had already taken shelter we were one of the last ships to leave and I remember with the gear stowed away and the ship heading for shelter myself and other crew members were in the mess room when the skipper Bunny Newton came down from the bridge asking where the third hand was an immediate search of the ship showed no sign of him and a search of the area long into the night proved to no avail.
Siddy was third hand Steve not mate and was a well respected quietly spoken man much liked by all the crew.


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## Shane Johnson

Thread drift Bob but are you Lionel and May's son?


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## mattarosa

*Man overboard*

I've been looking for anything in the newspapers about the loss of the crew member of the Northern Eagle in December 1962. Unfortunately, I'm not well enough organised to be able to find things easily so haven't found anything yet. Since I can only look at national newspapers, it is always pot luck anyway as whether or not something was covered probably depended on what else was happening at the time.

Obviously losing people overboard happened from time to time, I'm not sure how often, but in the same year 1962, but in June, the Daily Mirror reported that the skipper of the Ogano (Harold Chandler, 48, of Cleethorpes) was lost overboard off the Faroe Islands.

Hilary


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## mattarosa

I did find an interesting item about Bunny Newton. I assume it is the same one. In January 1974 The Times described him as a "Grimsby business man" in a report about racing. Newton apparently owned a horse called Solid Silver which won the Mansfield Handicap Hurdle.

Hilary


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## MissSki

Hello all
If nobody minds me joining in this discussion, I'd be really interested if anyone has any additional about Harold Chandler, as mention by mattarosa.
He was a member of my family and I've been trying to find out any info about him - his life or death - for the last year or so.
He was lost from the Ogano near the Faroes in June 1962. He was usually skipper of the Scampton.
I've seen various newspaper cuttings and tried to get in touch with the few crew members I knew off but I keep reaching dead ends, so if anyone has any information I'd be really grateful. 
Many thanks in advance


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## gkh151

Hi MissSki,

Other ships he took as skipper were Sturton august 1952 and Gregory date not known. It was wednesday 6th June 1962 when he was lost overboard from the Ogano.

Graham


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## Stanforth

Steve Farrow said:


> I am seeking information about an incident when one or more crew members were washed overboard from the Grimsby trawler NORTHERN EAGLE in the early 1960's. Can anyone help with this? I understand that 'Bunny' Bernard Newton was the skipper at the time.
> Kind regards
> Steve


Bunny (also known as the Beast) was a relative of mine. The trawler concerned was certainly a 'Norther Trawlers' boat as my father who was also employed by Northern Trawlers, had the job of making a large (20 foot plus) model for the court case. The story is that 2members of ther deck crew were washed overboard and, on the next wave, Bunny leaned over from thje bridge and pulled one back. The family of the other one took the company to court to claim damages.

Bunny was, at the time the last English Skipper to be charged with 'Piracy on the High Seas' but thats another story.


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## Stanforth

melliget said:


> Steve.
> Some mentions of a Bernard Newton (not sure if the same man), particularly in relation to the "Cod wars" with Iceland in the 50's and 60's. In one incident, he got himself into hot water after locking some Icelandic police guards in his cabin and repainting the registration numbers on his Grimsby trawler Brandur. Sounds like a character.
> 
> regards,
> Martin


He was. He wound up getting murdered by his own son.


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## TANGELO

I was on the Northern Sun on that fateful day. I was stood next to Roy & George Lively when the huge mountainous sea came aboard and caused the aft otterboard to come inboard hitting the two men. Roy was killed instantly and George lost an arm. We were escorted into Harstad by the R.N. and later came home with Roy in his coffin under the whaleback back to GY via the fjords and east coast of Scotland & England. Union Jack draped coffin on fishroom hatch as we sailed through the locks.


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## glenn simons

Stanforth said:


> He was. He wound up getting murdered by his own son.


So sad to hear that.


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## Elaine Lively

*Elaine*



TANGELO said:


> I was on the Northern Sun on that fateful day. I was stood next to Roy & George Lively when the huge mountainous sea came aboard and caused the aft otterboard to come inboard hitting the two men. Roy was killed instantly and George lost an arm. We were escorted into Harstad by the R.N. and later came home with Roy in his coffin under the whaleback back to GY via the fjords and east coast of Scotland & England. Union Jack draped coffin on fishroom hatch as we sailed through the locks.


George Lively was my uncle. He never really recovered from his sea accident; he missed being back at sea and struggled with depression at being land-locked. He died tragically a couple of years after losing his arm. My father was devastated at losing his brother, and so was my grandfather whose grief certainly contributed to his death a few months after George. Dad went on to live to his 90s, and died in 2009


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## TANGELO

*Northern Sun*



Elaine Lively said:


> George Lively was my uncle. He never really recovered from his sea accident; he missed being back at sea and struggled with depression at being land-locked. He died tragically a couple of years after losing his arm. My father was devastated at losing his brother, and so was my grandfather whose grief certainly contributed to his death a few months after George. Dad went on to live to his 90s, and died in 2009



After all these years I have made contact with somebody involved in this major incident. indirectly.


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## Elaine Lively

TANGELO said:


> After all these years I have made contact with somebody involved in this major incident. indirectly.


I was amazed to find this thread, and read your post. Today, I have written to my cousins, George's daughters who were very small when he died. I have not seen them since my father's death. They will want to read your account of that crucial incident.


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## TANGELO

Elaine Lively said:


> I was amazed to find this thread, and read your post. Today, I have written to my cousins, George's daughters who were very small when he died. I have not seen them since my father's death. They will want to read your account of that crucial incident.


If they require any info I would be pleased to help if possible.


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