# This Week 1914



## Douglas Paterson (May 2, 2010)

Remembrance Sunday.
By this week in 1914 our fishermen and their boats had already paid a heavy price. Seven boats on hire to the Admiralty along with fifty men had been lost. For those still fishing forty boats had been captured or sunk with many men lost. Upwards of two hundred fishermen were prisoners of war in Germany. Grimsby was particularly badly hit losing 22 boats, seventy three fishermen dead and upwards of one hundred made POWs.
The youngest fishermen killed to date was William Smith jnr age 15 of Ianstown, Buckie, cook on his fathers drifter the Barley Rig BCK 145, sunk by a mine off the Tyne.
Hundreds of boats had been requisitioned and thousands of fishermen reservists called up for active service. So many reservists were available that the Government formed 30,000 of them into two infantry brigades who played a key part in the unsuccessful defence of Antwerp. They were rescued in a Dunkirk like evacuation. 1500 failed to escape and crossed into neutral Holland where they were interned. 
The wider industry was badly disrupted with orders for new boats cancelled, the demand for fish, especially herring, away down and boats laid up. 
For weekly updates go to http://www.fishingboatheritage.com/index.php/h-d-steam-3


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## ben27 (Dec 27, 2012)

good day douglas paterson.sm.10th nov 2014.16:34re:this week 1914,thank you for posting,to all the fisherman who were lost may they rest in peace.regards ben27


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