On the 8th and 9th of February 1889, a storm took several fishing vessels and caused the loss of between 60 and 70 lives.
The Hull Times of 2nd March 1889 reported the missing vessels as:
* Sea Searcher, trawl smack:Owner Mr Joseph Ward, five hands;
* John Wintringham, cod smack:
Master and Owner Mr John Guitesen: Eleven hands;
* Eton, iron steam trawl smack:
Owner Mr H. Smethurst, jnr: eight hands;
* British Workman, cod smack:
Owner Mr Thomas Campbell: seven hands;
* Sir Frederick Roberts, trawl smack:
Master and Owner Mr. W. Walker: five hands;
* Kitten, trawl smack:
Owner James Meadows: five hands;
* Harold, trawl smack:
Master and Owner Mr Blakeney: five hands.
A Grimsby fisherman, William Delf, wrote poems about the disaster which he sold to raise money for the wives and children of the men lost at sea. In a tragic turn of fate, Delf himself was lost at sea in 1893 (aged around 40).
The poem Three Score and Ten was given a tune and a chorus at some point over the last 100 years but it is not known who is responsible, although Mike Waterson seems the most likely contender. The song was collected from Mr. J Pearson of Filey in 1957 by N.A. Huddleston. A copy of the original broadside by William Delf is held in the public library in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire.
Probably the best known performers of the song are the Watersons who produced a recording of it in the 1960s. It has also been recorded by the Dubliners, Johnny McEvoy and many more.
The song is recorded in the Oxford Book of Sea Songs which notes that in the last verse (an addition to the original broadside ballad) an error of date occurs, referring to October – not February. This can best be assumed to either be an amendment to make the words scan better or a genuine mistake of fact.
lyrics
I think I see a host of craft
Spread their sails alee
As down the Humber they do glide
Towards the cold North Sea
I see on each small craft a crew
A crew with hearts so brave
Out to earn their daily bread
Upon the restless waves
And it's three score and ten boys and men
Were lost from Grimsby town
From Yarmouth down to Scarborough
Many hundreds more were drowned
Our herring craft, our trawlers
Our fishing smacks as well
They long to fight that bitter night
And battle with the swell
I think I see them yet again
They leave the land behind
Cast their nets into the sea
Those fishing shoals to find
I think I see them yet again
And all on board's alright
With the sails close-reefed
And the decks cleared up
And the sidelights burning bright
October's night was such a sight
Was never seen before
With masts and spars and broken yards
Came floating to the shore
There was many a heart of sorrow
There was many a heart so brave
And many a hearty fisher-lad
Who found a watery grave
credits
from A New Dawn - EP,
released August 23, 2010
Produced by Stu Hanna
Recorded and engineered by Andy Bell at Wavelength Studio, Doncaster
Violin - Sam Sweeney
Accordion - Hannah James
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