Additional information courtesy of Bill Blow and Andy Hall

Technical

Official Number: 127825
Yard Number: 160
Completed: 1908
Gross Tonnage: 284.24
Net Tonnage: 116.95
Length: 135.0 ft
Breadth: 22.5 ft
Depth: 12.0 ft
Built: Cook Welton & Gemmell Ltd, Beverley
Engine: 500ihp T.3-cyl and boiler by Charles. D. Holmes & Co Ltd, Hull

History

7.12.1907: Launched by Cook, Welton & Gemmell Ltd, Beverley (Yd.No.160) for Edward Cyril Grant(48/64) & Joseph William Little (16/64), Grimsby, as GREAT ADMIRAL.
12.2.1908: Registered at Grimsby (GY361).
2.1908: Completed.
12.2.1908: Edward Cyril Grant designated managing owner.
13.2.1908: Vessel mortgaged (64/64) to William Somerville Letten & George Somerville Letten, Grimsby (joint mortgagees) for the sum of £4000 with interest at 5% (A).
1.10.1912: Mortgage (A) discharged. Sold to William Somerville Letten & George Somerville Letten, Grimsby
10.1912: Sold to Thorarinn Olgeirsson, Reykjavik for £7000 (never paid as this was probably to secure his services).
4.10.1912: Grimsby registry closed.
10.1912: Registered at Reykjavik (RE152). Hf.Island – Jes Zimsen designated manager.
10.1915: Sold to Edward Cyril Grant (64/64), Grimsby.
28.10.1915: Registered at Grimsby (GY733).
28.10.1915: Edward Cyril Grant designated managing owner.
30.10.1915: Sold to A. & M. Smith Ltd (64/64), Leith.
30.10.1915: Harry Alexander Holmes, Aberdeen designated manager.
02.12.1915: At Aberdeen, after her first trip out of the port, landed a record catch of 48 tons of fish, including 770 boxes of which 400 were plaice and 40 score, realising £1992 gross for a 21 day trip. This was the largest sum ever paid for a single shot of fish on the Aberdeen market.
19.03.1916: At Aberdeen arrived from an Icelandic trip with a large catch 90 tons including 600 boxes and 550 score of fish. In order to have all the catch on the market for the morning sales, the crew started landing at 9.00pm. Believed to be the first time at Aberdeen that a vessel has started landing so early the previous day.
21.03.1916: Landed at Aberdeen remainder of the catch which made over £ 900 gross, making a total earnings of over £1800 for its 16 day trip. This catch set a war record for weight of fish.
29.5.1917: Requisitioned for Fishery Reserve.
By 11.8.1917: Defensively armed, fitted with 1-6pdr HA.
1919: Released.
27.1.1920: Sold to Direct Fish Supplies Ltd (64/64), London.
29.1.1920: George William Payne Margarson appointed manager.
2.2.1920: Vessel mortgaged (64/64) to Barclays Bank Ltd, London (B).
11.02.1921: At Aberdeen Police Court, Sk. John Burnell and Ch Eng Charles Hallberg were charged with fighting and causing a breach of the peace on board the trawler while berthed at the Albert Quay, Aberdeen on Thursday 10 February. As the result of the stand-up fight the skipper’s head was bound in bandages. Hallberg pleaded guilty and after a short denial so did Burnell. There was evidence that both had been out for a “beano” and the magistrate said the peace of the city must be observed and he could not have people coming from Grimsby and disturbing it. Each man was fined 20/-.
23.3.1922: Company in voluntary liquidation.
10.8.1922: Placed in compulsory liquidation.
6.9.1922: Sold by order of the mortgagee under mortgage (B) to Thomas William Baskcomb (64/64), Grimsby.
6.9.1922: Vessel mortgaged (64/64) to Barclays Bank Ltd, London (C).
12.9.1922: Thomas William Baskcomb designated managing owner.
25.03.1931: At Grimsby Magistrates Court, seaman, John Clarke (48), was charged with failing to obey lawful commands and assaulting the mate. When told to take watch he went for the mate with an ice chopper and was knocked down twice, the skipper taking the chopper from him. Clarke, who said lost his temper when provoked by a younger man, was sent to prison for a month on each charge, to run concurrently.
10.04.1931: Arrived Grimsby from Iceland trip and reported that while fishing off Iceland on 21 March they picked up body that evidently had not been in the water many days. Dressed in grey flannel shirt and trousers, it was apparently one of the engine-room staff of the missing trawler NORTH CAPE (GY 494), last heard of on 16 Mar. The body was re-committed to the sea.
31.12.1931: At Grimsby landed a record halibut, caught off Iceland, the fish weighed 391/2 stone, was 8 feet long, and measured eight feet girth. It was sold for £21.
22.10.1935: Sold by order of the mortgagee under mortgage (C) to Fred Parkes, Fleetwood & Blackpool.
29.10.1935: Basil Arthur Parkes, Cleveleys designated manager.
25.11.1935: Sold to Boston Deep Sea Fishing & Ice Co Ltd, Fleetwood.
4.12.1935: Basil Arthur Parkes, Cleveleys designated manager.
19.10.1936: Arrived at Stornoway, with 2nd Eng, Sydney Anderson who was taken to hospital in a critical condition. While fishing on the St. Kilda grounds in a severe storm, he was caught in the main propeller shaft resulting in two broken legs and other serious injuries.
21.12.1936: Arrived Fleetwood. First Fleetwood trawler to operate as a fish carrier, landing fish caught by Icelandic inshore vessels.
05.10.1937: Arrived Fleetwood with Ch Eng. Arthur Ethell, who had been severely scalded with hot oil while working on the fish liver boiler.
09.11.1937: At Fleetwood Magistrates Court, fisherman Neil McLoughlin, Fleetwood, was fined 20/- when charged with failing to join the vessel. He was also ordered to repay his 7s. 6d. advance from his firm. McLoughlin said he was not feeling too well when the vessel was due to sail.
8.1938: Laid up at Fleetwood.
14.10.1939: At Fleetwood Magistrates Court, George Ellerby was fined 10/- and ordered to repay a 14/- advance and 1gn advocates fees, he had been charged with failing to join the trawler. He stated that he had lost all his gear in the RUDYARD KIPLING (FD 33) when she was blown up by the Germans on the 16th September and had to get some new. Prosecuting. Mr. R. Blackburn said the BDSF&I Co, the owners, took a serious view of the case, because the man had been kept standing by at the rate of 10/-. a day while the trawler was being readied for sea. There was no difficulty in getting substitutes, there were more men than jobs and this man did not appreciate that. In defence, Ellerby stated it was the first time he had missed a trawler and he had been going to sea nearly ten years.
28.5.1940: Requisitioned for war service as an auxiliary patrol vessel (P.No.4.146) (Hire rate £71.0.0d/month).
5.1941: Employed on harbour defence patrol duties.
17.10.1942: Sold to Northern Trawlers Ltd (64/64), Grimsby.
31.10.1942: William Alfred Bennett designated manager.
6.1945: Returned to owner.
6.1947: Sold to BISCO and allocated to West of Scotland Shipbreaking Co Ltd, Troon for breaking up.
4.6.1947: Arrived Troon Harbour (draughts 5’6”/12’6”).
5.6.1947: Breaking commenced.
27.6.1947: Beached (draughts 4’6”/7’0”).
12.9.1947. Breaking completed.
7.11.1947: Grimsby registry closed “Ship completely broken up”.

Click to enlarge image

S.T. Great Admiral GY733
Picture courtesy of the Mark Stopper Collection

Changelog
21/12/2008: Page published. 6 updates since then.
04/01/2018: Removed FMHT watermark from image.
10/03/2018: Updated information.
17/12/2020: Updated history.

Technical

Official Number: 136226
Yard Number: 171
Completed: 1914
Gross Tonnage: 191
Net Tonnage: 72
Length: 110.2 ft
Breadth: 21.6 ft
Depth: 12 ft
Engine: 300ihp T.3-cyl and boiler by Earle’s Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Hull
Built: Goole Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd, Goole

History

19.11.1914: Launched by Goole Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd, Goole (Yd.No.171) for Kelsall Brothers & Beeching Ltd (64/64) Hull as GRACKLE.
8.1.1915: Registered at Hull (H224).
1.1915: Requisitioned for war service as a minesweeper.
23.1.1915: George Beeching, Hull & John E. A. Kelsall, London designated managers.
2.1915: Completed (1-6pdr) (Ad.No.1218).
1918: Based Devonport.
By 12.3.1919: Returned to owner at Hull.
7.6.1919: Vessel mortgaged (64/64) to The London County Westminster & Parr’s Bank Ltd, London (A). John Slater appointed manager.
6.3.1923: Mortgagee re-styled as Westminster Bank Ltd, London.
14.10.1927: Mortgage (A) transferred to William Augustus Hayward, Eastbourne.
14.10.1927: Mortgage (A) transferred to Mercantile Marine Finance Corporation Ltd, London.
28.9.1928: Robert Burton appointed manager.
16.9.1932: Charles Hugh Emerson appointed manager.
10.1932: Mercantile Marine Finance Corporation Ltd in liquidation.
1.11.1932: Mortgage (A) transferred to Harold Frank Hayward, London; Maud Florence Katherine Rogers, Chelsea and Ernest Norton, London (joint mortgagees).
3.1936: Combined boxing and trawling fleet of Kelsall Bros. & Beeching Ltd and the Hull Steam Fishing & Ice Co Ltd consisting of 59 vessels laid up at Hull (declining catches, coal bill and increased maintenance costs had made the venture uneconomical).
6.3.1936: At Extraordinary General Meeting at Hull, Kelsall Brothers & Beeching Ltd placed in Creditors’ Voluntary Winding-up (Richard Field Helm of Messrs Hodgson Harris & Co, London appointed liquidators).
9.10.1936: Sold to John Yolland Snr (64/64), Milford Haven under mortgage (A).
29.10.1936: John Yolland Snr designated manager.
30.4.1937: Sold to The Yolland Trawling Co Ltd (64/64) Milford Haven.
15.6.1937: John C. Llewellin appointed manager.
30.2.1939: On Westward grounds, third hand George Majoram (29), Hakin, washed overboard and drowned.
25.3.1941: Sold to Boston Deep Sea Fishing & Ice Co Ltd (64/64), Fleetwood (Sanctioned under MoWT ref. M151393/41 dated 4th March 1941).
29.3.1941: Basil A. Parkes, Cleveleys designated manager.
19.6.1941: Basil A. Parkes, Cleveleys reappointed manager.
16.4.1943: Sold to James Johnson (64/64), Scarborough (Sanctioned by MoWT ref M183950/43 dated 7th April 1943).
30.4.1943: James Johnson designated managing owner. Landing at Fleetwood from Icelandic grounds.
8.6.1943: Typical landing. 900 kits – cod/codling-500, haddock-80, flats-20, cats-300. 12.10.1944: Sold to Pair Fishing Co Ltd (64/64), Milford Haven (Sanctioned by MoWT ref M4708/44 dated 11th October 1944).
27.10.1944: Henry John Richards designated manager.
18.3.1946: Sold to John Charles Llewellin (64/64), Milford Haven (Sanctioned by MoWT ref M2954/46 dated 16th March 1946).
21.4.1946: John Charles Llewellin designated manager.
14.6.1946: Sold to Walton Fishing Co Ltd (64/64), Milford Haven (Sanctioned by MoWT ref M5850 dated 12th June 1946).
18.6.1946: John Charles Llewellin designated manager.
25.10.1951: Vessel mortgaged (64/64) to John Charles Llewellin, Milford Haven to secure £1,000 at 41/2 % interest (B).
1955: Sold for breaking up.
19.5.1955: Hull registry closed “Except as relates to mortgage (B). Ship broken up”.

Notes

Skipper Charles Mewse and Second Hand George Cooper of the British trawler GRACKLE are awarded the Emile Robin award for their services in connection with the rescue of the crew of the Norwegian drifter RENASCENT. On 28 October, the RENASCENT, when about 90 miles east north-east from Lowestoft, in a rough sea, sprang a leak; the water was kept under control for several hours until the pumps became choked with coal dust and ashes. Some ten hours later the position became precarious and the GRACKLE, in answer to distress signals, arrived in the vicinity at 11.30 am. Skipper Mewse handled the GRACKLE with great ability, and a high degree of courage. He brought the GRACKLE right alongside the RENASCENT and took off the crew in a very rough sea, with a wind at or approaching gale force. The RENASCENT was rolling heavily and the GRACKLE bumped her head doing some damage to the upper works of the RENASCENT. There was considerable risk to the GRACKLE. The Norwegian drifter was left in a rapidly sinking condition and her crew were landed at Lowestoft.

Click to enlarge image

S.T. Grackle H244
Picture from the Internet

Changelog
21/12/2008: Page published. 2 updates since then.
29/01/2015: Added details of Emile Robin award.
07/06/2016: Added picture.
15/12/2020: Updated history.