|
The son of a trawlerman has told the poignant story of his father's last voyage when he lost his life in the harsh wartime world of ships and the sea.
In August, 1941, the trawler Lady Love docked in Fleetwood after a mediocre trip to the Rockall fishing grounds. The crew signed off because the Hewett Fishing company wanted to send the ship to Iceland and the fishermen thought it wasn't fit to go there.
But Hewetts offered them a pay bonus and they all changed their minds after 48 hours leave.
Frank Sharples was just eight years old and his father, Bill, was the bosun. Frank went down to the dock gates with his best pal, Derek Platt, whose father was cook on board Lady Love. Frank remembers, "Our dads gave us a hug an a bob apiece and we both ran down to the ferry beach to watch them sail past."
Tons of coal had been piled on the ship's deck, extra fuel for the long voyage, and the added weight had Lady Love riding frightenly low in the water. Frank said, "The water was lapping the scuppers even in the siver."
Frank and his mum went back to the ferry beach looking for the Lady Love when the trip should have been over. But the ship never came home. Frank said, "We went day after day and mum shouted across to the ships coming in: 'Have you seen anything of the Lady Love?' Back would come the answer: 'Sorry love, we haven't seen her'." The only official news came in a letter from Hewetts. There was no personal visit.
Another ship found a piece of wreckage but brief hopes that the 14 - man crew might be prisoners of war were dashed when Hewetts wrote again saying that the ship had been torpedoed by a U - boat. It was almost Christmas. Frank remembers, "It was devastating, unforgettable, a terrible time for many families."
There was a final, terrible irony. Eight months after the ship was lost Frank's mother received a letter which upset her greatly. It was Bosun Sharple's call up papers for military service.
Soon after Lady Love was lost, the Fleetwood based trawler King Erik also went down, another U-boat victim.
Maritime historian David Buckley has researched both ships and come up with information about U-202 and Lady Love and U-141 and King Erik. Other research from a German book about U-boats gives different positions for the sinkings. David says, "There were no survivors and it is almost certain that the mystery surrounding the loss of these vessels will never be resolved.
|
