CLOUGHSTONE H374

Courtesy of Keith Morgan

Official No:  125044    Port and Year:  6th in Grimsby, 1907 (GY189)                                                                      -  in Boston, 1919 (BN158)                                                                      -  in Dieppe, 1921 (DI ?)                                                                      -  in Aberdeen, 1935? (A257)                                                                      -  in Hull, c.1945 (H374)

Description: Steel side trawler; coal fired.  Crabber. Ketch rigged

Crew: 9 men (1907).

Built: by Cochrane & Sons, Selby, in 1907.  (Yard no. 384)

Tonnage:   225 grt 106 net (1907);  233 grt  114 net (By 1935.)

Length / breadth / depth (feet): 117.2 / 22.0 / 11.6

Engine: T 3-Cyl; 67 rhp; 10.5 kts; by Charles D. Holmes & Co., Hull

Owners:   As ARGONAUT GY189 31 Jan 1907: Consolidated Steam Fishing & Ice Co., Grimsby Manager: John D. Marsden, Fish Docks, Grimsby. 14  Sep 1914: Grimsby registry closed.  [See below.]   As EWERBY BN158 1919: Boston Deep Sea Fishing & Ice Co. Ltd., Boston. Manager: Fred Parkes, Wyberton, Boston.   As JEAN-MAX DI ? 1921: Denos & Lebreton-Tourasse & Co., 3 Rue Vauguelin, Dieppe.   As CLOUGHSTONE A257 27 Apr 1935: James C. Douglas, 187 Albert Quay, Aberdeen. Managing owner.   1942: Northern Trawlers Ltd., London. Manager: William A. Bennett.   30 Dec 1946: As H374 Dec 1946: Lord Line, Hull.   21 Jan 1948: Milford Fisheries, Docks, Milford Manager: Owen Willie Limbrick

Landed at Milford: 26 Jan 1948 - 7 Jun 1955

Skippers: Vaughan Davies (1950), Bert Horst (1953)

Notes:  Argonaut was the name of the sailors from their ship, the Argo, named after its builder, Argus. An "Argonaut" literally meant "an Argo sailor".  (Wikipedia.) Ewerby is a village in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. (Wikipedia.) Cloughstone: the Clough Stone was at the mouth of the river Clyde, near the Clough Lighthouse. 24 - 26 Aug 1914: Captured together with nine trawlers by German torpedo boat, and taken into Wilhelmshaven; crews interned. 14 Sep 1914: Grimsby registry closed. 1918: Released and returned to her owners. 6 Dec 1940: Requisitioned by the Admiralty as a Balloon Barrage Vessel (P.No. 4.446) Apr 1944: Converted to an Esso; a smoke-making trawler. 9 Jun 1944: With Group A1 at Mulberry A, Normandy. 1944: Employed on miscellaneous naval duties. 28 Apr 1945: Returned to owners. 8 Apr 1947: CLOUGHSTONE Skipper George Reeve towed the  FASCATI (Skipper George Greening) by 180 miles to Aberdeen. [The Press and Journal (Aberdeen).  Thanks via George Westwood.] 9 Aug 1955: Broken up at Grays, Essex. 2 Mar 1956: Hull registry closed. [Lofthouse T., Mayes G., Newton D., & Thompson M. (2012): Cochrane Shipbuilders Vol.1: 1884 - 1914.]

Accidents and Incidents:

From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 5th May 1950:

 

    MORE TRAWLERS TIED UP

    Four trawlers, half the Milford Fisheries fleet, has been laid up this week because of prevailing uneconomic conditions.  They are the Thomas Booth, Craig an Eran, Cloughstone, and Peter Carey.

    The total number of trawlers now laid up at Milford is 24, or a third of the port's fleet.  Some are undergoing repairs, but most have been tied up because it has been found uneconomical to run them.

    In this connection, here is an extract from a letter received at Milford this week from a London firm of merchants: "Our market at the moment is loaded with Danish plaice at the prices quoted above, and it is selling very slowly."  The prices given were well below control prices.

 

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From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 20th March 1953:  

 

    On Tuesday the Milford trawler "Cloughstone", Skipper Bert Horst, towed home the steam trawler "Hero", Skipper Lenny Brown, which had developed boiler trouble on the fishing grounds off the Irish coast.  

 

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From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 1st May 1953:  

 

    When fishing 45 miles off St. Ann's Head late on Monday night, Skipper Bert Horst and the crew of the "Cloughstone" had an alarming experience.  A mine was hauled up in the trawl and dropped on the deck, and the skipper had no alternative but to wireless the news and make for port.

    The trawler arrived in the Haven at 4.30 on Tuesday morning, but the Mine Disposal Squad from Plymouth did not arrive (by road) until seven the same night.  They quickly dealt with the mine, but the "Cloughstone" was not able to go into dock until the 6 a.m. tide on Wednesday.

 

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From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 22nd July 1955:

 

    Two Milford trawler owners told the "Guardian" this morning that they are laying up some of their ships.  At the same time it is confirmed that at least three more trawlers have this week been scrapped.  The news has increased the state of crisis existing at the port.

    Mr. O. W. Limbrick stated, "The trawler Cloughstone has been scrapped.  I am laying up at least two other vessels owing to the state of trade, and until the Government announce what help they will give to meet the increased coal costs."

    Mr. E. E. Carter of Westward Trawlers, said, "I will be laying up two and maybe three of my ships as soon as present local stocks are exhausted."

   

 

 

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