Memorial

The 3D concept visuals show a modern Maritime Memorial that could be an iconic symbol of remembrance for the Fishing Community and the Merchant Navy Associations. The design is based around sea waves that are represented in polished stainless steel.

In an evening or when the light is low, the steel waves are illuminated by LED spot lighting which blends blue and white ambient shades to hint at the effect of the changing sea. The intense white light represents the freezing weather conditions; the blue light represents the calm.

To see how the Maritime Memorial could look in the day and at night, play the video clips below:

View showing the Memorial Wave at the lock-head on St. Andrew’s Dock, Hull

The above proposal shows the lock gates faithfully restored to replicate their appearance in the 1960s with the new Memorial Wave in the background. It would not be possible for the public to cross over these gates as the old-style linked chain barriers would not meet our present-day safety requirements. However, the second gate into the dock would be equipped with modern railings for public crossings.

View showing the Memorial Wave from inside the proposed Visitors Centre Building

"Fishing gave Hull its spirit, its character and, in the main, its livelihood. Of only four distant water ports in this country, Hull was the largest, and was unique in that its boats fished nowhere other than in distant Arctic waters.

Distant water fishing is the most arduous and hazardous of occupations. Working most commonly on three-week trips, with 36 hours in port before they set off again, the men were on deck, exposed to temperatures as low as minus 40 deg throughout their 18-hour shifts. In winter, they were constantly involved in struggles to prevent their vessels from icing up. Too much top ice, which could form within minutes, would capsize a trawler. The accident mortality rate was 14 times that of coal mining. In the 150 years from 1835 to 1987, some 900 Hull boats were lost at sea. Few crew members survived."

Alan Johnson, M.P., Hansard 01 July 1997 vol 297 cc206-207

The Dangers of Icing at Sea

These pictures show examples of the kind of icing that trawlermen had to constantly fight against during fishing trips in Arctic waters. Many ships have been lost because of the gradual build-up of ice on a ship's superstructure. Large amounts of ice on the rigging will raise the ship’s centre of gravity enough to cause dangerous instability. If the ice is not 'chipped' off then the vessel will probably capsize – with catastrophic consequences for the crew. Ice build-up - when combined with extremely rough seas - made a fishing vessel even more vulnerable to capsizing.

The now derelict lock gates of St. Andrew’s Dock. These gates were last used in 1975 and they still have a special significance for many Hull fishing families. Between 5,000 and 8,000 fishermen were lost from Hull. This place marks their final point of departure, never to return.

Through the lock gates of this very dock, in peace and at war, passed the ships and men who fished the Arctic grounds of Murmansk, Greenland, Iceland and Spitzbergen. This memorial commemorates the many thousands who did not return.

The City of Kingston upon Hull - Once home to the Greatest, proudest Deep Sea Fishing Fleet in the World.

• Fishing some of the most dangerous seas on the planet 1835 – 1987
• Attacked by the Russian Navy 1904
• Fishing through the First World War 1914-1918
• Fishing through the Second World War 1939-1945
• Fishing through the Cold War 1945-1991
• Fishing through the Icelandic Cod Wars 1958; 1972-1973; 1975-1976
• Sweeping Mines in the Falklands Conflict 1982

Could money have been better spent on an improved and deserved Memorial to the Fishermen of Hull? A memorial that goes some way to reflect the sheer scale of the tragic and repeated losses of life?

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