Boards displaying the names of almost 900 Hull men lost at sea have been put in place outside Citycare’s Elliott Chappell Health Centre in the heart of the Hessle Road community.
The Hull Bullnose Heritage Group led the campaign to erect additional boards in the Hessle Road area after further names of those lost were discovered through lengthy research.
Citycare delivered Elliott Chappell, which opened in February 2013, and agreed for the boards to be housed outside the West Hull base.
In addition, Jane Lewis, PA to Shared Agenda Managing Director Jo Barnes and Citycare Chief Executive Tim Wigglesworth, was overwhelmed to find her grandfather, Arthur Taylor, was listed on the boards.
Arthur, from East Hull, was a cook on board the Girdleness trawler and was on his way home when it went down in stormy seas in the Faro Islands in the Atlantic Ocean on December 18th 1931. The tragedy claimed 11 lives.
Arthur, who was 48, was standing in for a sick shipmate and left his wife and six children.
Jane’s mother, Joyce Read, now 86, never met her father, as she wasn’t born until April 1932, so his name on the bethel boards is even more poignant.
Jane said: “I was extremely touched and moved to see the boards outside Elliott Chappell, especially when I touched my grandfather’s name. It sent shivers down my spine and it made me feel really proud, but also really sad because my mum never met her dad. Dementia has unlocked mum’s long term memory and she talks about it.
“It’s humbling to know my grandfather is now part of something permanent and will always be remembered.
“It’s also wonderful to know that Citycare has played its part in making that happen.”
The Hull Bullnose Heritage Group worked closely with Hull City Council and local ward councillors, as well as Citycare, to see the boards come to fruition.
Jonathan Ramsey, Estates Manager at Citycare, said: “We were approached by the Chairman, Ray Coles, who wanted to press ahead with phase two of the bethel board installations on Hessle Road, following the first at the Boulevard crossroads.
“A series of artworks inside the health centre already offer an insight into the history of the site and the historic Hessle Road fishing community, so it was particularly fitting to support this permanent memorial. It’s wonderful to know these men will be remembered forever, and the connection for Jane made it even more personal.”
Ray Coles, Chairman of the Hull Bullnose Heritage Group, said: “I’m a long time fishermen myself and seven of my family went fishing. More than 6,000 men from Hull were lost at sea and this is the best thing you can do to remember. It’s a permanent record.
“The boards mean a lot to so many people. Many people feel like their loved ones have now been brought home, as they don’t have a grave.
“Now Citycare has allowed us to place the boards outside the centre, it’s fantastic. They are in the ideal place and in a place of special significance. Citycare and the council have backed us wholeheartedly throughout this and we are so pleased to see the boards come to fruition. There will be more to come and many more men to be remembered.”