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Fleetwood鈥檚 proud fishing heritage was turned to helping the war effort as soon as hostilities broke out in 1914.

Out of 150 deep sea trawlers; 120 were put to military use at some point during the war, many of them working as minesweepers or merchant ship protection. In all, by 1917, 3,000 men from the Fleetwood fishing industry had joined up - as well as around another thousand from ancillary trades. Hundreds of them went to war straight away, after already being trained by the navy as reservists.

The number of men leaving for the war meant keeping the fishing industry going was a real challenge. A constant supply of fish was vital for keeping the country fed. So, boys were used from local schools to take up many of the vacant jobs.

A fisherman鈥檚 life had always been a dangerous one, but German mines and U-boats posed a whole new threat to life. In 1917, the U-boat threat was at its peak with four times the number of ships from the town being sunk.

Throughout the war, around 60 Fleetwood ships were lost along with many hundreds of men.

Location: Freeport, Fleetwood, Lancashire FY7 6PP
Image: Trawlers at Fleetwood docks, courtesy of Lancashire Country Museums Service

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