Hull trawlermen memorial ready after 20-year campaign

The steel sculpture depicts the crew of a trawler

A memorial to more than 6,000 Hull trawlermen who died at sea has been completed 20 years after a community group began fundraising for it.

The steel sculpture on St Andrew's Quay will be blessed by the Bishop of Hull at an opening ceremony on Sunday.

It depicts 13 trawlermen within a garden shaped like a ship's bow.

Ruth Creasey, chair of St Andrew's Dock Fishing Heritage Group, said the memorial would be a "place of solace and remembrance".

She said it would be "poignant" to see the sculpture formally unveiled "after years of fundraising, planning and setbacks".

"It has been a long journey but at last the people of Hull have got what they deserve; a memorial to remember our city's lost trawlermen," Ms Creasey added.

The sculpture is set within a garden which is shaped like the bow of a ship

Local artist Peter Naylor's sculpture was first unveiled in 2016, but was removed three years later ahead of work on flood defences.

Plans for it to be reinstated in a new garden were hit by delays during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Information boards and photos showing the challenging conditions of working at sea have been installed alongside the sculpture.

Council leader Mike Ross said Hull now had a memorial to remember the men who went to sea and "dedicated their lives to feed the city and country and paid the ultimate price".

"The memorial overlooks the Humber and is a poignant place for us all to remember, reflect and contemplate," he added.

The heritage group was set up in 1989 by ex-fisherman John Crimlis, who lost two brothers on Hull trawlers, to preserve the city's fishing history and pay tribute to those who died at sea.

It raised about £150,000, including a £40,00 grant from the council, for the memorial, which was made by local steel fabrication company W Campbell and Son.