GRIMSBY IN THE GREAT WAR

Grimsby and Cleethorpes were among the most vulnerable and exposed British towns in August 1914 when the Great War broke out. Situated on the North Sea and facing the German Baltic fleet, their vessels were to face the mines and the U-boat torpedoes as the war progressed. Written into the story are the achievements of the Grimsby Chums and other regiments containing Grimsby men, and the amazing story of the home front experience, from the local shell factory staffed largely by women, to the War Hospital Supply Depot and the Women's Emergency Corps. There were the great fish docks, run by the Great Central Railway and sometimes as many as eight daily express trains to London and other cities distributing the fish. Around the docks there were 587 steam trawlers and a number of sailing smacks, perhaps about 20. Grimsby provided about 8,000 men for the various military and naval units. For the most part these joined the 10th and 11th Lincolns raised by Lord Kitchener's appeal, the 5th, 2/5 5th and 3/5 5th Lincolns, the 1st North Midland Brigade Royal Field Artillery and the Lincolnshire Yeomanry. These various units appear in the pages as events unfold. The shoreline was a priority, mainly for the gun batteries in place, and when the airship attacks began, the volunteers were the men to work with the guns and the searchlights. 128 page large paperback, archive photos.