Sunken trawler's bell will form memorial to 20 lost fishermen

THE bell from trawler the Laforey – which sank off the coast of Norway 57 years ago – is finally returning home to Grimsby.

When the Laforey met her watery grave in 1954, taking the lives of 20 men with her, it was deemed one of the worst disasters in Grimsby's fishing industry.

SALVAGED: Norwegian divers Trond Fjellestad, above left, and Frode Ellingsund. Right, Trond Strømgren and, left, how the Telegraph reported the bell being brought back to Grimsby.
Submitted picture Author Trond Strømgren - who has written a book about dozens of ships which have sunk off the Norweign coast - told the Grimsby Telegraph about the plans for the shipwreck of the Laforey.

The wreck of the trawler was finally located by a team of Norwegian divers in September and now two of them are bringing the bell back to Grimsby.

Five local sites, including Freshney Place and the Fishing Heritage Centre, were considered as the final resting place for the bell, but the divers have decided to donate it to The Fisherman's Chapel, in Duncombe Street.

Divers Trond Fjellestad and Frode Ellingsund will present the bell – which is engraved with LAFOREY 1949 – to the chapel on Friday, April 8, where it will displayed alongside a list of the men who lost their lives.

Superintendent Anthony Jewitt, port missioner to Grimsby, said: "Over the past few months, we have been bidding vigorously to have the bell located in the chapel.

"It will be put in its rightful place among a list of names of those who lost their lives.

"The bell's return to Grimsby is a significant events for the families of those who died, the fishing community and the town as whole." The divers will be accompanied on their trip to Grimsby by author and historian Trond Strømgren, who will give a talk about the tragic trawler's discovery.

Mr Jewitt said the Norwegian trio have offered to restore the bell, which was crushed when the Laforey sank, but researcher Garreth Evans, who lost his grandfather, skipper William Mogg, in the tragedy, has asked for it to be left the way it is. As reported, the 609-tonne vessel sent out an SOS emergency wireless call before capsizing and sinking on a reef near the coastal city of Florø in the early hours of February 8, 1954. The bell will be displayed at a special commemorative service for the crew of the Laforey, which will be held at Grimsby Minster on July 10 from 2pm.

The families of those who lost their lives are being invited to attend.

Keep reading your Grimsby Telegraph for updates.

Memories

Legends of the sea – The Boston Phantom, Varanis, War Duke, plus a mystery trawler – all feature in the latest edition of Bygones, on sale now and still only 75p.