TA276114

Location of the Memorial

A memorial island has been created at the Queens Steps, Lock Head, Royal Docks, Grimsby, to commemorate the men of "The Royal Naval Patrol Service", popularly know as "Harry Tate's Navy". The memorial site can be visited by obtaining a day visitor’s pass at the Royal Docks office. There is a car park and a narrow road leads onto the dockside, and the memorial is across the lock gates opposite the dock tower. The Royal Naval Patrol Service Veterans have created this memorial.

The site is large enough to provide for ceremonies to take place, and is under constant surveillance from the Harbour master’s office and ABP security. It is an appropriate site, as Grimsby was the largest centre for minesweepers in World War 2, and the site would have been passed by every ship leaving and coming into the dock. When passing into the dock, past the dock tower, the men would have felt safe. The Queen’s Steps is the only place where anyone can land at Grimsby without going into the harbour.

Inscription

The memorial is mainly connected to World War 2. The centre of the 3 stones, the first to be unveiled on the 2^nd September 2001, is to the memory of the 2,385 men of the Royal Naval Patrol Service who went through the lock gates, out to sea, to keep the Humber ports open to shipping between 1914 & 1918, and 1939 to 1945, and who have no grave but the sea. In 2002, 2 other stones were added to the memorial, both on York Stone plinths, and linked to the first stone. A polished granite face was added at the bottom of the centre stone, and an inscription engraved on the stone, listing the names of H.M. trawlers sunk by enemy action during World War 2 in the Grimsby Area.

The stone reads

H.M.TRAWLERS SUNK BY ENEMY ACTION WORLD WAR II GRIMSBY AREA

AGATE	AKRANES	BAHRAM	BENVOLIO
CALVERTON	CAP D'ANTIFER	CAPE SPARTIL	CLOUGHTON WYKE.
CORFIELD	CORTINA	DERVISH	FAIRPLAY
FARADAY	GAEL	GLOAMING	HARVEST GLEANER
HENRIETTE	LOCH ALSH	LORD SELBORNE	LORMONT
LUDA LADY	MANN PRINCE	M.A.WEST	MEROR
OTHELLO	PRINCESS VICTORIA	PROFICENT	RED GUANTLET
REMILLO	SEA KING	SILICIA	ST.CYRUS
ST. DONATS	STRATHBORVE	SUSARION	THORA
VALDORA	WILLIAM STEPHEN	SOLOMON

THEY PASSED THIS WAY NEVER TO RETURN

The ships below are those listed above, showing where and when they perished.

Date Lost	Name	Type	Tonnage/Completed	How Lost
19400112	Valdora	Trawler	R, 251t, 1916	Believed sunk by German aircraft, Cromer
19400223	Benvolio	Trawler	R, 352t, 1930	Mined off Humber
19400302	Fairplay Two	Tug	R, 282t, 1921	Wrecked off Yorkshire coast
19400519	Princess Victoria	Minelayer	R, 2179t, 1939	Mined, entrance to R. Humber, 18th/19th
19400909	Dervish	Trawler	R, 346t, 1911	Mined off Humber
19401009	Sea King	Trawler	R, 321t, 1916	Sunk by underwater explosion in Grimsby Roads
19401028	Harvest Gleaner	Drifter	R, 96t, 1918	Sunk by aircraft off E. coast.
19401124	Gael	Yacht	R, 101t, 1904	Mined, entrance to Humber
19401128	Manx Prince	Trawler	R, 221t, 1910	Mined, entrance to Humber
19401129	Calverton	Trawler	R, 214t, 1913	Mined, entrance to Humber
19401207	Cortina	Trawler	R, 213t, 1913	Sunk in collision off Humber
19401207	Lormont	Guardship	R, 1561t, 1927	Sunk in collision off Humber
19401219	Proficient	Drifter	R, 57t,	Grounded Whitby, total loss
19410122	Luda Lady	Trawler	R, 234t, 1914	Mined Humber area
19410122	St.Cyrus	Tug	810t, 1919	Mined off Humber
19410222	Remillo	Trawler	R, 266t, 1917	Mined Humber
19410301	St.Donats	Trawler	R, 349t, 1924	Collision off Humber
19410320	Gloaming	Drifter	R, 21t, 1928	Mined off Humber
19410331	Lord Selborne	Trawler	R, 247t, 1917	Mined Humber
19410402	Bahram	Drifter	R, 72t, 1924	Mined Humber estuary
19410411	Othello	Boom Defence Vessel	R, 201t, 1907	Mined Humber
19410507	Susarion	Trawler	R, 260t, 1917	Sunk by aircraft off Humber
19410508	Silicia	Trawler	R, 250t, 1913	Mined off Humber
19410514	M.A.West	Drifter	R, 96t, 1919	Sunk by aircraft off Norfolk coast
19410704	Akranes	Trawler	R, 358t, 1929	Sunk by aircraft Bridlington Bay
19410806	Agate	Trawler	627t, 1934	Grounded off Cromer, total loss
19410906	Strathborve	Trawler	R, 216t, 1930	Mined off Humber
19410908	Corfield	Mine Destructor vessel	3000t, 1937	Sunk by mine explosion off Humber
19411226	Henriette	Trawler	R, 261t, 1936	Mined off Humber
19420130	Loch Alsh	Trawler	R, 358t, 1920	Sunk by aircraft Humber area
19420202	Cape Spartil	Trawler	R, 346t, 1929	Sunk by aircraft Humber area
19420202	Cloughton Wyke	Trawler	R, 324t, 1918	Sunk by aircraft Humber area
19420401	Solomon	Trawler	R, 357t, 1923	Mined N of Cromer
19430805	Red Guantlet	Trawler	R, 338t, 1930	Sunk by E-boats North Sea
19430926	Thora	Drifter	R, 37t, 1930	Fouled boom in bad weather, Grimsby
19431003	Meror	Trawler	R, 250t, 1905	Mined Humber area
19431025	William Stephen	Trawler	R, 935t, 1917	Sunk by E-boat off Cromer
19440213	Cap D'Antifer	Trawler		Sunk by E-boat off Humber
	Faraday
Source: British Naval Vessels Lost at Sea 1939 - 45. R = Requisitioned by Royal Navy