- MEMORIES OF THE DOCKS -

TALES

Here you will find written memories that individuals have shared with us and stories created by young people in response to memories that have been shared. Use the ‘read more’ button, to learn more about Dave’s memories as a fish filleter, Mark’s childhood experience steering a ship and, an apprentice’s time as an engineer!

In 1973

By Mark Cuerton

When I was 13 yrs old, my dad Maurice Cuerton, eventually agreed to take me to work with him on the fish dock. I’d been asking if I could go all summer, but the morning he actually chose to wake me up was in winter, at 5.30 am – he was fun like that!

I remember when he tried to wake me up, I thought the world was ending, or the house was on fire!! But at 5.30 am EVERY day for 20 years dad dutifully went to work on the docks.

Early morning, my body didn’t function well until I’d had porridge & a cup of tea, & since we had no car, it was still a 30 minute walk to the docks, via the unofficial short cut at New Clee train station. The docks police would question you if they caught you, as the official way on to the dock was via Humber St!

Dad’s job, along with his 4 work mates, was to clean out fishing boat & trawler fish rooms after they’d landed their fish – spratters were the worst I recall.

The fish rooms & all the wooden boards had to be clean & hygienic for the next trip to sea. I think dad’s company was called BDS Chemiclean, part of Tom Sleights. There was only ONE 60ft steel barge to clean all manner of fishing boats in fish docks 1 – 3; she was loaded with water & high pressure hoses that were so powerful, they could cut your fingers off!

On dark frosty mornings the deck was covered in ice, which made it a dangerous place for anyone, let alone a child, but in the 70’s, H & S wasn’t a big thing!!

Everything had to be defrosted in winter. The big old barge engine was started first as this offered a little warmth & brought an icy steel hulk to life, & I seem to remember all the pumps & barge engine being started by crank handle back then – not like turning an ignition key today!

The water they put in the fish rooms from the high powered hoses had to be pumped out. Most of the ‘snibbys’ (wooden fishing boats) had a hand pump on deck which I’d pump – it kept me occupied & I felt my muscles develop quickly during this period.
I learned things like tying up the barge along side a trawler. Often, when there were plenty of boats in, they were rafted side by side, & you’d have to clamber over one boat’s deck to clean the fish room of the next one.

I was never allowed down the fish room ever, but there was always plenty of pumping to do on deck.

My dad & his work crew often got a nice hand out of fish for a quick barrow job, which kept us fed at home a couple of times a week – we had all manner of fish which wasn’t that popular on the fish market – ugly looking fish I remember, but skinned & cooked beautifully by dad who used to be a cook in the merchant navy.

You had to watch out for the Dock’s police who could fine you for taking fresh fish from the dock with no bill of sale, but the night watchmen on the fishing boats always seemed to get plenty of fish – I’m not sure how they did it, so night watchmen were good to know!
Through the summer, after a while getting used to the way the barge manoeuvred, Pete the foreman gave me a go steering this beast of a barge with an open topped wheelhouse. It was magic driving it around the docks & made me feel immensely proud & grown up.

We pulled up along side this trawler one time & a lad my age, that was with his grandfather night watchman, was mega impressed with my helmsmanship & bringing the barge alongside a wooden snibby that would have crumpled if I’d got it wrong! Yes, I remember feeling big headed then!

Working on the docks, or rather helping dad & his crew, fuelled my love of ships. Whilst other lads were discovering girls, I was gazing at ships – a bit of a geek! I was always artistic though & all things marine were imprinted on my mind, which made it easy for me to draw ships, both from memory or real life. I spent hours drawing on the fish dock.

Memories of Grimsby Docks

By Dave Mackie

Grimsby docks was a very different place in those days. There was about 5000 people working there. I’d catch the bus to Riby Square, and it was always a rush to get to work although there wasn’t cars about in those days.

Without the Ice Factory, we’d be stuck because back in those days deep sea trawlers went to Iceland and the fish was needed to keep the fish cold. The trawlers would land thousands of boxes, between 10 – 12,000 kits from Iceland, the North Sea and Scotland. Sometimes fish even landed on a Saturday. The work was quite labour intensive and you had to be tough to survive. You had to make sure to look busy, otherwise they’d find something for you to do and there was no machinery to help you.

A key part of the docks was the market and this was a hub on the pontoon. Barrows were used to carry kits of fish and transport them to a wagon. Each kit would weigh about 11 and a half stone including the fish and the weight of the box, you’d then have to pull these to the wagons. Each one had 50 kits on and only 2 people to move them. Nowadays they use modern machinery like forklifts, but we didn’t have this in our day.

The fish curing process had a few steps to it. In fish curing, you’d have what we call ‘houses’ which are chimneys. The chimneys had railings on either side which you’d climb up to hang the fish, once you’d done this you’d light the fire at the bottom and use oak wood shavings to give the fish the flavour. Before this though, you’d brine them filling tubs with water and salt and putting colouring in to give them a ‘lemon’ shade although they’d look orange at first. You stagger this so that they would be ready one after another and they would be drip dried before hanging them in the ‘houses’. Work finished at 5pm when all the fish was filleted and hung in the ‘houses’.

Work on the docks was hard and could be scary. For example, to cross the pontoon, there was a special ramp you had to cross which you had to run like hell down to get up the other side this was all whilst pulling a barrow weighing about 70 stone! Doing this the first time was quite scary, but you got used to it after a couple of times. There were lighter moments during these times though, as a 15 year old starting out I was quite naive and the older filleters would play jokes on you. One time, I was asked to go out for a ‘long stand’ and I didn’t know what it was. So I went down to one of the shops, and asked for one, the shopkeeper said “Wait there” and then smiled, before I realised what a ‘long stand’ was.

I worked for Atkinson’s Fish Curers which used to be on Henderson Street, but it isn’t there anymore. I don’t think the new filleters now would put up with what we did back then. There was good banter on the docks which helped to make the hard work easier sometimes. In three words, I would describe the docks as tough, eye-opening and overall a good experience.

Children's Stories

By Immersive Tales

The following stories were written by young people attending Immersive Tales’ story writing workshops in spring 2025. Immersive Tales’ mission is to support children’s developing imaginations and literacy skills through story writing.

Many people were involved in the making of this book. Firstly, the children from both schools who worked really hard and with great enthusiasm and their brilliant teachers.

Allahawanga Junior 3 and the Evil Octopus

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean there was a lonely diamond island where Allahawanga Junior the third had just woken up from a nice dream. He had been dreaming of eating pizza. When he woke up, he was excited because he thought it would be a great day. When he got up, he cooked octopus for breakfast and he enjoyed it.

But what he didn’t know was that there was going to be a mission that day. He went to his secret base under the water and his boss said,

“Are you ok today?”

He said “yes”.

He put his shoes on and he went into his special flying car, his boss had told him there was a big octopus in the sea.

His car flew over the water and the he saw the big octopus.

He got out his weapons. He jumped out his flying car and the octopus caught him and he started slashing at the big octopus’s tentacles. The Octopus got mad. Allahawanga started flying again and his laser eyes burnt the octopus. The octopus after gave up after a while and started healing itself. Then his slimy tentacles grabbed Allahwanga Junior the third around the chest and he squeezed him so hard that Allahwanga Junior the third couldn’t breathe. He shot at the tentacles with his laser eyes, flesh burned and slime came out and the octopus was defeated.

Allahwanga Junior the third had a party at his house.

This is Allahawanga’s big adventure, facing his fears using his superpowers.

The End.

Christian and the Invisible Water Town

Christian was a young man. He’d just turned eighteen and he had no idea about his future or of dangers coming his way. He lived in The Invisible Water Town where life is peaceful, cold, sunny on some days and green.

One day he was in bed sleeping when his mom called him downstairs. He went down and sat at the dinner table and ate his breakfast and then went to get dressed. He found a pair of jeans and a hoodie and went outside for a little walk around the park.

Suddenly, he saw a huge mysterious creature under the crystal-clear floor. He looked at this surreal creature and then ran home looking as though he’d seen a ghost. He was mumbling something under his heavy breathing while looking for his mom. She was nowhere to be seen. He found a note and when he opened it written in red paint it said,

“If you want her back give us 2.3 million pounds”.

He looked at it with a mixture of anger and sadness. He crumpled it up and threw it in the bin looking as if he’s about to cry but he held his tears in. He paced around the room thinking of a plan to save his mom. He knows he doesn’t have the money.

So, beware of where you walk and stay away from the North Sea.

The End.

Conner JR Finds the Power Shark

Chapter 1: 1758
In Paris I’d just woken up from my mid-day nap. I put on my joggers, shirt, socks and my coat. Then my dad said,
“Let go fishing Conner Jr”.

I said “OK, I’ll get the fishing rods and let’s get on the ship”.

An hour later we had caught some fish.

“We need to get more fish then we can get back to Paris,” said Dad.

But something happened below decks. My dad said,

“Conner Jr go check what’s wrong”.

I found a leak. I boarded it up then I heard shouting from above. I went up and then I saw my dad was not there. So, I grabbed my spear. Then I saw a mark made by a shark’s teeth……

Chapter 2: Find my Dad
It had been too many days without my dad. Now it just me. My mum had been killed by a man and my sister had vanished. I decided it was my mission to find my sister and my dad.

I started to get the stuff I needed and I grabbed my picture of my Mum and Dad then I start to cry.

I can’t do this by myself. I need to ask my friends for help.

I said “We need armour and before our journey starts. We need to get some weapons too”.

Quickly we boarded a ship.

“Theo you are on the wheel, Alex you man the cannons, George you are with me”.

George said “Look, blood!”

Yeah, it was blood. Following the blood could be the way to somewhere. an hour later we saw nothing just this, a sleeping girl.

Half an hour later she woke then she got a knife and I said,

“Are we good?”

Then she said “OK. My name is Jasmin”.

I told her there was armour in the back. Jasmin said OK and a minute later Jasmin is back from the back room. She said she was 18 years old and asked how old we were.

Conner Jr went first and said “I am 18 years old”.

Theo said, “I am 17 years old”.

George said, “I am 17 too.

Chapter 3 The Kingdom
An hour later we found the shark kingdom with evil humans and we went through the entrance. Jasmin came with me and Theo and George stayed on the ship.

An evil human said “Let’s fight”.

I said “OK, if you give me my sister and my dad back”.

Jasmin said “Do not do it Conner Jr” but I said,

“I have to”.

We started fighting and his first punch made me bleed. Then I hit him. An hour later we are weak but then the kingdom started breaking down.

Jasmin got me back to the ship. Then as night came down Jasmin said,

“Conner Jr””

“Then I said “Yeah, what do you want to say to me?”

“Do you think we could more than friends?”

I said “I do not know”.

Then she said “OK” then we looked up at the stars and then we went to sleep. In the morning, we said good morning then we went back to find the new kingdom. But we found more blood and then we found more people, but they were dead. We were scared, but I said we would be OK.

Chapter 4: The Army
We saw 4 boats from the UK and Paris. I shouted stop!!!!! Then they all looked at me then they came on my boat and asked why we had shouted. We told them about the Shark kingdom. Then we all went to the kingdom. I was leading and I shouted,
“Charge!!!!!”

Then there was blood everywhere then everyone agreed it should be the King vs me, Conner Jr. So, then I stabbed him dead.

Then Jasmin came to hug me then we kissed. Then we went home.

Chapter 5: Finally
Two years later Conner Jr and Jasmin had three kids.

This is the story of a teenager’s search for his family – will they survive?

The End

Frankie is on an SOS Journey

In the middle of the ocean, Frankie was stranded.

He was fishing on a boat in the daytime and when Frankie was sleeping, out of nowhere, a giant wave came up and washed him off his boat. He was ice cold and he was getting pushed around and waves were crashing in his face. So, he tried to flip the boat over and finally succeeded. He jumped in and tried to get dry but he was still cold, he was freezing cold, but he still tried to fish and then went to the motor and started it up and went to land.

But there was nothing there. He woke up and realised he was still on the boat.

Eventually, after rowing for 25 days he found a deserted island in the ocean. At first, he worried he would starve after all the fish he’d caught were gone. Finally, he realised that there were coconuts and they can be eaten and their leaves also come in handy and he made a roof out of them.

A girl turns up after 9 years. They get married and they have 3 children and they then live happily ever after…

But, in the middle of the ocean he’s on a boat…

The End.

Harry has a Nightmare

In the night while Harry is sleeping, he has a nightmare – it is about a spider called Leo. When Harry is eating his breakfast, he finds he is thinking about Leo more and more. When he goes to school at 8.00, he is getting angry because he is thinking about Leo; he could not work out if the spider in his dream was evil or good.

And what did the dream mean?….

Finally, Harry realised that the spider was really him worrying about his school homework.

That day Harry thought more and more about his homework. When he got home, he decided to make the first big change in his life….

Finally, he has made a change because after his supper he is going to do his homework!

That night he had another dream in which the spider became his best friend.

So, sometimes, a boy dreaming about a spider is only worried about his homework!

The End

Maylock and the Watery Adventure

Once upon a time Maylock lived in a small town called Grimsby. Maylock was a very happy humecat (half human and half cat) with a half white and a half orange face. Her fur was soft and smooth to the touch and she had the most amazing long black whiskers and fur hidden underneath her overalls.

One morning she was very hungry and as she loved to eat fish, mostly salmon, she went to the harbour at the docks and saw a massive pile of fish on a boat.

She strode towards the boat of fish, but there was a problem. The problem was that there were five or six humans guarding the boat.

So, Maylock ran and jumped off the docks into the water. She swam towards the boat and successfully made it and got the fish. She enjoyed eating it in her favourite spot in the bushes right next to another boat of fish.

After eating she realised that she still was not happy, because she was the only humecat in Grimsby, so she decided to set off on a mission to go and find another one like her.

After days of not finding another humecat like her around Grimsby, May finally found another one in the town down the road. She was happy to find another of her kind she asked the humecat if he wanted some fish to share. Her new humecat friend was called was called Ben and he told her that his parents died and that he had not had fish in years. So, he was happy that he was offered some fish!

They became very close friends and they decided to travel the world together, and at the same time they were collecting more humecats like themselves.
The same time all of the humecats were eating fish and having a lot of fun.

They lived a happily ever after all together.

So, someone eating fish alone then finds friends through a journey to find more humecats and to create a community.

The End

Miracle Diddy and the Discovery

Chapter 1
Diddy was a very brave boy and he went to get a job. Everyone he asked for a job said “no” until a guy gave him work cleaning shoes for Central Cee and singing Band 4 Band all day long. The guy paid him £20 a day because his parents were poor.

Chapter 2
Deedee is 15 years old he is a very handsome boy and he is very good at music. His mom and dad were rappers but he does not know this. One day he wakes up in a small bed on one Spell Bay. There his friends tell him to go to school to see a music show. When he gets there, he doesn’t want to go in but his friends beg him to go and so he goes.

Chapter 3
At the school and he is happy that he can sing and rap and he enters and then wins a competition. He and his friends are so happy. His friend’s names are Ice Spice and MJ.

He won £10,000 and a day recording in a studio and he finds this boy, Diddy Drak,e and they become full friends.

Chapter 4
In the studio Spice’s dad arrives and asks him if his name is Deedee. Deedee says,
“Yes, how do you know?”

Spice’s dad tells him he knew Deedee’s father before he died.

Chapter 5
So, Deedee realizes his father was a famous rapper called 50 Cents. This gives Deedee more inspiration to rap. And Deedee discovers 50 Cent’s and Nick Minaj’s music. He was so surprised that his mom and Dad were singers and rappers. Deedee went on to make 500 songs and became the best ever rapper. He is not rich now because he helps people and is known everywhere.

From being poor he became a rich rapper, one boy’s exciting journey.

The End

The Moody Margaret

Chapter 1
It’s a nice day out at the beach. The beach is warm and I can smell the nice clear blue sea. Some kids are playing on the beach and making sand castles. It’s so hot that Margaret is going to go in the sea for a swim.

Margaret went into the sea but, suddenly, she was being strangled by some seaweed. She was fuming. But then it started to choke her but someone got help and the rescue boat came and saved her. But she was still fuming.

Chapter 2
Oh, what a nice day! The sun is shining and I can feel it hot on my back as I’m sitting up against the window playing Block Blast. Margaret might go to see her all her little and her big cousins because they are all staying at her aunt’s house tonight to have a massive sleepover party. Her aunt is getting them all loads of sweets and snacks.

Chapter 3
Margaret didn’t go to her aunt’s sleepover because she was going to one at her friend’s house. She got her bag ready for the sleepover because she was so excited and she couldn’t wait. A few hours later she got a phone call from her friend and she thought:

“Yay, it’s time to go and have the sleepover”, Margaret was so happy she was jumping about but then she answered the phone and said:

“Hello, I can’t wait for your sleepover. What time is your sleepover?”

But her friend Oliva replied:

“I’m so sorry, but I can’t have my sleepover today”.

“OK” said Margaret

“I might see you another day” said Oliva,

“Yes, see you another day” said Margaret acting as though she didn’t seem bothered but, actually, she was not impressed.

The next day she got a phone call from Oliva:

“Do you want to have a sleepover today?”

“Yes” said Margaret “but you’d better have it today”.

“Yes, in fact I will come and get you now and then we can go and buy some snacks, sweets and drinks for later” replied Oliva.

This made Margaret so happy. So off they went.

But OMG! The sleepover goes wrong…………………..

The End.

The North Sea

Chapter 1
Once upon a time Didi Drake was the best fisherman in Great Grimsby. When his family were told that his crew is off to the North Sea they started to panic.

Drake’s Dad said,
I’m worried that the boat will crash”.

Drake said to his family,
“Everything will be okay and don’t panic. We’ll be off in the next 48hrs”.

Chapter 2
In the 1950s there was only time for fishing and boats setting off to sea and catching fish for supper. No-one would be able to eat until they caught some fish.

Because Great Grimsby was the biggest fishing port, when the fishermen were on the boats they felt alive, busy on the sea catching as many fish as they could. They sailed them to the dock before they left shore again and went into the North Sea.

Chapter 3
Life on the North Sea is life threatening because the waves go higher than the boats. So that’s why people are so scared of the sea.
The North Sea has some of the scariest sea life, like Killer Whales and Megalodon Sharks, Stingrays and Blue Whales.
When he thought of this, Didi Drake was getting more scared every second, he kept thinking that the boat would crash in the middle of the North Sea.

Chapter 4
When they leave the fishing port, they hear news that there has been a terrorist attack on some fishermen by some pirates. The pirates made the fisherman walk of the edge of the boat and then they fell in the sea and drowned and that was what kicked off Didi Drake’s anxiety. He didn’t want to go to sea anymore but his friend Jake made him go because he had already been picked to go. There was time for him to say his last goodbye to his family and spend time with his friends and other people of his skin.

As they sailed it started to become hotter. Didi is counting the hours, he only has 10 until his boat reaches the shore.

Chapter 5
As they started packing up their clothes, there was a disruption on the North Sea. There was a storm heading towards the boat. Then Didi Drake’s crew was panicking, they all think his boat will sink just like the Titanic. He is scared of the sea he doesn’t want this to be his last minutes alive. He found a boy called Dede and they became friends. Dede made him go overboard and Didi survived and so was not scared any more.

Chapter 6
When they returned to the docks, Didi Drake realised the sea really isn’t scary and once you get back you can see your family again. He decided he didn’t need to worry about the North Sea again. Only one person had died and that was because he jumped off the boat to catch a fish!

This story is about the North Sea and why it is not scary conquering it and your fears.

The End.

Down on the Docks

By Anonymous

As an apprentice when I left school, my father died when I was 15, and it was not an option to go on to further education. I took an apprenticeship at Consolidated Fisheries, as a marine fitter. It was an eye opener going from school into an apprenticeship! Back then everyone started at 7am and everyone went to work on a bicycle or a bus.

The buses were awful, the smoke on the top deck was awful! Some of the men were so oily that they looked like leather and the smell of the docks was so pungent, the smell permeated across Grimsby. Condemned fish was taken away by lorries and this leaked out of lorries which you had to avoid if on a bicycle.

My apprenticeship lasted 5 years, I finished at 21 and went into the merchant navy because my ambition was to travel and I wanted to follow my father’s footsteps as a mariner. After 7-8 years working in the merchant navy, I came back to Grimsby and took a job as a foreman for a trawler company and as the years went on I was given charge of different departments like blacksmiths, plumbers and electricians. I did this until 1979-1980 when companies started going bust.

Down on the docks, everybody would be trying to make each other’s life easier. You knew everybody down there. Like a family down there. Everybody knew everybody. Another side to the industry was the lifestyle of the trawler owners. They could get anything done at home, like getting the ship painters to paint the boss’ house. When there wasn’t much on you’d get a phone call asking for two men to trim a hedge, or to come out to Sandilands to do jobs around the house – the big houses with the tennis courts! Everything at no extra cost, all on the books disguised as something else. It happened a lot with smaller firms, but this was the norm. The women that worked in the cafes were characters, I remember one at one of the cafes who always had a cigarette in her mouth with an inch of ash hanging off – Cannings. It was always rammed first thing in the morning, with fish workers and then the engineers.

The Docks was a unique place. It was regular and virtually guaranteed employment. When it went downhill, some people might not have worked again. Working on the docks came with reputation, the fish filleters lived on their reputation and it was easy to go from one company to another. I remember the noise when they were selling kits of fish on the pontoon, thousands and thousands of pounds. It was sad that all those jobs were lost. It was easy to spot the 3 day millionaires, they’d have a taxi driver for the whole day and the men had suits made in quite garish colours with bell bottom trousers and pleated jackets with a cap to match – there was no disguising them! In the early days as an apprentice the atmosphere seemed quite harsh looking back on it. But I’m still in touch with the apprentices from back then – you made lasting friendships.

Pranks were a key part of life on the docks. Especially between the electricians and the apprentices. Whilst doing work to a ship, as the electricians were up the masts changing light bulbs they would throw them at the apprentices and in return the apprentices would stand at the bridge top and throw potatoes back at the electricians. Back then, health and safety didn’t really exist.

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