FISHERMEN IN WAR TIME 



Three fishermen had died in captivity and 21 had 

 been released. The crews or individuals belonged 

 to 57 vessels owned at Grimsby, Hull, Boston, 

 North Shields, Aberdeen, Fleetwood, Montrose, 

 Aberystwith, Deal, Hartlepool, West Hartlepool, 

 Granton and Whitby. 



These fishermen prisoners of war made the best 

 of their captivity. The restrictions imposed upon 

 them with regard to correspondence were severe, 

 and often enough only postcards were sent through 

 by the men to their families or friends. 



A large number of people in England interested 

 themselves in the captives, and ladies, in particular, 

 acted as intermediaries between the men and their 

 families, and maintained a correspondence which 

 might not otherwise have been in existence, because 

 the men themselves in some cases had little aptitude 

 for writing, and their wives had less. 



These lady correspondents were able to keep in 

 close touch with the women folk and children and 

 tell them, either verbally or by letter, how the priso- 

 ners in Germany were faring. If a man in an in- 

 ternment camp sent news of general interest, this 

 would be made known by one or more of the lady 

 correspondents, and so an anxious wife or mother 

 at home would have news of a husband or son which 

 would not have been otherwise obtainable. 



One skipper who was interned at Brandenburg 

 wrote, in October, 1917, to one of these correspon- 

 dents, saying how glad he was to hear that his chil- 

 dren had safely received a postcard he had sent, 



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