208 NORTH SEA FISHERS AND FIGHTERS 



I am concerned solely with the North Sea work of 

 the society, which has extended its area of operations 

 enormously, and aims at covering every phase of the 

 British fishing industry, afloat and ashore, without 

 clashing in any way whatever with other marine agencies. 

 There is the great and wonderful work which Dr. 

 Grenfell is carrying on in Labrador work in which the 

 King has shown a marked personal interest and the 

 lesser branches round the coasts ; but the main adventure 

 is on the North Sea, amongst the fleeters. Dr. Grenfell 

 laboured zealously to put that North Sea undertaking on 

 a firm basis before he devoted his untiring energy to 

 Labrador, and I well remember talking with him on the 

 east coast in the early Nineties and listening to his 

 enthusiastic prophecies as to the future. I do not think 

 that even " Grenfell of Labrador" dared to hope for such 

 a wonderful result as that which has attended his efforts, 

 yet doubtless now he is on the verge of far greater things, 

 for he has won the earnest co-operation of energetic and 

 resourceful men of business in America. 



It is with the North Sea man that so many zealous 

 workers are connected, notable amongst them being 

 Sir Frederick Treves, Bart. Sir Frederick has been 

 associated with the work, especially at the London 

 Hospital, from the beginning, and he has lived to see 

 wonderful changes in the system of handling injured and 

 sick smacksmen. 



Before the coming of the Mission death and suffering 

 were inseparable from the toil of the banks ; death and 

 suffering there are to-day, but death has been robbed of 

 something of its gloom and terror, and suffering has been 

 vastly alleviated by the surgeons who attend to cases out 



