'Edna Sue' GY.419, Grimsby – November 1980

This rare original colour slide, photographed in November 1980, shows the commercial fishing vessel 'Edna Sue' GY.419 only a year after her construction. It provides an uncommon record of the vessel under her original name during the early stages of her working career.

Built in 1979 by South Ocean Services (Commercial Craft) Ltd in Southampton, Edna Sue was constructed as a conventional stern trawler for bottom trawling. She featured forward crew accommodation, aft fish and engine rooms, and a main-deck wheelhouse overlooking an aft working deck equipped with a trawl winch, a layout typical of modern British fishing vessels of the period.

During her working life, 'Edna Sue' was converted from a stern dragger to a beam trawler, reflecting the adaptability of commercial fishing vessels to changing fishing methods and operational requirements. She was later renamed 'Gemma Fidelis' GY.419 and continued her career from Grimsby. In 2001, while operating as 'Gemma Fidelis', the vessel was involved in a fatal fishing accident off the River Tees that became the subject of a Marine Accident Investigation Branch report, leading to recommendations that helped improve safety within the commercial fishing industry. She subsequently transferred to Portavogie, County Down, Northern Ireland, where she continued fishing as 'New Venture' N.304. (N = Newry.)

Taken at the beginning of a long and varied career, this original colour transparency preserves the appearance of a modern trawler that served the fishing fleets of Grimsby and Northern Ireland. Today, it provides a valuable record of the evolution of Britain's commercial fishing industry and the remarkable career of this vessel.

From the Grimsby & Cleethorpes Museum collection.