Men of Mark: Grimsby’s fishing industry, 1905–1906

A remarkable group of 22 large-format original illustrations depicting prominent figures in Grimsby’s fishing industry at the beginning of the 20th century. Published in the Fish Trades Gazette & Poultry, Game & Rabbits Trades Chronicle in its 1905 and 1906 editions, the portraits were produced under the heading “MEN OF MARK” and are signed by the artist “AEL”.

The men represented include fish merchants, trawler owners, businessmen and other influential figures associated with Grimsby’s rapidly expanding fishing trade. Among them were several of the men who played important roles in the development of steam trawling and the commercial growth of the port. The transition from sail to steam transformed Grimsby’s fishing industry from the 1880s onwards, bringing larger vessels, greater catches and an ever-increasing demand for dock space and associated facilities.

Together, the portraits provide a fascinating contemporary snapshot of the people behind Grimsby’s rise as one of the world’s great fishing ports. Rather than simply recording successful businessmen, the Fish Trades Gazette was celebrating the individuals who formed the commercial and industrial heart of a trade that had transformed the town and its docks within a single generation.

The artist AEL has not yet been identified. The illustrations survive as large-format prints, and the 22 portraits appear to have remained together as an unusually complete group. They were acquired in King's Lynn in early 2024 and have subsequently been brought together in this collage.

The 22 men depicted are: Alfred Bannister; Frank Barrett; Charles Frederick Carter; Fred. B. Coulson; Alfred Genney; John L. Green; George Moody; Alderman H. Mudd, J.P.; Ernest Noble; George Reynolds; R. W. Roberts; T. Robinson; F. E. Hagerup; Henry Kelly; W. S. Letten; W. H. Letten; John R. Mackrill; William Sinderson; Ernest Sleight; Henry Sleight; George W. White; and J. W. Willows.

A rare surviving visual record of the men who stood at the centre of Grimsby’s fishing industry during its great Edwardian expansion.

From the Grimsby & Cleethorpes Museum Collection.