An Imagined Blue Plaque for Fred Bacon (1874–1966), Founder of Grimsby, Cleethorpes and District YMCA

We are running The Archive of Unmarked History to remember local people whose lives, achievements and sacrifices deserve to be remembered, but who may never have a physical plaque or memorial of their own. Real plaques are an important way of marking a place and remembering a person, but they are expensive, and funds cannot be found to put plaques everywhere they are deserved. There may also be other reasons why a physical plaque is not possible: a building may have disappeared, a location may have changed, permission may not be available, or there may simply be nowhere suitable for one. But the absence of a physical plaque should not mean that the person and their story are forgotten. A virtual plaque is better than no plaque at all.

Through this growing archive, the Grimsby & Cleethorpes Museum will create a permanent digital record of people whose stories might otherwise be overlooked. Each virtual plaque will tell their story and connect them with the places and communities where they lived and worked. The Archive of Unmarked History does not replace real plaques. Where a physical plaque is possible, that is wonderful. But where it isn't, we can still remember.

Fred Bacon was a Grimsby fish merchant whose commitment to the welfare of young people led to the establishment of Grimsby, Cleethorpes and District YMCA in 1906. His contribution to the organisation continued for many decades, earning him recognition for 50 years of devoted service.

Born on 6 September 1874 at Grainsby, Lincolnshire, Fred came from a farming family. He married Edith Mary Maria Cockerill at Brompton by Sawdon, Yorkshire, on 24 September 1900. He subsequently established himself in Grimsby, where he entered the fish merchandising business with his brother Herbert.

Fred was also involved in the ownership of fishing vessels. In 1905, the steam trawler 'Venture' (GY 66) was built by Cochrane & Sons of Selby for William H. S. Doughty and Fred Bacon jointly. The vessel remained in service for many years before arriving in Bruges, Belgium, for breaking up in April 1956.

Another vessel associated with the Bacon family was the 'Triumph' (GY 294), which was christened by Fred’s wife, Edith. The trawler formed part of Grimsby’s extensive fishing fleet, and museum records place her in Vancouver in 1916. These vessels provide further evidence of the Bacon family’s involvement in the town’s fishing industry.

Fred’s business interests also brought him into partnership with fellow Grimsby fish merchant Fred Lloyd. In 1903, Fred Bacon provided financial backing to Lloyd, and the two became business partners. Their partnership was dissolved in c1910. The 1910–1911 street directory lists their firm as Lloyd & Bacon, fish merchants, at Surtees Street, Fish Docks, Grimsby.

Fred Lloyd later entered the motor trade, establishing Fred Lloyd (Motors) Ltd at Nuns Corner, Grimsby. A surviving letter dated 14 November 1933 shows that Fred Bacon was a customer of the company. Addressed to him at Abbey Road, Grimsby, it concerns fitting a replacement petrol gauge to his Crossley car. Fred Lloyd was the father of Roland Lloyd (1904–1965), who became a significant figure in Grimsby’s motor-manufacturing history. These records provide a tangible link between Bacon’s business career and another chapter in the town’s commercial history.

The YMCA movement in Grimsby had roots extending back to 1866, when prayer meetings were held above the grocer’s shop of James Kirkby Riggall in the Old Market Place. Riggall subsequently helped establish an organised local branch in 1882. In 1906, Fred Bacon founded the Grimsby, Cleethorpes and District YMCA Association. Following a meeting with the British and Foreign Bible Society, the organisation began its activities in two rooms in a building on Heneage Road.

The early development of the YMCA benefited from the financial backing of Thomas Tickler, the prominent Grimsby businessman whose company was well known for its jams and marmalades. Tickler became the association’s first president, and on 23 March 1909 he laid the stone at its premises. His support, alongside Fred Bacon’s initiative, helped establish an organisation that would serve the local community for generations.

Fred remained devoted to the YMCA for many years. In recognition of 50 years’ devoted service, he received the organisation’s Golden Order of the Red Triangle. The award was presented by the Earl of Romney, the YMCA’s national president.

In 1950, Fred wrote to the Grimsby Telegraph expressing his hope that a museum could be established in Grimsby. He was concerned about the loss of the important Haigh Collection, assembled by the local ornithologist and landowner George Henry Caton Haigh of Grainsby Hall. The collection of bird skins had been presented to the British Museum in 1938, and Fred's hope of seeing such material preserved in Grimsby was not realised. The Doughty Museum opened in 1958, but there is no established connection between its creation and Fred's letter.

Fred died at Scartho Road Hospital, Grimsby, on 16 March 1966, aged 91. His funeral took place at St James’s Church, Grimsby, followed by burial at Scartho Road Cemetery. The newspaper report of his funeral recorded that the emblem of the Golden Order of the Red Triangle was placed on his coffin. Donations in his memory were requested for the YMCA rather than flowers.

Fred Bacon left a lasting mark on Grimsby through his work for the YMCA, his involvement in the town’s fishing industry and his concern for preserving its heritage. His 50 years of service to the YMCA earned him the organisation’s Golden Order of the Red Triangle, while his support for a local museum demonstrated his commitment to safeguarding the town’s history for future generations.