"It must have been horrendous" - remembering the Gaul tragedy, 50 years on
A series of events in Hull will commemorate the Gaul trawler tragedy.
50 years on from the Gaul trawler tragedy which took the lives of all 36 crew, Hull's fishing community will come together today (8 February 2024) to remember those who were lost.
After a minute's silence held at 11am, a mural is being unveiled at the Hull Fishing Heritage Centre, followed by a reception for families of those who died on the Gaul in February 1974.
30 of the trawlermen aboard the Gaul were from Hull - one of them was 17-year-old Karl Straker. His best friend and fellow trawlerman Jerry Thompson is now the chair of Hull Fishing Heritage Centre.
Jerry said: "I remember them telling me the Gaul had been lost and I screamed out: 'no please don't let this happen.'
"We've just gone and done the mural here on the wall, we've got the ceremony and a lot of things happening after that. I think if Karl could see all this he'd buy me a pint - because I'd certainly buy him one."
Just weeks before the Gaul was lost, on Christmas Eve 1973, Jerry was shipwrecked aboard the Ian Fleming and narrowly survived - three of the crew lost their lives. On 12 January Jerry went back out to sea, followed days later by Karl who joined the Gaul's crew.
Jerry said: "The crew was on the deck screaming and we all thought we were going to die there and then. When the lights went out on the ship because the engine room flooded - I'll be honest - I screamed out for my mother. I was 17, I was a young lad."
Jerry said: "One day in a pub Karl said to me I was hero because I was one of the lucky ones to come home from a disaster, and he was proud of the fact he was my friend.
"I've seen it, I've been there, I've faced it all and I thought I was going to die. For the crew of the Gaul, god bless them, to be on a sinking ship knowing you can't get out, that short time they had before they died must have been horrendous."
A new mural will adorn the MKM stadium ahead of Hull City's Gaul-themed memorial match against Swansea on Saturday, with representatives from Hull FC and Hull KR present before the game.