Below is the history of the fishing community of Grimsby, and moreover here is represented the story of the appalling cost many of our men pay to follow their chosen trade.

The Foundation Stone sited now above the door of the Chapel was originally placed in the entrance of the Bethel Mission, Cleethorpes and bears the names of the Trustees of that time. To local people all of them are names of past leaders to the fishing industry, some of the children and grandchildren remain leaders still.

The 1914-19 War Memorial made of marble in the centre of the left wall of this Chapel has above it a descriptive plaque outlining its history. The centre panel depicts a widowed mother and child (with a small trawler in the background) dressed in the clothes of the period, and this can still be remembered as the mode of dress for fishermen's wives by many of the elder people in the town today. Great care has been taken by the artist to give attention to detail, even to the laces in the boots of the woman and the lace petticoat of the child. The memorial was erected at an original cost of £600.

The Memorial Boards affixed either side of the war memorial on the left wall, record the names of each man lost at sea since 1920 and who have no known grave. The intention was to continue where the war memorial finished, and the information has been faithfully recorded whenever it has been available. The first of the boards was unveiled on December 28th 1930 by Mr. T.W. Bascombe J.P. during the ministry of the then Port Missioner W.H. Smedley.

You will notice that on some occasions the entire crew of a trawler was lost, as in the case of the S.T. Leicester which sank on the 28th January 1932. A reporter of the time records the following description of events, "The bodies of the crew were washed ashore and as they were picked up were place in black coffins and brought home to Grimsby. The funeral service took place at the Bethel Mission followed by interment at the Scartho Road Cemetery Grimsby. The roads en route to the burial ground were packed with people who silently stood to pay their last respects to the men who go down to the sea in ships". At the foot of the memorial boards in this Chapel we have placed frames in which on such occasions as birthdays, anniversaries and the like, the widows and children can insert cards bearing the names of their loved ones, together with flowers of remembrance in the flower holders. There are those who come for this purpose regularly, and one widow made the pilgrimage for over thirty years. To those whose loved ones have no known graves, this Chapel and this custom has become precious and has brought a great deal of comfort.

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