Memories of the trawler Lord Suffolk in Milford Haven

Western Telegraph

11-05-2025

He told us he was from Pembroke Dock, and it was his first ever visit to the Torch.
He said he'd been looking out of the theatre's windows at the docks area, and remarked how different it all was to when he was a fisherman, sailing out of Milford in the 1960's, on the trawler Lord Suffolk, when Sandie Shaw was Number 1 in the charts with Always Something There to Remind Me,
I knew it must have been 1965. And I also knew that thanks to the brief encounter this week's TRM would include a few facts and figures about the Lord Suffolk.
I knew I had a photo of the trawler in my vaults somewhere and after a bit of delving, here's a snap of her taken after she'd been converted from steam to diesel in 1959.
Built in 1929 in Lowestoft: 115 tons, 92 feet long. Local owners included J.C. Llewellin (Trawlers) Ltd and Norrard Trawlers. Landed at Milford at various periods from March 1948 to December 1969.
Skippers included: Jack Chenery, Tom Long, J. Read, Noel Delf, Arthur James, John Donovan, and Jack Clarke.
Interestingly coincidental, when I was a youngster living in Vicary Crescent, skipper Noel Delf and his family lived opposite us, and his sons Michael and Noel junior were pals of mine and part of our gang of reprobates.
Here's a picture from those days taken down Wards Yard of a few of 'our gang' with dogs, and Michael Delf is the lad standing at the back, on the right.
Michael Delf, son of the Lord Suffolk skipper Noel Delf is standing on the right (Image: Jeff Dunn)
I will forever have one memory of skipper Noel which occurred in 1953 at our Crescent's street party for the Queen's coronation. Apparently, Noel had a bet with my dad that he wouldn't 'dress up in drag' for the occasion, the wager being a mugful of whiskey.
Here's how I described it in my charity book Memories are Made of This: "My father emerged, somewhat sheepishly, from my parents' bedroom, and gingerly descended the stairs.
"He was wearing a bright, flowered dress, high heels and had enough make up on to fill a pantomime dame's drawers!
"He was 32 years of age, fit as a fiddle and built like the proverbial brick 'outhouse'. I could see his muscles rippling under the cotton dress and he hadn't shaved his arms."
I still remember the look on Noel Delf's face as he handed my dad his 'prize' and I'm not at all surprised that my dad knocked it back in one swig.
Meanwhile, back on the Lord Suffolk.
Like many other trawlers, in 1939 she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted to a minesweeper.
Here are a few of the WW Guardian news cuttings which followed: "August 1949. A deckhand trimmer on the Lord Suffolk, George Plummer, was rescued unhurt from Milford Docks on Wednesday evening after falling into the water. His cries were heard by a watchman, Mr Donnelly at 10.15pm and a life belt was thrown. Plummer was pulled out with the help of Docks PC Palmer, none the worse for his adventure."
"January 1956. So fresh was the catch landed on Thursday morning by the drifter trawler Lord Suffolk that some of the fish were alive and wriggling as they were sold. The drifter, in charge of skipper Noel Delf, which had fished for only 3 days and brought in 72 kits made 941."
"October 1963. When a Dutch merchant seaman lost his wallet overboard on a voyage to Northern Ireland he gave up all hope of recovering the documents and papers it contained. On returning to Holland, to his
utter astonishment, he found his wallet waiting for him at his home. It had been brought up from the deep sea bed in the nets of Milford trawler Lord Suffolk and sent back to the owner by post with the contents intact. The
Lord Suffolk found the wallet in the cod-end whilst they were fishing on the Chicken Grounds off the Isle of Man.
The Lord Suffolk trawler (Image: Jeff Dunn)
"Skipper James handed it in to the company office on the docks. The contents, which were remarkably well preserved, were found to include the merchant navy identity documents of the Dutch seaman, Mr. A. A. Verdonk,
with the assistance of the mate of a Dutch dredger then working out of Milford harbour, the wallet was returned back to the owner in Holland."
The final news item is from a WWG of March 1972: "Thick fog in the harbour was the cause of the Milford trawler Lord Suffolk running into the partially constructed Amoco jetty off Gellyswick. She got jammed and was lucky to escape sinking.
"The trawler, in charge of skipper Jack Clarke, Shakespeare Avenue, was on her way to land her catch on the morning tide. The harbour was blanketed by very thick fog when the Lord Suffolk ran into the eastern end of the massive jetty and got jammed there. A spokesman for Norrard Trawlers, the vessel's owners, said: "It was a very serious situation. The tide was rising fast and the ship could have sunk. Her skipper told me that he was blowing the siren for a long time to attract attention to their plight, but because of the fog there were a lot of other ships' sirens being sounded, and I suppose the Lord Suffolk's went un-noticed.
"The skipper eventually sent up a distress rocket and the Conservancy Board launched and a Wimpey tug went to the trawler's assistance and got her off the jetty. The Norrard director added: "The Lord Suffolk's foremast is down, her deck and deck rails on the bow section are badly damaged, and her mizzen mast is also damaged. She will be out of operation for some time undergoing repairs." The ship landed her catch the same day and made 1070.
"The harbourmaster, Captain Guilford Dudley, stated: "At about 4am on Thursday the Signal Station duty staff heard a ship's siren sending the "Y" call, which means "I require assistance." The launch Skomer (coxswain Harold Price) went to investigate, joined by the pilot cutter Grassholm. They found the trawler Lord Suffolk jammed underneath the Amoco jetty on a rising tide. With the help of a Wimpey tug the Skomer got the trawler off the jetty and escorted her into Milford Docks."
In 1976, the Lord Suffolk was sold for breaking up.
I'm grateful to my fellow rock 'n' roll fan from Pembroke Dock who was instrumental in helping me to show how true Sandie Shaw's words were, there is indeed "Always something there to remind me."
That's all from me, hope you've enjoyed another flashback. I leave you with these words of wisdom from Maurice Goudeket: "I get up before anyone else in my household, not because sleep has deserted me in my advancing years, but because an intense eagerness to live draws me from my bed."
Take care, please stay safe.