The Spy Who Stole a Trawler

Forgotten stories of heroes, villains, disasters and triumphs from the UK fishing fleet

A haul of forgotten tales of espionage, derring-do, triumph, disaster, heroes and villains trawled from our fishing fleets by acclaimed Hull-based writer, Brian W. Lavery. This collection includes the tale of the spy who stole a trawler and led the authorities on an 8,000- mile sea chase with just a penny atlas to guide him; ex-Roedean girl Dora Walker, a skipper before women could vote, who sailed with a pistol on her waist and tamed some tough fishermen too; Skipper Billy Euston who saved more from the Lancastria than were rescued from the Titanic, yet was all but erased from history by Winston Churchill; the group of women known as the ‘headscarf revolutionaries’ who battled to improve safety laws for fishermen; and many tragic fishing disasters and brave rescues, whose ripples lasted long in their local communities. Delve deep into this remarkable collection compiled by a writer described as ‘the undisputed expert of Fleet Street sea stories’.