Chosen by the monks of Meaux Abbey, it was named Wyke upon Hull as a new town in the 12th century mainly to export wool. In 1293 the town was acquired by King Edward I who granted it a royal charter and renamed the settlement King`s town upon Hull. It served as a base for Edward I during the first war of Scottish independence and later became the foremost port on the east coast of England.
Hull prospered exporting wool and woollen cloth and importing wine establishing commerce with the Baltic ports. During the 16th and 17th centuries Hull became an affluent town and this is seen in several well-maintained buildings including Wilberforce House, now a museum documenting the life of William Wilberforce.
Whaling played a major role in the town`s fortunes until the mid 19th century as Hull`s prosperity peaked in the decades just before World War I. After the decline of the whaling industry the emphasis shifted to deep sea fishing until the Anglo-Icelandic Cod War of 1975 - 1976. The condition set at the end of this dispute initiated Hull`s economic decline.
The Gaul.
The fishing vessel Gaul was a deep sea factory ship based at Hull, United Kingdom. She sank some time on the night of the 8-9 February 1974 in storm conditions in the Barents Sea, north of Norway. No distress signal was received and her loss was not realised until 10 February after she twice failed to report in. An extensive search operation was launched but no trace of the ship was found, apart from a lifebuoy recovered three months later. Thirty-six crew were lost in the worst peacetime disaster to befall the UK fishing fleet.
The original Formal Investigation in 1974 concluded that the most likely reason for her loss was that she was overwhelmed by a succession of very large waves in heavy seas and capsized. The preliminary investigation had also found deficiencies in the maintenance of chutes, doors and hatches on Gaul's sister ship Kurd, but the relevance of this fact was downplayed at the formal inquiry.
In 1975 the Norwegian trawler Rairo reported snagging her nets on an undersea obstruction in the area where the Gaul was lost. In 1977, however, the UK government decided against launching a search based on this (and other similar) information, despite being confident that this was indeed Gaul. It was argued that such an investigation would add little new information in aid of safety at sea to justify the cost.
Relatives of the crew were thus reluctant to accept the investigation findings because Gaul was one of the most modern ships in the UK fishing fleet - she was only 18 months old. In 1975 a TV programme claimed she had been sunk while engaging in espionage and over the years other theories, including conspiracy theories, have been advanced:
She was captured and interred by the Soviet Union because she was engaged in espionage.
She was sunk by a Soviet submarine for the same reason.
She collided with a submarine engaged in clandestine operations.
She was dragged under after snagging her trawling gear in secret undersea cables.
In 1997 a TV crew, with help from Norwegian experts located the wreck exactly where Rairo had reported the snagging of her nets.
This prompted UK Deputy Prime Minister (and Hull MP) John Prescott to ask the Marine Accident Investigation Branch of the Department of Transport to carry out extensive surveys of the wreck, which it did in 1998 and 2002. From its findings MAIB said there was enough new evidence to warrant a new inquiry. The surveys revealed that some of Gaul's hatches and doors were open and, specifically, the outer non-return flaps and the inner covers to the duff and offal chutes were open. Additionally, the inner cover to the duff chute appeared to be secured open and the ship's steering gear was found to be full over to port. John Prescott agreed and a new investigation was launched (the Re-opened Formal Investigation).
Now read about the Clipper round the world race beginning in Hull.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/8240405.stm
Will you still be in Hull to welcome the race home ?
Hull prospered exporting wool and woollen cloth and importing wine establishing commerce with the Baltic ports. During the 16th and 17th centuries Hull became an affluent town and this is seen in several well-maintained buildings including Wilberforce House, now a museum documenting the life of William Wilberforce.
Whaling played a major role in the town`s fortunes until the mid 19th century as Hull`s prosperity peaked in the decades just before World War I. After the decline of the whaling industry the emphasis shifted to deep sea fishing until the Anglo-Icelandic Cod War of 1975 - 1976. The condition set at the end of this dispute initiated Hull`s economic decline.
The Gaul.
The fishing vessel Gaul was a deep sea factory ship based at Hull, United Kingdom. She sank some time on the night of the 8-9 February 1974 in storm conditions in the Barents Sea, north of Norway. No distress signal was received and her loss was not realised until 10 February after she twice failed to report in. An extensive search operation was launched but no trace of the ship was found, apart from a lifebuoy recovered three months later. Thirty-six crew were lost in the worst peacetime disaster to befall the UK fishing fleet.
The original Formal Investigation in 1974 concluded that the most likely reason for her loss was that she was overwhelmed by a succession of very large waves in heavy seas and capsized. The preliminary investigation had also found deficiencies in the maintenance of chutes, doors and hatches on Gaul's sister ship Kurd, but the relevance of this fact was downplayed at the formal inquiry.
In 1975 the Norwegian trawler Rairo reported snagging her nets on an undersea obstruction in the area where the Gaul was lost. In 1977, however, the UK government decided against launching a search based on this (and other similar) information, despite being confident that this was indeed Gaul. It was argued that such an investigation would add little new information in aid of safety at sea to justify the cost.
Relatives of the crew were thus reluctant to accept the investigation findings because Gaul was one of the most modern ships in the UK fishing fleet - she was only 18 months old. In 1975 a TV programme claimed she had been sunk while engaging in espionage and over the years other theories, including conspiracy theories, have been advanced:
She was captured and interred by the Soviet Union because she was engaged in espionage.
She was sunk by a Soviet submarine for the same reason.
She collided with a submarine engaged in clandestine operations.
She was dragged under after snagging her trawling gear in secret undersea cables.
In 1997 a TV crew, with help from Norwegian experts located the wreck exactly where Rairo had reported the snagging of her nets.
This prompted UK Deputy Prime Minister (and Hull MP) John Prescott to ask the Marine Accident Investigation Branch of the Department of Transport to carry out extensive surveys of the wreck, which it did in 1998 and 2002. From its findings MAIB said there was enough new evidence to warrant a new inquiry. The surveys revealed that some of Gaul's hatches and doors were open and, specifically, the outer non-return flaps and the inner covers to the duff and offal chutes were open. Additionally, the inner cover to the duff chute appeared to be secured open and the ship's steering gear was found to be full over to port. John Prescott agreed and a new investigation was launched (the Re-opened Formal Investigation).
Now read about the Clipper round the world race beginning in Hull.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/8240405.stm
Will you still be in Hull to welcome the race home ?
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