Betty laughs a lot when she talks about Peter. This May marks four years since she lost her husband, but her love for him is as strong as ever. From a meeting at a local village dance to an adulthood full of friends and family, Betty and Peter’s life together is hard to forget.
With National Fishing Remembrance Day on 11 May this year, we chatted with Betty about her fond memories of Peter to learn more about a man who was so much more than a statistic.
A Smile to Lift the Darkest Moods
Cove Harbour is a small, protected area with just a few boats, but it’s easy to imagine Betty picking Peter out from even the busiest harbour. “I loved when he would come in on the boat and he’d look up and see you and his face would light up.”
She laughed when her grandson described him as stoic. “Yes, but he was a real people person. He loved kids and teaching people about his work with crabs and lobsters.” Betty tells us about how he would often be talking the ears off tourists and kids at the quayside, with an enthusiasm for his work. A fifth-generation fisherman who had spent time as a volunteer coastguard, he was well known and well loved in his small community.
“He was a quiet man until he knew you,” says Betty. He loved Sunday dinners. With everyone around the table, these meals presented the perfect time to gently tease his kids’ and grandkids’ new partners (he had a way of getting people to open up to him) AND the chance to test out some of his favourite material – cheesy jokes.
A Year of Loss
2021 saw an unusual spike in deaths of fishermen around the UK – a total of 10 deaths, the highest annual fatality rate in a decade, and there were 139 incidents involving fishing vessels resulting in crew casualties.
Tragically, Peter was one of those lost, dying of a heart attack after being dragged overboard in an accident at sea. The coastguard and RNLI mounted a search for him, a significant amount of people committed to bring the man loved by a community home.
A friend of Betty’s also lost her fisherman husband around the same time. “We are fortunate. We got our men back. We were able to bury them. Not everyone can.”
Why National Fishing Remembrance Day Matters
Peter is so much more than a number. His life meant something to his community, to the people whose day he brightened teaching about his profession, to his family, to Betty.
Fishing remains one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Peter wasn’t the only fisherman to lose his life at sea. “National Fishing Remembrance Day is important for people who don’t have a grave to go to,” says Betty. “People from all over the world are lost in our waters… These fishermen, they’re risking their lives to do their jobs.”
We will be celebrating and remembering the life of Peter and so many others at memorial services around the UK on 11 May 2025, and everyone is invited to join us in honouring these family members, community legends — these people.
