A family connection to the River Tyne
My Great Grandfather, Joseph William Dunn, lived with his family in South Shields and had a little fishing boat, a coble, which was docked on the south side of the River Tyne. It was called 'Squirt' - a funny name but I love it! Joseph's daughter, Jean, met and married Raymond Nicholson, my Grandfather, who served in the Merchant Navy during the second world war. Grandad shared Joseph's great love for the sea and travelled the world during the war, playing cricket with the locals wherever his ship docked. Our family have a deep and long connection with the sea and there is no place I'd rather be. Whenever I'm by the coast and watching the boats coming and going I think of Great Grandad out fishing in his little coble and Grandad on the large merchant fleet ships. It is their stories that inspired my love for the sea and for seascape photography, a treasured and enduring gift.
While they both suffered hardships and injury at sea while out making their livings, both always came home and lived good long lives. Grandad lost many friends and ship mates at sea, he never really talked about that with me but you could see it in his eyes as he shared his stories.
North Shields Fishermen's Heritage Project
In 2017, The North Shields Fishermen's Heritage Project invited members of the local community, including artists and photographers, to contribute their work to support the project.
With Joseph and Raymond in mind, it was with no hesitation that I jumped at the chance to get involved in a small way in supporting the local community project that raised funds for a lasting memorial for fishermen who have lost their lives at sea. It was an honour to have been invited to contribute some of my framed prints to the fundraising campaign. These were raffled at community events and raised over £1,000 towards the cost of the tribute.
Below are a couple of photos taken and kindly shared by Alison Spedding of some of the raffle prize winners of my framed prints.
