Fishermen's Mission - the full name of which is The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen - is a British charitable organisation founded and run on
Christian principles. The mission also welcomes the participation and support of persons of other faiths or none.
Foundation
Fishermen's Mission was founded as "the National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen" by
Ebenezer Joseph Mather
Ebenezer Joseph Mather (12 June 1849 – 23 December 1927) was the founder of ''The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen'' now often abbreviated as the Fishermen's Mission. He is affectionally remembered as 'the fisherman's friend'.
Ea ...
in 1881. Mather was disturbed by the poor conditions in which fishermen worked and lived and knew something needed to be done to help alleviate their troubles. In the 19th century fishing was notoriously dangerous with high fatality rates and the occupation remains today as one of the most dangerous.
In 1896 the mission was given the royal approval by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
adding "Royal" to the missions name. The mission helped many during World War I and World War II as scores of fisherman's trawlers were used to help merchant convoys and defence against attacks from the air and for mine sweeping.
Sir Wilfred Grenfell served in this mission until he founded the
Grenfell Mission The Grenfell Mission was a philanthropic organization that provided medical and social services to people in rural communities of northern Newfoundland and Labrador. It was founded by Sir Wilfred Grenfell in 1892 as a branch of The Royal National Mi ...
.
Aims
![Fishermen's Mission - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Fishermen%27s_Mission_-_geograph.org.uk_-_468564.jpg)
The Fishermen's Mission aims to provide financial, emotional and pastoral support to
fishermen
A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish.
Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...
and their families in over 70 ports and harbours throughout the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and the
Isle of Man
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. The Mission Centres provide showers, washing machines, accommodation, food, companionship and recreational activities (such as snooker tables and internet access).
Mission ships
The purpose of a ‘mission ship’ was to provide pastoral and spiritual support for fishermen at sea. The first Mission Ship to be commissioned was ''Alpha'' in 1900, followed by
''Joseph & Sarah Miles'', and ''Queen Alexandra'' in 1902. As well as being hospital ships, they were all equipped with fishing-gear and sent their fish to market with the rest of the fleet.
[RNMDSF (1905) Among the Deep Sea Fishers. Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, Toronto, January 1905. 26pp. http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/hs_fisher/ADSF0204.pdf Accessed 02/07/2018]
The great difference between a Mission ship and an ordinary trawler, in connection with fishing, was that Mission ships did not fish on Sundays, whereas very many of the ordinary steam-trawlers did.
As a hospital ship these vessels carried a surgeon and surgeon's mate, along with a crew capable of turning their hands to nursing. A complete surgical outfit of instruments was available, including the ability to take X-rays. The hospital contained two swing cots and four berths for patients.
Wood (1911) argued that ''"A Mission ship is one of the most interesting vessels afloat. She is a cruising hospital, a place of worship, a tobacco shop, a clothing establishment, a free library, a club-room, an hotel, and a recreation ground. If a smacksman is sick or injured, he will be fetched on board and receive skilled attention until he is better; if he wants to attend service and hoists a signal to indicate his wish, the Mission boat will call for him"''.
[Wood, W. (1911) North Sea Fishers and Fighters. Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co. London. 366 pp. https://archive.org/stream/northseafishersf00woodrich/northseafishersf00woodrich_djvu.txt - Accessed 02/07/2018]
See also
*
Apostleship of the Sea
The Apostleship of the Sea is an agency of the Catholic Church. It is also sometimes known as ''Stella Maris'' (Star of the Sea), and its patron is the Virgin Mary as Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Founded in Glasgow, Scotland in the early 20th centur ...
*
Sailors' Society
Sailors’ Society is an international Christian charity working in ports across the world. The organisation has chaplains and ship visitors in 91 global ports, who help seafarers and their families, from all faiths and none, with welfare and pract ...
*
Mission to Seafarers
The Mission to Seafarers (formerly The Missions to Seamen) is a Christian welfare charity serving merchant crews around the world. It operates through a global Mission 'family' network of chaplains, staff and volunteers and provides practical, em ...
References
External links
Official website*
{{Authority control
Borough of Fareham
Charities based in Hampshire
Christian missions to seafarers
Organizations established in 1881
Religion in Hampshire
1881 establishments in the United Kingdom