0:00:02 > 0:00:03This is the North Sea.
0:00:03 > 0:00:06100 years ago, at the start of the First World War,
0:00:06 > 0:00:07this was the front line.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10Hundreds of people died here and the sea floor beneath me
0:00:10 > 0:00:12is littered with wrecks.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15But many of the stories of what actually happened here, have been
0:00:15 > 0:00:17largely forgotten.
0:00:17 > 0:00:18When you think of the First World War,
0:00:18 > 0:00:21you think of people in khaki suits fighting in mud,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24whereas, actually, you need to think of people in blue suits
0:00:24 > 0:00:27floating around in the North Sea.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30The war in the North Sea was a life and death struggle
0:00:30 > 0:00:34and one incident in particular sums up the harshness of the battle.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38At the centre of it all was the captain of a trawler from Grimsby.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42William Martin's story raises serious issues about war crimes,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45humanity and the appalling moral dilemmas
0:00:45 > 0:00:48faced by many during the conflict.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52Now, his family wants to know how an ordinary trawlerman
0:00:52 > 0:00:54became a controversial and divisive figure.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Why did he get ostracized by people for doing something
0:00:58 > 0:00:59that he thought was right?
0:01:09 > 0:01:13In the First World War, Grimsby was one of Britain's busiest
0:01:13 > 0:01:15fishing ports.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Pat Thompson's great grandfather, William Martin,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21a trawler captain, worked here all his life.
0:01:21 > 0:01:27It was a fantastic place. 20,000 men worked on the docks, at least.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30And the sort of fishing your great-grandfather did,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33do you know what would be involved day-to-day in his work?
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Don't forget, when he was doing it, there were no electronic gadgets.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39No fish finder or anything.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43No fish finder, it was all done by knowledge of the local fishing area,
0:01:43 > 0:01:45the waters around in the North Sea.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48A very hard life.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52In 1914, Skipper Martin was 42.
0:01:52 > 0:01:53He'd always worked at sea.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57At home, he had a wife and six young children to support.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03When war broke out, trawlermen like William Martin were bringing
0:02:03 > 0:02:06vital food supplies across the North Sea,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10but they were also suspected of spying on German vessels.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13From the start, they found themselves vulnerable
0:02:13 > 0:02:15to enemy attacks.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18There were great fears on the side of the German Navy,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21that the trawlers were acting as scouts, that they would use wireless
0:02:21 > 0:02:24to warn the British and the last thing the Germans wanted,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26was the British intercepting them.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29In the very first month of the war, August 1914,
0:02:29 > 0:02:3226 East Coast vessels were lost.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Ten of these were from the port of Boston, south of Grimsby.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38Nearly 80 men were taken prisoner.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42A German naval squadron came in to the North Sea.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45There was destroyers, cruisers and light-fast ships,
0:02:45 > 0:02:50which basically came up onto them, took the men off the boats.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55Some had bombs planted on them and others were shelled and torpedoed.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57The men were then loaded onto the boats
0:02:57 > 0:03:00and taken back to Germany, basically, as prisoners of war.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04It was the first sign of the new dangers facing
0:03:04 > 0:03:06trawlermen in the North Sea.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10These Lincolnshire crewmen would be held captive in Germany
0:03:10 > 0:03:14for more than four years, only returning home after the war.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19In terms of trawlers, we reckon that about one out of every three
0:03:19 > 0:03:23vessels that had been around in 1913 didn't survive the war.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26It was an enormous loss, when you think about it.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33In December 1914, the German Navy shelled Scarborough, Whitby
0:03:33 > 0:03:36and Hartlepool, killing more than 100 people.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38For fishermen and their families,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42the war had come dangerously close to home.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47This was unprecedented. This was an attack by state-of-the-art war
0:03:47 > 0:03:50vessels on what was ostensibly an unarmed town.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Soon, things went from bad to worse.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59In June 1915, a German zeppelin dropped 60 bombs on Hull,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03killing 25 and injuring 100.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Parts of the city were totally destroyed.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09There could be no doubt that the East Coast was in the front line.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11The effect was enormous.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15You know, this was an attack that people didn't expect,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17because, of course, this was a total war.
0:04:17 > 0:04:18It was a new type of war.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22A total war, is a war where every damage to economy
0:04:22 > 0:04:25and society is mobilised, and that includes civilians.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32Here in Hull, angry mobs attacked shops and businesses thought
0:04:32 > 0:04:35to be owned by Germans, and for the fishermen out at sea
0:04:35 > 0:04:37the dangers were increasing,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39as German U-boats began to target trawlers.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Skipper Martin would have known these risks, when in February
0:04:47 > 0:04:511916, he set off from Grimsby on the south bank of the Humber.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55100 miles offshore, his trawler, the King Stephen,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58discovered a crashed German airship.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Clinging to the wreckage were 16 enemy airmen and all of them
0:05:02 > 0:05:03were still alive.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06The trawler skipper, William Martin, had a choice to make,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09to save the airmen or to leave them to die.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12He refused to rescue them and all of them drowned.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16The decision made headlines around the world.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19Now, Pat Thomson wants to find out why his great-grandfather
0:05:19 > 0:05:22wouldn't rescue the enemy aircrew.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26I would like to know what sort of feelings he had and coming
0:05:26 > 0:05:31up on a zeppelin with people, what actually went through his mind.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33The family has always known about this
0:05:33 > 0:05:36and it just has been something that has been said.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Nobody actually followed it up and I'm probably the first one to
0:05:40 > 0:05:42delve that deep.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45To some, Skipper Martin had committed a war crime.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49To others, he had done the right thing at a time of conflict.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51But to understand his decision, we've got
0:05:51 > 0:05:54to look at how our fishing industry and ports became
0:05:54 > 0:05:58locked in a bitter war, fought along the Yorkshire, Lincolnshire coast.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04By this time, trawlermen were at risk from all directions,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06above and below the sea.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09German U-boats were a lethal new weapon.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Fast, almost invisible and capable of travelling
0:06:13 > 0:06:15long distances from their home ports.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20At times, the U-boats were really a formidable threat for trawlers
0:06:20 > 0:06:21and fishing vessels.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24A single submarine might be able to take out between 40 and 50,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27and those casualties were not unusual.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Something had to be done to protect the fishing fleet
0:06:32 > 0:06:34and their communities.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Coastal defences were strengthened, and aeroplanes,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40a new way of waging warfare, were introduced.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44We hadn't had aeroplanes for very long, had we?
0:06:44 > 0:06:46So these people were not only grappling with new technology
0:06:46 > 0:06:48hundreds of feet up in the air
0:06:48 > 0:06:51but they were taking on or looking for the enemy.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Anti-zeppelin aircraft were developed
0:06:54 > 0:06:57and planes capable of dropping bombs on ships.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02It was a very crowded and congested part of the war
0:07:02 > 0:07:05and a crucial part that we tend to have forgotten about.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Seaplanes made missions to protect the fishing fleet in the North Sea.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12In the Humber, sea forts were built to guard against raids
0:07:12 > 0:07:14from the German Navy.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Spurn Point, on the mouth of the Humber,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27became a military camp.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29This was part of the defences.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33It's a sound mirror, a primitive pre-cursor of radar,
0:07:33 > 0:07:37which enabled sound operators to listen out for approaching aircraft.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40So you'd often find men up here late at night with a microphone
0:07:40 > 0:07:44trying to detect if a zeppelin was looming in the distance.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49During the First World War, it feels very much
0:07:49 > 0:07:53like Spurn was at the front line.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55What exactly was happening here?
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Troops were based down here, there were garrisons on the point,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02garrisons at the head of Spurn in Kilnsea,
0:08:02 > 0:08:07and this was just one of the vital strategic locations
0:08:07 > 0:08:09for the military operation.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13In a severe storm last December, part of the point was swept away,
0:08:13 > 0:08:18revealing these remains of a railway jetty where supplies
0:08:18 > 0:08:20landed for the men guarding the fishing ports.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24This is impressive. This is First World War, as well, is it?
0:08:24 > 0:08:29Yes, this has opened up in the tidal surge, so it was covered by the sand
0:08:29 > 0:08:34over the years and this is where the railway line landed, shall we say?
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- There are the tracks under my feet. - Look, great!
0:08:37 > 0:08:42There was a jetty that ran out over the sand.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Going from here, where those timbers are, straight out to sea?
0:08:46 > 0:08:51Yes, straight out to there with the arrival of the boats on the jetty,
0:08:51 > 0:08:56then loaded the train up and it went into this garrison,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59which was the green battery, then north towards Kilnsea.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05But, despite the defences, the bombing went on.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10In March 1916, 16 people died near Hull railway station,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12and 60 were injured.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16The fishing community still didn't feel safe.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19There was more rioting about the lack of defences.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21When bombs dropped on Beverley,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24a Royal Flying Corps officer was attacked by a mob.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31In the newspaper coverage, it was clear civilians were at risk.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36zeppelin attacks on Goole and Scunthorpe killed 20 people,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39then 31 died in a raid on Cleethorpes.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44But there was a way to fight back at sea.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Robb Robinson studies maritime history.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49He's got a personal interest.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53His grandfather took part in the North Sea campaign.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56You've got a photo of your grandfather?
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Yes, if we look here, we can see that.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00It wasn't just patrolling for U-boats.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04They laid anti-submarine nets and hundreds of vessels were
0:10:04 > 0:10:06requisitioned by the Government
0:10:06 > 0:10:09for use in the Royal Naval Reserve as minesweepers.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13They had to clear 10,000 mines laid in British waters
0:10:13 > 0:10:15during World War I.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Mines might be laid in several ways, by special mine laying U-boats,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22surface craft or even by zeppelins.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Had we not been able to keep what they called a swept channel clear,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29that would have degraded our ability to continue to wage war because
0:10:29 > 0:10:33we wouldn't have been able to bring in food and the materials of war.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37So these fishermen were risking their lives on a daily basis?
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Day after day, week after week, month after month,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43throughout the war, these people were on the front line.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46They were facing the enemy, facing death.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49On average, a minesweeper was lost every other week of the war.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Robb, you've brought along a real gem, a real in-depth
0:10:54 > 0:10:58record of what was happening here in the First World War.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00This is your grandfather's diary.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Can you talk me through the significance of a record like that?
0:11:04 > 0:11:07- Not all fishermen wrote a lot. - Right.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10I don't know much else that my grandfather wrote,
0:11:10 > 0:11:12but he did keep this diary.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15It was an official log of what was going on,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18but also his personal reflections on everything that was happening.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20He had several encounters with U-boats at one stage
0:11:20 > 0:11:23and one of them, we have in the diary here.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27"Flipped to attack an enemy submarine.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30"Fired three shots, but no luck before he dived.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33"We went over to where he dived to try our luck to ram him,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36"but no luck. Failed to drop depth charges.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40"Stood by to drop depth charges but no order from the bridge,
0:11:40 > 0:11:42"never get a chance like that again.
0:11:42 > 0:11:48"Started sweeping 11am, swept till 2:15, return to port. One mine.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52- A day in the life of a minesweeper. - Unbelievable, isn't it?
0:11:53 > 0:11:57The diary isn't just a record of military action.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Robb's grandfather lived through the war,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04but he left messages for his loved ones in case he didn't survive.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09"So, my love, if this book ever reaches your hands,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11"I hope you'll not think I am going as a coward.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14"There's only one thing I have died hearty on, that is
0:12:14 > 0:12:17"I am leaving my two loved ones alone, but cheer up, my love,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20"and think of me as your loving husband and sweetheart.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24"And my bonny son, tell him, my lass, when he gets to understand more,
0:12:24 > 0:12:26"that I loved him with all my heart."
0:12:27 > 0:12:3140,000 men, half the British fishing industry,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34found themselves in the Royal Naval Reserve.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37They were a vital part of the war effort.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41Some found it hard to get used to Navy rules and regulations,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44but most adapted to the new routine.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Fishermen were incredibly skilled seafarers,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49trawlermen in particular, but they didn't take well to
0:12:49 > 0:12:50Naval discipline.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53You can see it in all sorts of subtle ways.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55If you're in the Navy, normally you'd expect to see somebody
0:12:55 > 0:12:59clean-shaven or with a full beard.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02They were allowed, because that is what they had, to keep
0:13:02 > 0:13:03their moustaches.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06If you look at uniforms, little subtle things like never
0:13:06 > 0:13:08quite having the badge in the middle of the hat.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12The sort of thing that would drive someone who wants conformity mad.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Some trawlers were converted into heavily armoured Q-ships
0:13:16 > 0:13:21which concealed weapons to find and destroy German U-boats.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26The German Navy was ordered to destroy British vessels on sight.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30As the U-boat threat grew, so the idea had dawned on people
0:13:30 > 0:13:35in the Navy that it would be a good idea if vessels could be disguised
0:13:35 > 0:13:40as harmless, unarmed fishing boats, and they would have guns undercover.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43As the U-boat made itself vulnerable coming close to the ship,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46down would go the covers, up would come the guns,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and the U-boat would suffer a very serious attack.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59This was the background when, on February 2nd, 1916, the Grimsby
0:13:59 > 0:14:01trawler, the King Stephen, came across
0:14:01 > 0:14:04a crashed zeppelin in the North Sea.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08What happened next made headlines around the world.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10It's early morning in Grimsby.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14I'm setting out with Pat Thompson to retrace his great-grandfather's
0:14:14 > 0:14:18voyage into the North Sea nearly 100 years ago.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20We're with Robb Robinson,
0:14:20 > 0:14:25another man with family history rooted in the events of World War I.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27The zeppelin was on a raid over England.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31It was one of nine that raided over England that night, and on its
0:14:31 > 0:14:35way back from raiding across the Midlands, it suffered engine trouble.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39It came down in the sea and, of course, from that moment on,
0:14:39 > 0:14:44unless they were rescued, their time was up, really.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47After coming across this crashed zeppelin, Skipper Martin took
0:14:47 > 0:14:52several hours deciding what to do about the aircrew.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Fellow fishermen, people he knew, had lost their lives at sea
0:14:56 > 0:14:59by this stage, as well as plenty of people in the merchant service
0:14:59 > 0:15:02as well as all of the armed forces people,
0:15:02 > 0:15:06so this was a stage when the war had become very bitter.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08He is an unfortunate casualty of it.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Because he did not want to be in that situation.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13He wasn't expecting to be in that situation
0:15:13 > 0:15:15and he had to deal with what to do very quickly.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19It's likely he was fishing in a prohibited area,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22which could have influenced his decision.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25But Pat Thompson believes his great-grandfather
0:15:25 > 0:15:28couldn't have acted any other way.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31There were those who labelled him as a war criminal.
0:15:31 > 0:15:32Do you think that's justified?
0:15:32 > 0:15:35It makes me feel sad in some respects
0:15:35 > 0:15:37because they didn't know him.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41I certainly didn't know him, it was that many years ago,
0:15:41 > 0:15:44but the stories that have been handed down from the family
0:15:44 > 0:15:48say that there was a lot of people in Grimsby who thought
0:15:48 > 0:15:50he had done the greatest thing.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52There were people who said he did a bad thing.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Do you think he must have felt scared at that moment?
0:15:55 > 0:15:56Anybody would.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00All of a sudden, you are confronted by men with machineguns.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03And three iron crosses on the zeppelin meant
0:16:03 > 0:16:06they had been involved in a lot of major battles.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08You know, you're in the trawler
0:16:08 > 0:16:11and there's this big thing looming in front of you in the sea.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13And what do you know about this thing?
0:16:13 > 0:16:18Well, you know it's brought destruction on towns across Britain.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20And suddenly, you're confronted by this.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24And the people who have operated this sort of killing machine
0:16:24 > 0:16:25want to come on board your vessel.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Skipper Martin wrote,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31"I knew what the Germans had done in the North Sea.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35"And besides, zeppelin crews dropping bombs on houses
0:16:35 > 0:16:38"and killing women and children didn't appeal to me."
0:16:39 > 0:16:44Back in Grimsby, we're seeing how the story was reported.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Almost immediately, Skipper Martin found himself
0:16:47 > 0:16:51in a firestorm of media attention at home and abroad.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53It says the Germans are,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56"unspeakably angry with the skipper of the King Stephen for refusing
0:16:56 > 0:16:59"to take the crew of the zeppelin he found sinking in the North Sea
0:16:59 > 0:17:01"on board his fishing boat."
0:17:01 > 0:17:03The Germans were bitter. They really were.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07They hoped to kill him for what he'd done.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12But in the very next column, there are words of support for Martin.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15The Bishop of London said that,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18"one of the saddest people in England just now
0:17:18 > 0:17:20"must be the commander of the little ship
0:17:20 > 0:17:22"that came across the ruined zeppelin in the North Sea."
0:17:22 > 0:17:26So he realises how your great-grandfather must have felt.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29He was tormented. He never went back to sea after that.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33As the row over the King Stephen rumbled on,
0:17:33 > 0:17:36the war on the North Sea was far from over.
0:17:36 > 0:17:3820 miles off the coast of Scarborough,
0:17:38 > 0:17:43trawler men were about to suffer their worst ever U-boat attack.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47It happened on September 24th, 1916,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50when a U-boat surfaced next to a fleet of trawlers
0:17:50 > 0:17:53from Scarborough, Grimsby, Whitby and Hull.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57They were told to abandon ship.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01And the U-boat sank all the trawlers one by one.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04It was a devastating blow.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08But unlike the King Stephen incident, no lives were lost.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12The German captain made sure all 120 British fishermen
0:18:12 > 0:18:15were transferred to boats to take them home.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Since then, the wrecked trawlers
0:18:18 > 0:18:21have remained largely intact on the seabed.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24Beneath me, there's still plenty of evidence
0:18:24 > 0:18:27of what was happening here 100 years ago.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31I've got a guide, Andy Jackson, who's tracked down and dived
0:18:31 > 0:18:34many of the wrecks in this part of the North Sea.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37It looks so calm and peaceful when you're on the surface here,
0:18:37 > 0:18:41but it's hard to imagine the seabed beneath us is littered with wrecks.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44And many from WWI. How many have we got here roughly?
0:18:44 > 0:18:46There are hundreds.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48I have dived 200 or 300 off here
0:18:48 > 0:18:51between Bridlington and Whitby.
0:18:51 > 0:18:52Hundreds of them.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55This was like the M1 at the time.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58All the trade was going up and down in steamers.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Andy discovered the remains of the Otter,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08one of the trawlers sunk by a U-boat in September, 1916.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17- How deep are you here? - This is 72 metres.- Wow!
0:19:17 > 0:19:19- It's a long way down, isn't it?- Yes.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21Only 15 minutes, we have on the bottom usually,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24so we keep it quite tight, time-wise.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27But with these trawlers, that is quite a long time.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29It is beautiful and very ghostly.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31- Yes.- Sort of eerie-looking.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34But it's incredibly clear. The visibility is beautiful.
0:19:34 > 0:19:35And there's a lot of structure there.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38And the fact that she is lying bolt upright, as well.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40- Yes.- It's great. Really beautiful.
0:19:40 > 0:19:46Really interesting here, the camera spots this bell before I see it.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48- Can you see over here?- Ooo...
0:19:48 > 0:19:50- I've not seen this yet. - Oh, yeah. Oh, my word!
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Right there! Oh, that's incredible!
0:19:54 > 0:19:56- That's what everybody wants. - Absolutely.- The ship's bell.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59It names the vessel in one.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02It was considered the soul of the ship, as well.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05For all sorts of reasons, the bell's an important thing.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08That's your Holy Grail as a diver, isn't it?
0:20:08 > 0:20:10And we're on top of the boiler here. And I see the compass.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13- The compass was on top of the wheelhouse...- Which bit's that?
0:20:13 > 0:20:16- So, this is the compass? - In the gimbals there, yeah.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18The bell and the compass were side-by-side.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21- So the next thing you see... - Is that.- Is the bell.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26- And at this point, do you have any idea what the vessel is?- No.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29- Now, here's me... - Oh, you're lifting the bell!- Yes.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- So you've got your lifting bag here. - Absolutely.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35That's got to go a long way up to the surface, hasn't it?
0:20:35 > 0:20:38In the U-boat log, U57, it says
0:20:38 > 0:20:4322 fishing steamers were sunk in that trip out.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47In this very tight area, in that fleet where they were fishing,
0:20:47 > 0:20:49- there were 14.- Right.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53And of those 14, I think we've had nine.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56It was one of Andy's most exciting dives.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59And he's got an unique souvenir.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01The trawler's bell.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06- Apart from being heavy, she's just spectacular!- Yeah.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10When you saw this on deck, could you see the writing?
0:21:10 > 0:21:12- Did you have any idea what it was? - No.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15There was too much marine growth on top of them.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18No, very, very rarely do you see the writing.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21- So you bring it back up and restore it.- Yes.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25- It's a bit of the deep come back up. - Yeah, absolutely.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27All the Otter's crew escaped.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31But others, like the crew of this German U-boat,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35sunk by armed trawlers in 1918, weren't so lucky.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38- So this is a U-boat, what U-boat is this?- It's UB30.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Right. And what is the history behind that?
0:21:41 > 0:21:44The UB30 was sunk on the surface
0:21:44 > 0:21:47by some patrol boats just off Whitby.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49So they caught her on the surface.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52They went over the top of her and bent her periscope.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54We've just gone over the hatch. That was open.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Yes. People tried to get out, I think, yes.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00- That's the starboard propeller. - Yeah!
0:22:00 > 0:22:03- That's so clear, isn't it?- It is.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06- I love how nature takes over.- Yes.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10It's become this wonderful reef and all the fish swimming around,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13oblivious of the fact it's a U-boat.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17All 26 crewmen were trapped inside.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19This is their final resting place.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Now, I've dived on a U-boat where lives were lost
0:22:24 > 0:22:27and there is a ghostly feel about it
0:22:27 > 0:22:30when you know that basically, inside that submarine,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33men perished, they lost their lives.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35I think there's an extra level of respect
0:22:35 > 0:22:38when you're diving in something that is literally a tomb.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45The North Sea witnessed a war that was harsh and relentless.
0:22:45 > 0:22:46But there was humanity, as well.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49There's one account of a German U-boat officer
0:22:49 > 0:22:53who claims to have rowed ashore at Scarborough to go to the cinema.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56And another who surfaced at South Bay to hear bands at the Spa.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01So 100 years on, there may still be room for reconciliation
0:23:08 > 0:23:10This is Denmark.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14100 years ago, this area was part of Germany.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18- Hello. Pat Thompson. - Manfred Petersen.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22Pat Thompson has come to the base of the ill-fated L19 zeppelin
0:23:22 > 0:23:25found floating on the North Sea
0:23:25 > 0:23:28by the Grimsby trawler, the King Stephen.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32He's here to trace his great-grandfather's story.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35And to find out more about the zeppelin's final flight.
0:23:35 > 0:23:40- So that's the bath house.- Yes. And that survived.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Nearly all the base has disappeared,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46but there's still some evidence that airships set off from here
0:23:46 > 0:23:49on bombing missions across the North Sea.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53- Shall we see here?- Yes.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55In what's now the middle of a forest,
0:23:55 > 0:23:59this is where the L19 zeppelin was moored.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01How important would this,
0:24:01 > 0:24:05as a zeppelin base, be in the First World War?
0:24:09 > 0:24:12TRANSLATION: This was the Germans' most northern airbase.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15And from here, they flew to England every day on bombing raids
0:24:15 > 0:24:17and reconnaissance.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20The airbase was very important to them.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24I know what happened from the trawler coming to L19
0:24:24 > 0:24:27and I know what happened after that.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29What happened on the German side of it?
0:24:29 > 0:24:32TRANSLATION: The reaction was very strong.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34The shockwaves were very great.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Because it was terrible that these were seamen in need
0:24:37 > 0:24:39who'd hoped they might be saved.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43But don't you think with the Germans being armed
0:24:43 > 0:24:45and outnumbering the fishermen,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48it was the most sensible thing to do?
0:24:48 > 0:24:51TRANSLATION: Yes, I can understand that,
0:24:51 > 0:24:52but these were seamen in distress.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55There were significantly more people
0:24:55 > 0:24:57on board the L19 than the King Stephen.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00But the captain of the zeppelin had promised
0:25:00 > 0:25:02they wouldn't take over the trawler.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Don't you think they would have killed my grandfather and his crew?
0:25:07 > 0:25:08TRANSLATION: That might be true,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11but the captain of the zeppelin gave his word of honour as an officer
0:25:11 > 0:25:14that he wouldn't. More than that, I can't say.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17I assume when he said it, his word of honour should have been true.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20But of course, that can't be proven today.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Manfred's got copies of letters
0:25:23 > 0:25:27written by the L19 crew to their families
0:25:27 > 0:25:30thrown in bottles into the sea when they were about to die.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Thank you. I know they're very sad,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37so if you wouldn't mind, I'll read them in private.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39Thank you.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42For Pat, it's been an emotional meeting.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44He needs some time on his own.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48Being here, where the airship came from,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52and talking to Manfred, the historian,
0:25:52 > 0:25:57it made me realise one or two things.
0:25:57 > 0:25:58And it's quite upsetting.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06It's nearly the end of Pat's journey.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09The body of one of the zeppelin crew was washed up
0:26:09 > 0:26:11on the Danish island of Fanoe.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15He was buried in the local churchyard.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18'We have been floating around for two days and two nights. No help.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21'An English fishing boat refused to help us.'
0:26:23 > 0:26:26"Up unto our final hour, we will be hoping for rescue.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29'But if it is destined to be otherwise, it is God's will.'
0:26:30 > 0:26:33'Our courage is failing and the storm is getting worse.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36'I will still be thinking of you, even in heaven.'
0:26:37 > 0:26:42'My beloved wife, unfortunately, God has decided
0:26:42 > 0:26:44'that we will not see each other again.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48'We will see each other in eternal bliss.'
0:26:50 > 0:26:54These letters, when you read them, they are heart-rending.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57It's a terrible thing to be left.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00What would you write in a letter to your family
0:27:00 > 0:27:03if you knew you were going to die in the next few hours?
0:27:03 > 0:27:05It's got to be horrible.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07It was a horrible death.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09If I could make amends, I would.
0:27:09 > 0:27:15All I can do is offer my sincere apologies to his family.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Back in England, there were no burials for most of the trawler men
0:27:34 > 0:27:36who died in the First World War.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41They'd taken great risks to keep vital supply routes open.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44And along the East Coast, there are some war graves
0:27:44 > 0:27:46where they take their place with others
0:27:46 > 0:27:49who lost their lives during the conflict.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53A century on, the scale of the loss of life still moves you.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57And although we're often reminded of the lives
0:27:57 > 0:27:59lost by servicemen during the Great War,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02we must never forget that the same sacrifice
0:28:02 > 0:28:06was made by ordinary people, like these trawler men
0:28:06 > 0:28:09when they found themselves in the front line.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Another victim was Pat's great-grandfather, William Martin.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19He died within a year of the zeppelin incident.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24He was only 45 and was said to be a broken man.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29At a time of all-out war, he made an agonising choice.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Even now, for those of us who weren't there,
0:28:31 > 0:28:35it's very difficult to judge whether he made the right decision.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49Hear more incredible stories about what happened in your area
0:28:49 > 0:28:51during the war with World War One At Home
0:28:51 > 0:28:56at www.bbc.co.uk/ww1.