Sunday, August 3, 2008

In Loving Memory of Edward Ernst

This blog site is dedicated to collecting information on the fishing trawler the Belle, that was lost at sea January 9th, 1947 with 17 crew members on board. Any information you may have, please add.
If you are relatives of any of the crew members, we truly want to hear from you on any information and memories of your loved ones.
The men who lost their lives on the Belle, should never be forgotten.
On December 31st, 1946, our ancestor, Edward Ernst (shown below), along with 16 other crew members, set out for Grand Banks, Nova Scotia on a fishing trawler named the Belle. The Belle was a new 113 foot long vessel with a steel hull, owned by Standard Fish
Company.
On January 9th, 1947, loaded with 60,000 pounds of cod, a radio distress call was put in by the Belle, caught in an ice storm 100 miles East of Boston on the return home.
The Belle and the men on board were never found despite searches.
Those who perished at sea are:
Captain Peter Linehan
Chief Engineer Iver Persson
Second Engineer John Rosell
Cook Howard R. Strum
Patrick Jackman
Edward Dunn
Edward A. Trott
Thomas Rossiter
John McCue
Leonard F. Foote
Gerald Maloney
Edward Ernst
Stephen Dunn
Martin Armstrong
William Squires
Patrick Aylward
Abbott Place

10 comments:

todde6972 said...

Edward A. Trott was an Engineer on the Belle..

todde6972 said...

Could the person who added/created this blog, "Trawler Belle", please contact me..I am the g-g-grandson of the Engineer of the Belle. I have more information and would like to swap some with you...

Unknown said...

This blog has been amazing. My uncle was John McCue who perished on this trip. I have known about it for years but just recently started researching it. Thank you for putting this all together.

Helen O'Neil said...

I did not have family members on the Belle but my dad knew many of the men. He was a fisherman at the pier who spent 1949-1967 on the Wisconsin. My mother remembered this also and talked often about the great loss. Thank you for remembering the men.

DM5632 said...

We would love to locate where the Belle went down too. There is mention in the articles a little about last radio transmission but not enough to really be able to identify.

DM5632 said...

**All news articles in this blog were painstakingly and lovingly sought after and found by Pamela Ernst Dempsey, the daughter of Edward Ernst who perished on the Belle. Pam is my cousin and was a child when this happened. The photo of her father, Edward Ernst, was provided by Pam. The photo of the Belle was sent to me from Senator Patrick Leahy’s office, who located this photo for us. Please don’t use any articles or photos without giving credit to Pamela Ernst Dempsey, her brother Edward H. Ernst Jr., and sister Kathy Ernst- for Pam’s dedication to search out these articles and factual information- this blog is came into existence because of their love for their father- and please give Senator Patrick Leahy credit for finding the photo of the Belle which was in found in government archives before posting a copy of it. Thank you~Sincerely

DM5632 said...

To “Unknown” (poster) Meghan Bright-
Please see this info from The Wreck Site regarding location of where the Belle went down:

https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?215044

DM5632 said...

The wrecksite states:
“The vessel was last heard from on the 9th January off Houghs Neck which is about 10 Miles east of Boston and was on his way to Port but required assistance as the vessel became difficult to steer. She was never heard from again.”

DM5632 said...

Someone else posted on the wrecksite that it was 110 east of Boston. A news article states the vessel was in trouble in a storm that was140 miles from Boston.

DM5632 said...

Todde6972- I can’t see a way to get in touch with you as you asked.