Devon fishermen's names to be read in memorial roll call

A memorial service for fishermen lost at sea will see the names of those who have died read out for the first time.

Among those remembered will be Lewis Mulhearn, who died after being injured when a World War Two bomb exploded underneath his boat.

Sunday's service has been organised by the Fishermen's Mission.

Family and friends of fishermen with a Devon connection who died are invited to add their loved one's name.

The names will be added to a memorial book to be kept at All Saints Church.

Lewis Mulhearn died on 21 January, more than two years after the explosion of the wartime device while he was fishing off the Norfolk coast.

He was skippering the 12.8m (42ft) Galwad-Y-Mor on 15 December 2020 when the boat's crabbing gear "disturbed" the 250kg bomb.

"Lewis thankfully was able to rescue the crew and get everyone to safety, so nobody actually died at the time of the explosion," his sister Toni explained.

The 39-year-old, who had grown up in Torquay, sustained serious injuries to his head, chest and knee as well as three broken vertebrae and a number of lacerations.

His actions that day later saw him receive a bravery award for saving the lives of his crew.

"As a family, this has really hit us hard losing Lewis," Ms Mulhearn added.

"Even when he was injured he would want to be back out at sea."

Mr Mulhearn's family will attend the service on Sunday.

"There's going to be lots of other families the same as us, who are struggling, who have lost somebody and we can all come together for a special moment," Ms Mulhearn added.

Mr Mulhearn is survived by his wife Jodie, three children and two stepchildren.

His family are now crowdfunding to raise money in support of his children in the future.

Locating the names of people who have died within the industry was a difficult endeavour for Helen Lovell-Smith, Devon area officer for the Fishermen's Mission.

She said there were scant records of names of those who had died held by the authorities.

"It came down to local knowledge and I put it out to local fishermen," she said.

"I wanted to create a log to say thank you to these people who gave their lives in the pursuit of fish.

"It is still the most dangerous job in peacetime England."

The roll call is aimed at remembering those who were fishing in Devon waters, people who were from Devon but fishing away, people who died in fishing-related accidents or people connected with the Devon mission.

"It is a growing list and this is an inclusive list not exclusive," Mrs Lovell-Smith added.

The public are welcome to attend the 11:00 BST service which is also set to be streamed on Facebook for those family members living overseas.

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