Ben Tarbert

BEN TARBERT HL21

Built at Aberdeen in 1912, Ben Tarbert began life as a steel steam trawler for Richard Irvin & Sons Ltd. She was launched by Hall, Russell & Co Ltd on 14 August 1912 and first registered at Aberdeen as A476.

Like many working trawlers of her generation, Ben Tarbert’s life was shaped by more than fishing alone. During the First World War she was taken up by the Admiralty and served from June 1915 until 1919 as a boom defence vessel, part of the vast hidden fleet of fishing craft used to protect harbours, anchorages and naval waters.

After the war she returned to commercial fishing and, in 1920, was registered at Hartlepool as HL21. By 1930 she was in the ownership of Friarage Steam Fishing Co Ltd, Hartlepool, becoming part of the town’s working fishing fleet.

Naval records also show a Ben Tarbert serving again during the Second World War, taken up as a boom defence vessel and later used as a store carrier before being returned in 1945.

Her register was finally closed in 1955, with records listing her as broken up in Belgium.

Ben Tarbert’s story is a reminder that fishing vessels were never just boats. They worked for their owners, fed their communities, served in wartime, and carried generations of fishermen through some of the hardest years of the twentieth century.