All I Ever Wanted  (Author Christine Hardy) AVAILABLE NOW

This is not only one family’s struggle to make a living, and develop a family business, but has Sidmouth’s fishing community, history and traditions woven into it.

How this remarkable family survived and re-invented itself, is an inspiration to us all.

Christine Hardy first met Stan Bagwell and his family in 2002 as a customer at their fresh fish shop, Sidmouth Trawlers. She got to know Mary, Stan’s wife, his daughters Lynn and Kay and his grandsons Ryan and Kieran. But there was so much more she didn’t know.

When he wasn’t serving in the shop Stan often chatted with Christine, as he does with many locals and friends, reminiscing about his childhood, his life at sea and the fishing business. Christine said that someone should write it all down and eighteen months later they produced this book together.

Fundraising for the Fishermen’s Mission:

South West Fundraising representative from the Fishermen’s Mission charity visited Sidmouth Trawlers fresh fish shop just off the esplanade at Sidmouth on 25 August to receive a cheque for

£1736.00. The money represents sales of the 120 page book ‘All I Ever Wanted’, charting the life of Sidmouth Fisherman Stan Bagwell which was compiled by Christine Hardy and sold to raise much needed funds for the Mission.

‘All I Ever Wanted’ was launched on 1st May 2015 and 500 copies were sold in just two months. A reprint should raise up to £10,000 for the Mission which supports fishermen in times of need. Gina is pictured with Stan and Mary Bagwell and Christine Hardy at the Bagwell’s fresh fish shop, a business they began in the 1960’s when Stan persuaded Sidmouth Town Council to allow him to sell the fish he caught to local residents in a properly constructed shop.

Stan started fishing as a boy with his father Robert in the 1940’s and always wanted to buy a boat of his own and develop a successful business. The Bagwell’s lost their son at sea, Ian, also a fisherman, in 1998 which was the motivation for producing the book as the Fishermen’s Mission gave the family a huge amount of support at the time.

Book Synopsis: Stan Bagwell was out fishing with his father Bob as soon as he was able to climb into a boat. Born in 1938, his childhood memories tell of a Sidmouth long gone. His burning determination to earn a living at sea was thwarted by his mother who knew what a hard life it was. Aged 15, Stan started an apprenticeship with a local builder and bought his first boat. He was determined to succeed and was soon a familiar figure on Sidmouth Sea front, offering trips to visitors and selling the fish he, his father and younger brother Graham caught. He married his resourceful wife Mary and together they created Sidmouth Trawlers, which included two shops and four boats working from Sidmouth and a trawler, which fished from Brixham. When Stan and Mary’s son, Ian, got his Skippers licence and daughter Kay began working in their shop, the future of Sidmouth Trawlers seemed secure.

Faced with a double tragedy in 1998, it seemed for a while that there was no future. How this remarkable family survived and re-invented itself, is an inspiration to us all.

‘All I Ever Wanted’ is available through the Fishermen’s Mission eBay page for £12.00 and all proceeds go to the Fishermen’s Mission.

If you’d like to learn more about The Fishermen’s Mission welfare and emergency work, visit The Fishermen’s Mission website: www.fishermensmission.org.uk

The Fishermen’s Mission takes care of the families of men lost at sea. They need your help if they are to continue to offer bereaved families the financial and emotional support they need.

The Fishermen’s Mission is a Registered Charity:

England & Wales No 232822 and Scotland No SC039088

Providing Emergency Support and Practical Care to Fishermen and their Families

The Fishermen’s Mission

The Fishermen’s Mission fights poverty and despair in our fishing communities by providing emergency and welfare support to fishermen and their families 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Over 13,000 men and women work in the UK’s toughest and most dangerous peacetime occupation: deep sea fishing. At sea, they face death and injury on a daily basis. On land, many face insecurity and debt. And life for the 50,000 retired fishermen and their dependants is no better, with debt, inadequate pensions and scant savings meaning no respite from hardship once the fishing’s over.

Emergency
Fishing remains the most dangerous peacetime occupation in the United Kingdom. Every year boats are sunk and lives are lost. Day or night the fishermen’s mission respond to calls to help fishermen who have been rescued at sea, involved in an accident or taken ill while fishing. Often this means waiting at night for the boat to come in and staying with the fishermen in hospital until family arrives or he can be taken home. Sometimes, if the boat is lost, it means urgently finding warm, dry clothes, having a hot drink and providing the security of a warm bed for the night and help to deal with shock. The fishermen’s mission will always respond to a call for help from their fishermen. They are always there when they are needed most.

Sea Safety Inshore and deep sea commercial fishing remains the UK’s most dangerous peacetime occupation. Fishermen are 115 times more likely to suffer a fatal accident than the rest of the workforce.

Safe Fishing: One of the most important areas of the fishermen’s mission work in recent years has been to promote safe fishing to fishermen. Fishing is the most dangerous occupation. The sea can be frightening and unpredictable. In the past inflatable oilskins and lifejackets have been too cumbersome to wear while working. Newly designed Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) are specifically designed not to get in the way of fishing.

Young Irish fishermen, Sam Cully, received one of the new PFD’s. He says ‘The Fishermen’s Mission saved my life when they provided me with a PFD. A few weeks later my boat went down and I was on my own. I was in the water for some time before I was rescued. Without my PFD I would have died’.

Welfare
Compassionate Welfare: The Fishermen’s Mission is the only national charity that works solely with fishermen and their families. They understand fishing, the needs of fishermen and the up and downs of a fishing community. They know that many fishing families have lost one of their own to the sea. They understand their grief and their pain.

A widow writes ‘The Fishermen’s Mission was my lifeline. They stayed with me all the way. They arranged for financial support, helped me with forms and letters. They stayed with me for hours, listening to me talk, helping me through’.

If the worse happens it may mean supporting the family through the days, weeks, month and years ahead. Offering a shoulder to cry on, practical and financial help and a friendship built on trust that can last years.

Practical Support
The Fishermen’s Mission is able to offer the most immediate and practical of support to those who find themselves in need of their help. The Fishermen’s Mission can:

Provide immediate financial assistance to help with rent, food, heating and lighting bills. Keeping house and home together.

Respond to an emergency call for help, day or night, 365 days a year. Responding to injured, sick or shipwrecked fishermen. Call the Fishermen’s Mission and they will be there.

Offer emotional support during bereavement, family breakdown or emotional difficulties. The Fishermen’s Mission is a shoulder to cry on and a friend to trust.

Help to prevent poverty amongst retired fishermen and their families. Offering expert guidance through the benefit system and sourcing long term grants.

If you’d like to learn more about The Fishermen’s Mission welfare and emergency work, visit The Fishermen’s Mission website: www.fishermensmission.org.uk

The Fishermen’s Mission takes care of the families of men lost at sea. They need your help if they are to continue to offer bereaved families the financial and emotional support they need.

The Fishermen’s Mission is a Registered Charity:

England & Wales No 232822 and Scotland No SC039088

On a daily basis fishermen face the possibility of being swept overboard.

A small wave can be strong enough to wash a man overboard, and injury from cables and machinery onboard while they work in slippery, wet conditions is a common hazard.

The sea is a very dangerous place and a fisherman’s job is a dangerous occupation.  Fishermen endure all types of weather from hot sunshine to turbulent, life threatening storms, yet for most fishermen the passion of being at sea outweighs the danger.

Being a fisherman has been rated the most dangerous profession in America. In the UK there are 55 accidents for every 1,000 fishing boats.

Fishermen require a strong character and it helps to be physically fit. The work of a fisherman to put fish on our plates is extremely demanding and dangerous.

Health and safety and training organisations have been set up to ensure fishermen are adequately prepared for emergencies, maintain their vessels and have adequate safety equipment, and that the fishermen are aware of the issues that cause fatalities at sea.

According to the Fishermen’s Mission “over 13,000 men and women work in the UK’s toughest and most dangerous peacetime occupation: deep sea fishing. At sea they face death and injury on a daily basis, and on land many face insecurity and debt. Life for the 50,000 retired fishermen and their dependents is no better, with debt, inadequate pensions and scant savings, meaning no respite from hardship once the fishing’s over”.

The Fishermen’s Mission fights poverty and despair in our fishing communities by providing emergency and welfare support to fishermen and their families 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.

The Fishermen’s Mission takes care of the families of men lost at sea.

If you would like to visit the Fishermen’s Mission website or to make a donation to The Fishermen’s Mission, click the following link: www.fishermensmission.org.uk

Take the time to savour your fish, and appreciate the fishermen who put their lives in danger to put fish on our plates.