George Ives – Royal Naval Patrol Service, H.M. Trawler Rosette

Seaman George Ives – Royal Naval Patrol Service, H.M. Trawler Rosette

George Ives was born in 1906, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, the son of John Abraham Ives and Rose Hipkin.

1911 Census – Legsby Avenue, Grimsby

1911 Census

By 1911, the Ives family were living at 85 Legsby Avenue, Grimsby. John Abraham, aged 31, was a Fisherman Skipper, while his wife Rose, also 31, managed the home. Their children were John (6), George (4), and Harry (2). Also present was John’s sister, Ethel Ives (20), reflecting a household firmly rooted in Grimsby’s fishing community.

1921 Census – Still at 85 Legsby Avenue

1921 Census

A decade later, the family remained at the same address. John Abraham was away at sea, and Rose, now 41, was recorded as head of the household. Their children were Jack (16), still in school; George (14), working for the Post Office Telegraph Company; and Harry (13), also still in education. The census shows a family shaped by the rhythms of maritime work and the frequent absence of a father at sea.

Marriage

In 1934, George married Marjorie W. Pettifor at Grimsby.

Royal Naval Patrol Service – H.M. Trawler Rosette

During the Second World War, George served as an Able Seaman with the Royal Naval Patrol Service, aboard H.M. Trawler Rosette.

H.M. Trawler Rosette

Rosette was a requisitioned civilian fishing trawler, converted for wartime service. Like many RNPS vessels, she was adapted for:

• Minesweeping

• Coastal patrols

• Harbour defence

• Escort duties

• Rescue and recovery operations

These trawlers were robust, manoeuvrable, and already familiar to men from fishing ports such as Grimsby. Once commissioned, Rosette became part of the RNPS—often called “Harry Tate’s Navy”—whose crews faced constant danger in Britain’s coastal waters.

Operating from Swansea Docks, Rosette undertook minesweeping and patrol duties in the Bristol Channel and harbour approaches. Conditions aboard RNPS trawlers were notoriously hazardous: blackout restrictions, wet and unstable decks, steep ladders, and constant ship movement made accidents tragically common.

Accidental Death – April 1941

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

The British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records state that George died at Swansea General Hospital on 12 April 1941, from injuries sustained in an accidental fall aboard Rosette.

The South Wales Daily Post reported the inquest:

INQUEST VERDICT ON TRAWLERMAN’S DEATH — ACCIDENTAL FALL IN DOCKS A verdict of accidental death was recorded by Mr David Clarke, Swansea Borough Coroner, at the inquest on Able Seaman George Ives, of Richmond Road, Great Grimsby. Ives died in hospital on April 12, succumbing to injuries sustained on April 7 while serving aboard a trawler moored in the docks. Evidence showed that he fell down a ladder, suffering severe spinal injuries from which he never recovered. The Coroner accepted that the fall was an unfortunate accident occurring during routine movement about the vessel.

George Ives
Morriston Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Burial

George Ives was buried at Morriston Cemetery, where his grave stands among the wartime naval and merchant seamen commemorated in Swansea.