David Goodman - Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Hull

Even on Christmas Day, Pepper went without food.

T he fisherboys, as they came to be known, were young boys, without homes in many cases, who worked on the many trawlers from Hull and Grimsby which scoured the North Sea for fish to take back to port. It involved arduous work, often including routine beatings and abuse whilst at sea and, once back on dry land, the boys were often left to fend for themselves until it was once again time for their boat to sail out onto the cold waters of the North Sea. Prostitution, hard drinking and violence were common threads running through their young lives and, perhaps unsurprisingly, there were a high number of suicides in their midst.

William Pepper, occasionally known as Papper, was one such fisherboy. He got a job working on the Rising Sun , a wooden fishing smack, which was regularly used in the fishing trade. The Pepper household lived, as so many involved in the fishing trade did, near to Hessle Road but on Chiltern Street, at the poorer end. Williams father used to make a living by coaling the fishing boats and other craft. Having worked in his fathers coal business, Pepper, aged fourteen, was a slight boy but was strong for his size and well used to hard, physical work. He was known to many in the community as a cheerful boy and an obedient shipmate.

Russian fire on the Hull fishing fleet, showing the persistent danger to the trawlers. Authors collection

The Victoria Docks at the end of the nineteenth century. Authors collection

The skipper and part-owner of the Rising Sun was Osmond Otto Brand, a twenty-seven-year-old man from Hull, who lived on Staniforth Place, at the more salubrious end of Hessle Road. It was a respectable neighbourhood and the house was nicely furnished, though Brand was perhaps regretting his decision to invest in the smack as he was in debt throughout most of 1881.

Whilst in Hull between voyages, Pepper used to stay at Brands house rather than with his parents. He was serving, what was usually regarded as a seven-year apprenticeship with the skipper. As well as being the cook on trips, he was also expected to help in the hauling up of the trawl by hand. As soon as fish were caught and hauled up, they would be packed in ice and stored until the cargo was ready to be returned to port.

The Rising Sun sailed out from the Albert Dock in Hull a couple of weeks before Christmas 1881 before dropping anchor at Sunk Island, near Spurn Point. The crew consisted of Brand as skipper, William Dench as second hand, Frederick Ryecroft as third hand, William Blackburn, a spare hand, David Yates, a deck boy and William Pepper as the ships cook.

Brand had tolerated Pepper rather than liked him, but there was no hint of the trouble that lay ahead when the Rising Sun left Hull. Pepper had been the last on board and on his arrival he was keen to tell Brand that, having spoken to his sister Emma, Pepper found out that she knew Brand.

For some unexplained reason this infuriated Brand who exploded at the remark, saying, Now you, Ill pay you for telling lies about me.

As the smack proceeded towards its first destination, Brand continued to fume at the remark, becoming ever more offensive towards the boy, claiming, falsely, that he had slept with Peppers sister, and then abusing Pepper physically. The young boy was tied to the side of the boat, whilst Brand threw buckets of cold water over him before punching him to the ground.

The Rising Sun reached Sunk Island at about seven oclock in the evening and cast anchor. The beatings had been continuing intermittently throughout the day and they carried on through the evening. Brand began hitting Pepper with a rat-liner, the end of which was weighted with pieces of iron. To justify this, he accused the boy of badly arranging the core nets so making the previous cast a failure. This allegation also turned the rest of the crew against Pepper as a bad cast would affect their earnings.

Half an hour later, Brand told Pepper to get some lacing to tie the main sail. The boy went below deck but the skipper followed him and started shouting and accusing him of spreading lies. Pepper replied; I never said so, but Brand persisted, getting a rope out and, holding the boy by the shoulders, thrashed him about the head and face. After about five minutes he was then heard to say to the boy, Now, go and get washed.

Throughout the next few days, Brand continued to assault Pepper including knocking him to the ground before jumping on top of him. He also seized a rope and tied it around the boys neck until he struggled for breath. He shouted at Pepper, Now you, say your prayers, because you wont live another day on board this smack.

By Friday, 23 December, the boat had sailed about ninety miles off Spurn Point. At about nine oclock in the morning Dench was on the deck, helping to mend the trawl line whilst Brand and Pepper were also about. Dench witnessed Brand punch Pepper in the face, knocking him down. The net sustained damage in the process and Brand shouted at Pepper, You, that is all through you. He continued to hit Pepper who by now was crying. Then Brand grabbed hold of a bucket, filled it with seawater and threw it over the boy. In total he threw about ten buckets of water over the boy until Dench intervened, restraining Brand who was threatening to kill Pepper and tear his liver out.

As well as physical beatings, Pepper was also being starved. He was only given water and broken biscuits during his time on the boat and even this was scarce. The rest of the crew ate well but the boy was even reduced to eating raw skate from part of the catch on one occasion.

Even on Christmas Day, Pepper went without food. He remained on deck whilst the rest of the crew tucked into duck, beef, potatoes and plum pudding. For a moment Brand seemed to take pity on the boy and put some of his pudding on a fork, holding it out for Pepper to take. Yet, as the boy reached out to take the food, Brand rapped him across the knuckles with a stick and fed him a single currant. The duck bones were given to the ships dog rather than Pepper, who was hungry enough to gnaw at them when the dog had finished.

Artists impression of Brand attacking Pepper. Hull News

At half past seven on the morning of 29 December, the crew hauled their trawl in and saw there was a hole in the net. Brand told Pepper, who by now was in a very weakened state to, Be sharp and fill some needles and you shall have some dinner. Pepper did as he was told, filling in all the holes before being given a single dumpling which he ate quickly.