David William Besford was born in the Lowestoft area in late 1939, the son of Arnott Herbert Smith Besford and Alida Maria Besford (née Erebout). His brothers and sisters born in Lowestoft were Albert (born 1924), Marcella Besford (later Bird, 1932–2024) and Peter Besford (1936–2014), who was also a Lowestoft trawler skipper.
David Besford was the skipper of the St. Patrick trawler in Lowestoft.
In 1985, the biggest and best landing ever made by a beam trawler at Lowestoft was recorded by Colne Shipping’s St Rose LT 300, with 509 kits to gross £32,402 after 13 days at sea, skippered by David Besford.
David Besford had previously been skipper of the Dominica around 1967 with Colne (East Coast) Shipping out of Lowestoft.
David died at the James Paget University Hospital on 17th September 2011, aged 71, after a long illness. He lived in Kingswood Avenue, Lowestoft, and his death notice in the Lowestoft Journal described him as a loving husband, father and grandad. His funeral was at Gorleston Crematorium on 5th October 2011.
Records not yet confirmed
Two David Besfords were born in the Lowestoft area: David William in late 1939, the son of Arnott and Alida, and David M. Besford in 1944, whose mother’s maiden name was Whaley. The newspaper reports of the St. Patrick and the St Rose name the skipper only as David Besford. This article takes him to be David William, who would have been about 27 when he skippered the Dominica. Please get in touch if you can help.
St. Patrick
The St. Patrick (IMO 7366180) was a stern trawler built in 1975 by Richards Shipbuilders Ltd. in Great Yarmouth, UK for Claridge Trawlers Ltd. Its length was 39 metres and gross tonnage 475 tons.
Stern trawlers are powerful vessels that are often built for hauling heavy catches up the stern onto the working deck.
It carried the name Gavina from 1986 to 1989.
The ship was converted to a standby support vessel in 1990, and was later named the Viking Vixen.
It was scrapped in 2006 in Esbjerg.
