PM layman, born on 23 January 1855 at Cleethorpes. At 14 he was cabin boy on a fishing smack and within 14 years had become a master smack owner. By 1883, recognizing the inevitable changes the steam trawler would bring, he had given up going to sea and had his own fleet of fishing vessels. In World War I he became an adviser to the government on food supply, especially fishing. He handed over 14 of his ships to the government, went to the Canadian Pacific to acquaint himself with local conditions and then built three trawlers designed for work in that area. He was knighted for his work work with Cecil Harmsworth's Food Control. A member of the Cleethorpes PM church, he supported the PM orphanages at Alresford, Hants and Harrogate and was Vice-President of the PM Conference in 1923. He was a JP and member of the Lindsey County Council, but never lost sight of his early poverty and struggles. He died on 8 February 1927, soon after embarking on a Mediterranean cruise.
His wife Cornelia (1855-1921) gave cosiderable support to the orphanages at Alresford and Harrogate and to PM missions in Africa.