Great Grimsby Ice Factory Trust

21/08/2026

Always a good show....

17/08/2026

Today is the 158th anniversary of the inaugural launch of Cleethorpes' first lifeboat (17th August 1868).

Levi Stephenson - the first coxswain of the Cleethorpes lifeboat.
The first Cleethorpes lifeboat was financed by a Friendly Society, The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (Manchester Unity). The Society announced that it would be making the gift of a lifeboat to the seaside resort in March 1868. The boat cost £286 to build, was 33 feet in length, and was named the “Manchester Unity”.

The inaugural launch of the “Manchester Unity” took place on 17th August 1868. The launch proved to be a very popular event and the local press reported that over 50,000 attended.

The lifeboat house was located at the southern end of Sea Bank Road and it quickly became a tourist attraction. Levi Stephenson, the first coxswain, was something of a showman and he provided entertainments and displays to keep the visitors amused.

12/08/2026

Join us at Cleethorpes Town Hall on Wednesday 23rd September (1pm - 4pm) for a free exhibition about life in the holiday resort in the interwar years. The display will include maps, photographs and artefacts relating to a period that witnessed both economic hardship and great technological and social progress.

The topics covered will include education, local shops and businesses, and the new landmarks that were built during the period, including the Electricity Showrooms, Darley’s Hotel and Thrunscoe School. The exhibition will also feature some of the new institutions that opened in Cleethorpes during the Twenties and Thirties, including the new public lending library and Croft Baker Maternity Home.

Visitors will also be able to examine photographs of the First World War presentation tank, which was a prominent feature of Thrunscoe Recreation Ground between 1920 and 1928. The display will also include photographs of the New Cliff Steps, which opened in 1938, and items connected with the aviator Bernard Martin, who ran a pleasure flight business from the beach at Cleethorpes in the 1920s.

27/07/2026

GREAT GRIMSBY ICE FACTORY TRUST AT GGIFT.CO.UK IS BEING UPDATED. THE LINK IS EFFECTIVELY DEAD FOR NOW.

TO SEE THE LATEST AT GRIMSBY'S HISTORIC DOCKS GO TO THE KASBAH WEBSITE AT https://thekasbah.co.uk/.

14/07/2026

Just a reminder this is tomorrow..(15 July)

For anyone who missed the DANGER UXB episode last month, based on the Grimsby Butterfly Bomb raid, Talking Pictures TV Sky 324 Freeview 82 Freesat 306 Virgin 445 Freely 36 is repeating the whole series at 12 noon and 'Butterfly Winter' will be shown on Wednesday 15 July.

10/07/2026

For anyone who missed the DANGER UXB episode last month, based on the Grimsby Butterfly Bomb raid, Talking Pictures TV Sky 324 Freeview 82 Freesat 306 Virgin 445 Freely 36 is repeating the whole series at 12 noon and 'Butterfly Winter' will be shown on Wednesday 15 July.

08/07/2026