British Admiralty required large number of Grimsby and Hull trawlers according to the Dutch magazine Marineblad No 4 dated April 1940

An item referred to the newspaper Times dated 22 February 1940 reporting that half of the 400 North Sea trawlers of Grimsby and almost the complete fleet of Hull consisting of around 250 700-800 ton trawlers was required by the British Admiralty to execute naval duties.