Community deserves 'something concrete' to remember Newhaven fishermen, family says

Rob Morley (L) and his crew mate Adam Harper died in November last year

The family of a fisherman who died when his ship sank off the East Sussex coast want to build a lasting memorial to remember him.

Robert Morley, who was 39 and from Newhaven, was onboard the Joanna C when it sank in gale force winds in November 2020. His crew mate, 26-year-old Adam Harper, also died in the sinking.

Mr Morley's mother, Jackie Woolford, is among those who've been working to build a permanent memorial in Newhaven for them both, as well as others who lost their lives at sea.

  • 'Every single part of my body cried'

Jackie Woolford, Rob's mother, described her pain at the loss of her son.

A huge emergency search was launched on Saturday 21 November, after the scalloping boat Joanna C sent out a distress signal at 6am.

The ship's captain was found clinging to a lifebuoy, but there was no sign of Adam and Rob at the site of the sinking.

"'I knew I wasn't going to see my boy again," Rob's mother Jackie Woolford said.

"I just knew, the pain I felt to my stomach, to my heart, to my head, every single part of my body cried."

The body of Adam Harper was recovered days later. It took weeks before Robert Morley's body was found.

Robert's father Keith says it was heartbreaking when the search was called off.

But now 7 months on, he has turned her attention to making sure there is something to remember the men of Newhaven who've died at sea.

"Hopefully no more disappear, but it will happen again," he said.

  • Fishing community needs 'something concrete' to remember

Flowers and other tributes were left at the quayside in Newhaven after the accident

Robert and Adam's families are now trying to raise £20,000 to build a memorial in Newhaven.

Their names will be inscribed alongside that of another Newhaven fisherman, Darren Brown, who was lost at sea five years ago. 

The fundraisers said they'd been "blown away from the love and support" they've recieved, with donations comming from across the UK and the world.

They've been working alongside their local MP, conservative Maria Caulfield, to gain permission and raise the funds to build it.

She said the family "are really pushing this so we can have something we can gather around at times like this.

"It's really right and proper that a fishing town should have a memorial and remember those who have given so much and ultimately their lives to the fishing community."

Jackie Woolford said that the town needs "something concrete" to remember the men by.

"If this should ever happen again...then their names could go on it too," she said.

"We just need this as a community."