ABSTRACT
Great Yarmouth, which derives its name from its site at the mouth of the river Yare, is situated on the East Anglian coast in the county of Norfolk, twenty miles east of the county town of Norwich and 125 miles north-east of London. It owed its origins almost entirely to the fishing industry, as the annual autumn peak of the herring catch occurred in its offshore waters. Its long fame for herring was supplemented by its development as a tourist resort in the nineteenth century. By 1911 the borough had a population of 55,805, rising to 60,710 in 1921 but then falling back to 56,771 in 1931, making it the seventy-fifth county borough in those terms. These figures, derived from the decennial censuses taken in April, are deceptive, however, as the population of the town fluctuated widely through the year. As in all seaside resorts, many holidaymakers flocked to Great Yarmouth in the main tourist season from May to October, along with many seasonal workers in the hotel and catering trades. In addition, a large number of fishermen and onshore processing workers, mainly from Scotland, would be based in the town in the herring season from October to December. Conversely, many East Anglian herring fishermen themselves would spend much of the year away, pursuing pilchards off the south-west coast in the early months of the year, and then following the herring shoals as they appeared off the north and west of the Scottish coast in the spring and later off the north-east and east coast of England in the summer.1
