Remembering Norma White - Friend of FOCH

Friends of Cleethorpes Heritage were very sorry to hear of the death of Norma White on 13th December 2016.Born Norma Coulbeck in 1936, she was the youngest of the nine children of Leonard and Rosetta Coulbeck, three of whom died within days of being born. She lost her father at the age of 3 and her oldest brother, also Leonard, was killed in June 1944, as a result of a massive explosion at RAF Waltham.

Norma was a great supporter of FOCH and earlier this year we reported that she had very kindly donated a large number of items to our Collection, most of which were found during her years as a metal detectorist on Cleethorpes beach.

Norma was also a talented artist and sent us copies of her paintings of the trawlers Caspian, Laforey (pictured left) and the King Stephen. It was Norma’s painting which led me to research the fascinating and tragic story of the King Stephen and its skipper William Martin three years ago.

Always a keen historian, Norma was a friend of notable locals Ted Drury, Josephine Gibney and Maggie Hart and she received acknowledgements in several of Ted’s books, including The Old Grimsby Story, The Great Grimsby Story and The Old Clee Story, having provided great assistance with typing up the manuscripts and attending to amendments.

Some of Norma’s own memories and research into her own family have also previously been published by us and information and photographs she sent to FOCH inspired me to research and write the story of Norma’s father’s cousin Bert Coulbeck, the inspirational blind Methodist evangelist, who drew great crowds to witness and participate in his Cleethorpes beach services.

FOCH would like to extend our sympathies to Norma’s family and to express our gratitude for her great contribution to writing and preserving the history of the people and places of Grimsby and Cleethorpes.