A dad-of-five who saved the lives of six people after a World War II bomb exploded at sea has died suddenly at home, two years after his 'heroic' act.
Lewis Mulhearn, who is from Skelmersdale, was caught up in an explosion of a WWII bomb when the crabbing gear of his vessel Galwad Y Mor disturbed the 250kg device. It detonated on the seabed 37 miles off the coast of Skegness.
The boat was destroyed by the Luftwaffe bomb, but as the captain, a badly-injured Lewis coordinated the rescue of his shipmates. The last man on the vessel, he ensured they were all picked up by a nearby Danish wind turbine ship, LancsLive reports.
The device had lay dormant off the coast of Cromer, Norfolk, for more than 80 years prior to the explosion, but its blast forced the ship into the air and left Lewis with head injuries and several broken bones. Despite this, he used the emergency radio and sent a distress signal, meaning the entire crew survived.
Two years since his heroic actions, Lewis suddenly passed away at home on January 21. Despite saving the lives of all six of his crew, Lewis, who was born in Ormskirk and started his fishing career in Torbay, Devon, never saw himself as a hero, only someone that was doing his job.
Paying tribute, Lewis's sister Toni Mulhearn said: "There have already been a few articles about how he saved his crew and how he won his award but ultimately, he's just a lovely bloke. He never saw himself as having done something extraordinary, he always just said 'I'm the skipper, it was my job.' He never saw himself as a hero."
Thanks to his training and quick thinking, Lewis saved the lives of all six members of his crew, despite sustaining a number of life changing injuries of his own, including a blow to the head, three broken vertebrae, a broken sternum, knee damage, a broken orbital bone and multiple face lacerations.
Toni said that getting the phone call from her sister-in-law was 'horrific', adding: "All we knew was that there had been an explosion and they were being rescued. It was a horrific situation. Lewis sustained some pretty serious injuries, but he still saved his crew. He told us how he literally had one of his crew members over his shoulder and carried them down to the raft."
Lewis was awarded the 2021 Emile Robin Award from The Shipwrecked Mariners' Society presented by Princess Anne, a very proud moment for him and his family.
"After the explosion, Lewis and a couple of others went back to sea, even though he wasn't fully recovered. Towards the end of last year, Lewis actually had the original boat, the Galwad Y Mor, rebuilt. He was quite passionate about getting that boat back in the sea. It was almost like a little project he was working on and he was quite determined," Toni added.
"I personally was bit worried about him going back on that boat, but he was he was going back out in a boat, it might well be the one that he loves. It was a big achievement for him.
"Lewis and I were born in Ormskirk, but we moved to Torbay when we were youngsters. The area is known for its fishing. Lewis started off working in a crab factory when he was a teenager. He then became a deckhand and worked his way up to being a skipper."
Lewis leaves behind his wife Jodie and his three young sons, Frankie, nine, Lewie, seven, and Reggie, four, as well as his step-children Kia, 23 and Will, 18. His brothers and sisters Ryan, Allan, Clare, Toni, Anna, Gemma, Ryan and Jade are now hoping to raise as much funds as possible to help the boys make happy memories and to support them with things they may need.
On behalf of Lewis' siblings, Toni said: "Lewis would have financially provided for them, he would have made sure they had their driving lessons, get their first cars, all those things he would have wanted to be there for and provide for, we want to make sure the boys will still get those."
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