About
Commissioners & Officers
Mousehole harbour is now run for the benefit of the local community and stakeholders by Mousehole Harbour Authority, an independent statutory authority governed by a board of Commissioners.
Micky Bacon - Chairman
After attaining a BSc Honours degree in Fisheries Science, Micky moved from Plymouth to Mousehole in the early 1980’s. Following time in the Civil Service he worked in local government, in roles including food premises and fish market inspection. Until recently, Micky worked for an organisation supporting the UK seafood industry, specifically developing and delivering accreditation programs to help improve welfare, safety and market access.
Currently Micky works two commercial fishing vessels out of Mousehole with his son and has previously spent time as crew on the Penlee Lifeboat, under Coxswain Neil Brockman, our current Harbour Master. Prior to joining MHA, Micky spent several years as Chairman of Mousehole Royal British Legion.
Served from 2016.
Tim Pullen - Vice Chairman
Served from 2018.
Gail Angove - Commissioner
Gail joined the Harbour Authority in 2020 making history as the first female Commissioner. Bringing with her a background in Tourism and Event Management, Cornish born and bred and passionate about culture and heritage within Cornwall.
In 2016 she first worked with Golden Tree Productions on the ‘The Man Engine’ – a multi-faceted cultural heritage project commissioned by the Cornwall Mining World Heritage Site that was awarded ‘Best Arts Project 2016’ by The National Lottery. In 2018 she was the Event Manager for the South West and National Man Engine Resurrection Tour.
Gail is a qualified Blue Badge Guide for the South West of England a member of both The British Guild of Tourist Guiding and The Institute of Tourist Guiding of which she is also an Examiner. For the last twelve years she has been an Associate Lecturer at the University of Plymouth and Gail is currently Chairman of the Sea Salts & Sail Maritime Festival and Mousehole Rowing Club.
Served from 2020.
Jonathan Bradley - Commissioner
Served from 2020.
Chris Cass - Commissioner
Chris was born in Bolitho Maternity Hospital and grew up in Mousehole, attending the primary school. Further education followed at Penwith College, Dolcoath Technical College and Camborne Technical College. Chris has worked as an Electrical Engineer, a commercial fisherman for 11 years and in the general building trade.
Chris is an active member of the Mousehole community, helping out with village activity whenever possible. He has served as a Harbour Commissioner from 2013.
Anthony Gwennap - Commissioner
Married with two daughters and four young grandchildren, Anthony has lived in the Parish almost all his life, and has been living back in the village for the last five years.
Anthony has worked in the fishing industry for over 43 years for W Stevensons and Sons of Newlyn. He is a chandler/rigger and works on both quays, and sometimes the vessels themselves. Working on and around large fishing boats for such a long time Anthony has seen many accidents and near misses and has learnt many practices of what to do or (more importantly) what not to do, both in and around the harbour. As part of his job Anthony regularly drives all sorts of vehicles, from forklift trucks to tractors, to large lorries and vans. Anthony supplies the boats with all their chandlery needs, so that they can go to sea, and his role as a chandler/rigger means that he can splice ropes and warps to specific lengths for each trawler/beamer the Company has.
Anthony has a small punt in the harbour and his late father-in-law was Chairman of the Harbour Authority for many years, so was honoured to have been asked to become a Commissioner.
Served from 2021.
Dan Hills - Commissioner
Dan was born 50 years ago in Penzance with a view of Low Lee buoy and Penlee Point. Since that day, he has been lucky enough to call Mounts Bay his home waters.
Dan attended Mounts Bay School and then studied boat design at Falmouth Marine College. He spent most of his youth racing dinghies at Penzance Sailing Club and surfing and windsurfing at local beaches. He went on to study in Southampton and then spent several years working in the IT sector in London.
Dan returned to West Penwith in 2002 and lives in Paul with his wife and two children. He now works as a self-employed carpenter, builder and maker. Dan is an active member of the Cornish Maritime Trust and the St Ives Jumbo Association. He sits on the Sea Salts & Sail festival committee in Mousehole and has served as a Harbour Commissioner from 2021.
Ben Marshall - Commissioner
Served from 2010.
Ian McGill - Commissioner
Ian was born and raised in Staffordshire. He joined the Merchant Navy as an Engineer Cadet in 1967 and served for 38 years, working on Refrigerated Cargo Ships, Passenger Ships, Cruise Ships and latterly Scientific Oceanographic Research Ships, rising to the rank of Chief Engineer Officer, a position he held for 27 years. He holds a Certificate of Competency (Marine Engineer Officer) Class 1 Steam and Motor.
Ian is married with two grown up children and three grandchildren. He has served as a Harbour Commissioner from 2013.
Tom Rickman - Commissioner
Served from 2018.
Phillip Stephens - Commissioner
Served from 2015.
Jesse Walter - Commissioner
Served from 2014.
Neil Brockman - Harbour Master
Neil is a Mousehole boy born and bred with a lifetime of maritime experience. He was the coxswain of the Penlee Lifeboat from 1993 until 2008 serving a total of 30 years with the RNLI. He continued his maritime career working as a master all over the world in the offshore renewable energy industry.
Neil has an extensive knowledge of Mount’s Bay, its rugged coastline, caves, rocks, wrecks and maritime history and now runs pleasure trips on the Cormorant out of Mousehole harbour. Neil was appointed Harbour Master in 2023.
Charley Law - Secretary/Treasurer
Charley was born in Lamorna and went to primary school in Mousehole. He served over 40 years at sea, initially as a deck officer and then as an offshore exploration manager in the oil industry. He holds a B.Sc. 1st Class honours degree in Nautical Studies, an M.Sc. in Oceanography and is certified as a First Mate (Foreign Going). Charley is married with two grown up children. He has served as a Harbour Commissioner from 2002.
Famous Previous Members
Joseph ‘Joe’ Trewavas VC, CGM.
On the 14 December 1835 the first child of Joseph Trewavas, a Mousehole fisherman, and Anne Roose was born. At the age of 18 years Joe joined the Royal Navy at Devonport, being posted to HMS Agamemnon on the 15th October 1853. A year later found him involved in the Crimean War landing with the Naval Brigade and serving in the trenches at Sebastopol and taking part in the Battle of Inkerman. He rejoined his ship in February 1855 and on the 24th May was loaned to the gunboat HMS Beagle for operations in the Sea of Azov. The operation had orders to burn, sink and destroy everything of value to the enemy.
A large floating pontoon bridge had been built by the Russians across the Genitchi Strait, Sea of Azov, to connect the town of Genitchi to the Spit of Arabat. The bridge was the Russian’s main supply route to reinforce their troops at Sebastopol and therefore became a strategic objective for the British Forces. The destruction of the bridge would force the Russians to travel an extra 120 miles to deliver their supplies. Two attacks to cut the floating bridge’s hawsers had proved unsuccessful, alerting the Russian garrison.
A further attempt was made on the 3rd July 1855 using Beagle’s four-oared gig commanded by Gunner John Hayles and a small paddle-box steamer with one gun, under Midshipman Martin Tracy. The paddle-box steamer moored where the Russian soldiers could be seen marching about on shore, and fired the first round in the breech which drew the gun’s securing bolts making it useless. That left six men in a four-oared boat, one of them being Joseph Trewavas, one rifle, ten rounds of ammunition and a cutless apiece to face two hundred enemy who were on shore behind heaps of coal.
In Trewavas’s own words “As we paddled out of sight of our ship, on a little mound we could see the Russians motioning the soldiers on shore to keep down and our man in the bow with a loaded rifle wanted to have a ‘go’ at them but the gunner gave him orders not to do so. I was pulling the bow oar and when we were near the floating bridge, I leapt onto it, cut the hawsers and jumped back in the boat again and shoved off. During this time the Russians, who were only eighty yards off, had not fired a shot, and our man in the bow fired his rifle at them swearing he hit his man. The Russians then let fly. For some time we could not get away as the water was so shallow, and the shot came at us like hailstones, wounding three men and riddling the boat with shot. Reaching safety and the protection of our ship, our boat was sinking and full of water.”
Trewavas wondered why the Russians hadn’t fired upon them as they approached the pontoon bridge at Genitchi, but later it was explained by a Russian officer they had no idea the sailors were going to destroy the bridge, believing they were coming in to destroy shipping and therefore held their fire with the intention of taking them prisoner.
Gunner Hayles and Midshipman Tracy were specially mentioned by Lieutenant Hewett, and Joseph Trewavas was recommended and received the Victoria Cross and Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for his action in cutting the bridge’s hawsers.
Joseph Trewavas was invested with his Victoria Cross by Queen Victoria in Hyde Park on the 26th June 1857.
Trewavas served for another seven years in the Royal Navy seeing service in various parts of the world, electing for discharge on the 10th December 1862. Returning to his beloved Mousehole he married Margaret Harry in 1866 who gave birth to three children – Joseph, Elizabeth and Sara. Following tradition, he bought a fishing lugger, naming it Agamemnon after his first Royal Navy ship. He was a member of Cornwall County Council for many years and was a valued member of the County Fisheries Committee.
During the 1890’s Joe Trewavas, VC,CGM, became a member of the Mousehole Harbour Commisioners and held the post of Secretary/Treasurer up to the time of his death on Wednesday 19 July 1905.
Previous Harbour Masters Roll Of Honour
We are currently in the process of compiling a list of all previous Harbour Masters – this information will be displayed as soon as possible so please check back soon.
If you can help us fill a current ‘gap’ in our records covering the 1950’s please do get in touch.
Restrictions & Prohibitions (Bye-laws)
Our Bye-laws are available to download as a PDF file – please click on the file below to download:
Annual Reports & Meeting Notes
Our Annual Reports are available to download as PDF files – please select the relevant year below to download the corresponding Annual Report:
Useful links
HM Coastguard – www.hmcoastguard.uk
Maritime & Coastguard Agency – www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency
Shipping Forecast – www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/specialist-forecasts/coast-and-sea/shipping-forecast
Newlyn Harbour – www.newlynharbour.co.uk
Cornish Maritime Trust – www.cornishmaritimetrust.org
Mousehole Christmas Lights – www.mouseholelights.org.uk
Mousehole Male Voice Choir – www.mouseholemalevoicechoir.com
Sea Salts & Sail – www.seasalts.co.uk
Mousehole Village – www.mousehole.me