This history of Grimsby Cricket Club and Cleethorpes Cricket Club began as a book on cricket in Lincolnshire, but both clubs sent a great deal of information about their history and I decided to combine their history in one book. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it!

It was about six years ago that I started to put this book together. Initially, it was the pubs and inns in Crowland - there were about 32 - so I started to find the landlords from about 1829 to 1913. I found a few pictures of them but not many as most of them have now disappeared. Then I came across a picture of the Abbey Hotel and went to see the landlord, who found a picture of the floods in Crowland. This then set me off on a trail to find out more about the 1947 floods in and around Crowland. I spent hours in Peterborough library finding details about the floods. Then I found some pictures of the floods on e-Bay and was talking to the person who I purchased them from. He told me he had about 20-30 pictures of Crowland during the floods. He said he would send them to me on a disc. Some weeks later it arrived and to my amazement there were over 80, not only of the flood but of people, parties, carnivals, events and lots more. So then I started the long trail to put it all together into a book. Finally, six years later it was finished; I do hope that it will bring back memories of 1947 to many people and hopefully that they can remember some of the places and people in the book.

This is the life story of Mark Middleton, born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, in 1841, died in 1883. He was a mail cart driver for the Royal Mail but had an accident on Peterborough Town Bridge and after a long illness died in Lincoln Asylum, aged 42. This all started by reading an article in the local paper by Percy Hall which was shown to me by Mick Masters from records kept by his late wife. I contacted Mrs M. Cary. Percy Hall was her father. She showed me all the documents her father kept on Mark Middleton. After seeing these I suggested that it should be turned into a book. Having been given permission in writing and with the consent of living relatives, I have started to write this book. So this is the life of Mark Middleton.