Ben Lacey was one of the real characters!  he had led a tough life at sea and in his retirement he lived at the end of the Parish Staithe under an old tarred boat about 14 feet long…  He had no power or water, no toilet or washing facilities.  He had a dog - a black and white mongrel called Popeye.   

He always wore rubber bots, a navy Guernsey and a cap.  He smoked a clay pipe and walked with his stick to Waldo’s Garage to get his daily paper.

When he died in about 1944, his old boat was burned.

Another of our “Voices”, Brian Phillips, has a memory of old Ben Lacey:  you can find it here.