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15th November 2022 - Bill Buchan Hunting The King
Biggar Probus Club’s second November meeting saw us welcome one of our own
members, Bill Buchan. Bill was born in Peterhead to a fishing family and grew up
surrounded by the bustling fishing port. He called his talk “Hunting the King”,
referring to the Herring, the King of the Sea.
He described how the herring industry grew rapidly in the nineteenth century
using drifters, and then still further in the twentieth century with the
introduction of steam trawlers. These boats had nets over a mile in length, and
were crewed by 7 – 8 men. As the herring shoals swim clockwise round the British
Isles the trawlers would pursue them from the Irish Sea in the spring via the
north of Scotland to the southern North Sea off Yarmouth in the autumn. The
lassies who packed the salt herring in barrels would follow the fleet.
Several boats were lost to U-boat action in the First World War, including his
family’s boat the Elizabeth, though the crew were landed safely in Shetland. In
the Second World War some Peterhead trawlers were sent to Dunkirk to save the
retreating Allied army.
After the war the demand for cured herring fell dramatically with the arrival of
freezing plant, and the herring fishery in time disappeared from Peterhead. The
town is still the busiest fishing port in Britain, concentrating now on deep sea
fisheries for white fish.
The next meeting is on Tuesday 6 December in Biggar Municipal Hall at 10.00 when
we will welcome the annual visit by senior students from Biggar High School.
This will be the 20th anniversary of the first such visit.
Everyone is welcome to what is usually a very interesting morning’s discussion. |