Eyemouth looks to future on disaster anniversary
IN the 19th century Eyemouth was the biggest fishing port on the east coast of Scotland but a financial dispute between the fishermen and the local ministers led the men to take to their boats on a day when others decided to remain in port, the result being they got caught in a hurricane while out at sea and 189 of them were lost - Scotland's worst ever fishing disaster.
All this happened on a bleak October day in 1881 and according to the 125th Memorial Association chairman, Jim Evans, Eyemouth and the surrounding fishing villages did not fully recover until the 1970s. At the time of the disaster Eyemouth was a successful fishing port with a population of 2,935, and 1000 of them were employed in the fishing industry. The disaster cut the fishing fleet almost in half.
The initial loss of so many husbands, fathers and sons led to many survivors leaving the town and the population level did not reach the pre-1881 disaster figures until 1971.
On the centenary of the disaster in 1991 Eyemouth and the surrounding area remembered those lost at sea through church services and the setting up of Eyemouth Museum complete with a commemorative tapestry depicting the disaster.
The 125th anniversary is being commemorated by looking to the future with the emphasis very much on the town's children.
Eyemouth Primary School pupils have been heavily involved in the commemoration plans and their art work depicting the disaster and the town's recovery can be seen on display in Eyemouth Museum.
"The emphasis this time is not on what happened 125 years ago but about the future of Eyemouth and the emphasis is on the children," explained Mr Evans.
BBC journalist and author Peter Aitchison, whose own ancestors were caught up in the disaster, is giving a book reading from his own work 'Black Friday - The Fishing Disaster of 1881' on Sunday, October 8, in Eyemouth Parish Church Hall; there is a poetry reading 'The Boy Who Came Ashore' by Alan Gay at Eyemouth Museum on Thursday, October 12 and Saturday October 14; Eyemouth Community Drama Group is performing 'The Ties That Bind' on Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14, in Eyemouth High School; there is a special outdoor service on Saturday, October 14 at Cove harbour pier; and a memorial service in Eyemouth Parish Church on Saturday, October 14.
More permanent reminders of Eyemouth's darkest day 'Black Friday' are also planned, including a trail of art work leading residents and visitors on a trail through Eyemouth and to the Berwickshire coastal villages equally affected on October 14, 1881.
The project has received 60,000 funding from the Eyemouth East Berwickshire Partnership (EEBP) Regeneration Fund, supported by the South of Scotland European Partnership Objective 2 Programme and the European Regional Development Fund from money ring-fenced for public art works, and the project team will raise a further 50,000.
Dunira, the company managing the art project, are in the process of consulting with Berwickshire's coastal communities about how best the disaster should be remembered, and once they have short-listed the most popular suggestions these will be given to local artists, by December, to work on ideas for a trail of lasting memorials that will ensure that Black Friday no longer remains Scotland's forgotten fishing disaster.
"The East Coast Fishing Disaster was a national disaster, and it is incredible that the story is so little known beyond the fishing villages of East Berwickshire, which between them lost 189 men, of which 129 came from Eyemouth alone," explained Benjamin Carey of Dunira.
"We are delighted to have been asked to contribute to this extraordinary story and we are all looking forward to working with the whole community to devise a memorial that truly reflects the area's dramatic past."
James Evans, chairman of the 125 Memorial Association, added, "It is important that the disaster is remembered because it had such a huge impact upon the lives of people living along the Berwickshire coast in 1881.
"It is equally important that the young people are able to pass on the stories of that dreadful day to their children and to future generations."
While discussions for the 125th anniversary celebration took place, one idea that kept recurring amongst local fishermen was the lack of a memorial book in the town to list the men and boats lost at sea and the association are determined to put this right.
They are working on the production of a Memorial Book that will be kept in the chapel of the Royal Mission for Deep Sea Fishermen on Eyemouth quayside, starting in 1841 and listing all those lost at sea since then.
"This will be the first permanent remembrance covering an area from Amble in the south to the Forth in the north but as there have been no records kept so far, collecting all the names is proving tricky and the committee are conscious of the input required from local families, relatives and fishermen themselves to ensure it is as comprehensive as they can possibly make it.
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Thursday 17 May 2012
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