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Archiver > SCT-WIGTOWNSHIRE > 2006-04 > 1143971923


From: "Sam Heron" <>
Subject: MV Princess Victoria Stranraer - Larne 1953
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 19:58:43 +1000


Fellow Listers,
Topical for the Wigtownshire list is an article in the Scotsman Newspaper about the sinking of the Stranraer - Larne ferry MV Princess Victoria in rough seas, claiming 135 lives and marking Britain's greatest maritime tragedy since the end of the Second World War.
It is worth a read. Few in Stranraer were not affected and most lost a relative or a friend.
http://heritage.scotsman.com/people.cfm?id=456852006
An other recent article was about the horror of what happened to the men and boys of the fleet that left the small Berwickshire port of Eyemouth on 14 October 1881. By the time the wind subsided a total of 189 men had perished, 129 of them from Eyemouth alone. The deadly storm had left 93 women as widows and 267 children without their fathers. Of 45 boats that had gone to sea, only 26 returned. It is believed to be the worst fishing tragedy in British history. In Eyemouth it has been known since as Black Friday, the day that brought devastation to a close-knit community whose 1881 census showed there were but 2,952 residents.
My Great grandfather James Thom(p)son was a fisherman in Eyemouth in the 1881 Census. He moved to Kirkcolm and married a local girl in 1883 and was a fisherman there.
The value in the articles above lies in the ability to put meat around the bones of our ancestors.
Sam Heron

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