0
Quote
Fishermen's memories of good old days
Jul 27 2010 by Zoe Burn, The Journal
Yesterday a very special meeting of old steam trawler fishermen and the even older retired fishermen took place at North Shields. Zoe Burn caught up with some of the men who spent their working lives risking life and limb at sea.
ALBERT Whiting chuckles as he recalls one of his many brushes with death at the hands of the North Sea.
“It was a vessel called Arctic Invader,” explains the retired fisherman with a wink, rolling up a cigarette with one hand while gesticulating animatedly with the other.
“It must have been a force nine gale and I remember this massive lump of water rising up. The boat took it, and I honestly didn’t think she was going to stay down. If it hadn’t been for all of the fishing gear over the side weighing her down, I think she’d have went over.”
Frightening as it sounds, to men like Albert it was just another day on the deep sea fishing trawlers which they made their homes at sea for up to nine days at a time.
Now Albert is one of a dying breed of men, men who spent upwards of 50 years of their lives combing the North Sea for fish all year round no matter what the weather.
The 71-year-old was one of more than a dozen former fishermen who met for a special event yesterday afternoon at North Shields Fish Quay.
Organised by North Shields Fishermen’s Mission, it was a chance for the last remaining steam trawler fishermen and skippers to meet with the younger retired fishermen, to swap tales and share their experiences of hundreds of combined years at sea.
Today the fish quay may be a shadow of its former self with just a handful of boats heading out to sea each week, but 100 years ago it was the bustling heart of the town, processing around 14,000 tonnes of fish each year.
Built in 1866 at a cost of £81,000, the fish quay handled scores of fishing boats daily. Fishing was a family business, with sons of fishermen becoming fishermen themselves, and handing down the role from generation to generation.
And at the heart of it all has always been the Fishermen’s Mission, an organisation concerned with the pastoral care and social welfare of fishermen and their families, offering counselling, support and friendship to those in need, as Superintendent Peter Dade explains: “Fishing may not be the industry it was 40, 50, 60 years ago but we are still very much looking after the needs of fishermen and their families today.
“We aren’t here just for the nostalgia, we are here to support the fishing industry. North Shields has such a rich fishing heritage and we are still here for all of those men and their families that served here for all of their working lives, as well as those who are still manning the boats today.
“We have events like this to give fishermen the chance to keep in touch with each other. They get together and share photographs and memories, and on days like this where we have the even older men joining us, it’s a chance for them to compare the changing face of North Sea fishing.”
Albert may have spent his whole working life at sea, but he admits he was happy to move around the county to wherever his work took him. “I was in Aberdeen for a while, spent time in Lowestoft and actually did 10 years working in Hull. I went where the money was, it was that simple.
“I always came back because this is my home, and it’s a bit sad when you look across the fish quay now. There are people living in buildings where we used to keep our equipment but times change. That’s the way of the world.”
Tom Bailey, 67, was another who was destined for fishing. “My family were all fishermen, my dad, his brothers, his dad ... it was in our blood. That’s what people did ... if your dad worked in the pits you would go down the pits, if he worked in the shipyards, you would end up there. It was exactly the same with fishing.”
Tom’s working week would be nine days on and one day off. “That’s how it was, you would get on the boat, go out and spend nine days out there. Then you would come in with the haul, have a day to rest then come back and do it all again. You and your crew were like brothers. Any disagreements were left on the shore. That’s how it was.
“It’s all men like us knew, but it was a good life. The family were used to it, my wife Hazel was probably happy with the arrangement because we’ve been married for 50 years now, so I can’t say it affected our life together.”
Tom looks on the demise of North Sea fishing with sadness, not least because it means that no one in his family have been able to pick up the mantle. “I’ve got four children and none of them are fishermen,” he says with a wry smile.
“I look around here now and it’s nothing like it was. A lot of the old fish stalls aren’t here any more and there are hardly any boats. People used to come down here to see the boats and then buy their fish. There isn’t much of that now.”
But Tom – like many of his former colleagues – believe there is still a future for fishing here on Tyneside. “It isn’t the same as it used to be, but times change, demand changes and people want different things.
“But people still want to buy and eat fish, and as long as they do, men like Albert and I will still be going to sea every day. It may not be the same but fishing isn’t an industry which I think will die out. It’s different but it’s still ongoing, and perhaps in 50 years time they will be stood around like we are today.”
Jul 27 2010 by Zoe Burn, The Journal
Yesterday a very special meeting of old steam trawler fishermen and the even older retired fishermen took place at North Shields. Zoe Burn caught up with some of the men who spent their working lives risking life and limb at sea.
ALBERT Whiting chuckles as he recalls one of his many brushes with death at the hands of the North Sea.
“It was a vessel called Arctic Invader,” explains the retired fisherman with a wink, rolling up a cigarette with one hand while gesticulating animatedly with the other.
“It must have been a force nine gale and I remember this massive lump of water rising up. The boat took it, and I honestly didn’t think she was going to stay down. If it hadn’t been for all of the fishing gear over the side weighing her down, I think she’d have went over.”
Frightening as it sounds, to men like Albert it was just another day on the deep sea fishing trawlers which they made their homes at sea for up to nine days at a time.
Now Albert is one of a dying breed of men, men who spent upwards of 50 years of their lives combing the North Sea for fish all year round no matter what the weather.
The 71-year-old was one of more than a dozen former fishermen who met for a special event yesterday afternoon at North Shields Fish Quay.
Organised by North Shields Fishermen’s Mission, it was a chance for the last remaining steam trawler fishermen and skippers to meet with the younger retired fishermen, to swap tales and share their experiences of hundreds of combined years at sea.
Today the fish quay may be a shadow of its former self with just a handful of boats heading out to sea each week, but 100 years ago it was the bustling heart of the town, processing around 14,000 tonnes of fish each year.
Built in 1866 at a cost of £81,000, the fish quay handled scores of fishing boats daily. Fishing was a family business, with sons of fishermen becoming fishermen themselves, and handing down the role from generation to generation.
And at the heart of it all has always been the Fishermen’s Mission, an organisation concerned with the pastoral care and social welfare of fishermen and their families, offering counselling, support and friendship to those in need, as Superintendent Peter Dade explains: “Fishing may not be the industry it was 40, 50, 60 years ago but we are still very much looking after the needs of fishermen and their families today.
“We aren’t here just for the nostalgia, we are here to support the fishing industry. North Shields has such a rich fishing heritage and we are still here for all of those men and their families that served here for all of their working lives, as well as those who are still manning the boats today.
“We have events like this to give fishermen the chance to keep in touch with each other. They get together and share photographs and memories, and on days like this where we have the even older men joining us, it’s a chance for them to compare the changing face of North Sea fishing.”
Albert may have spent his whole working life at sea, but he admits he was happy to move around the county to wherever his work took him. “I was in Aberdeen for a while, spent time in Lowestoft and actually did 10 years working in Hull. I went where the money was, it was that simple.
“I always came back because this is my home, and it’s a bit sad when you look across the fish quay now. There are people living in buildings where we used to keep our equipment but times change. That’s the way of the world.”
Tom Bailey, 67, was another who was destined for fishing. “My family were all fishermen, my dad, his brothers, his dad ... it was in our blood. That’s what people did ... if your dad worked in the pits you would go down the pits, if he worked in the shipyards, you would end up there. It was exactly the same with fishing.”
Tom’s working week would be nine days on and one day off. “That’s how it was, you would get on the boat, go out and spend nine days out there. Then you would come in with the haul, have a day to rest then come back and do it all again. You and your crew were like brothers. Any disagreements were left on the shore. That’s how it was.
“It’s all men like us knew, but it was a good life. The family were used to it, my wife Hazel was probably happy with the arrangement because we’ve been married for 50 years now, so I can’t say it affected our life together.”
Tom looks on the demise of North Sea fishing with sadness, not least because it means that no one in his family have been able to pick up the mantle. “I’ve got four children and none of them are fishermen,” he says with a wry smile.
“I look around here now and it’s nothing like it was. A lot of the old fish stalls aren’t here any more and there are hardly any boats. People used to come down here to see the boats and then buy their fish. There isn’t much of that now.”
But Tom – like many of his former colleagues – believe there is still a future for fishing here on Tyneside. “It isn’t the same as it used to be, but times change, demand changes and people want different things.
“But people still want to buy and eat fish, and as long as they do, men like Albert and I will still be going to sea every day. It may not be the same but fishing isn’t an industry which I think will die out. It’s different but it’s still ongoing, and perhaps in 50 years time they will be stood around like we are today.”
