A triumvirate of maritime enthusiasts, who are compiling a book on one of the world’s most historic seafaring prizes have thanked Press and Journal readers for their help with the project.
Last month, the trio appealed to fishermen across the north of Scotland for assistance with the work about the crews and vessels which won the Prunier Herring Trophy.
The accolade was awarded almost every year between 1936 and 1966 to the drifter that landed the single largest catch of herring between early October and the end of November at the ports of Great Yarmouth or Lowestoft.
In a bid to finish their book, Tracking down the last of the Driftermen, three members of the Port of Lowestoft Research Society issued pleas for information before realising they had substantial Scottish gaps relating to the 1936, 1960 and 1966 winners.
Now, after the success of an appeal by the Press and Journal, Bob Dickson, Peter Page and Stan Earl are preparing to publish the book.
Mr Dickson said: “Though it might not have been long before the collective memory might have faded, these driftermen, their families, their communities and the valuable archives of our maritime heritage centres have ensured that the information now won’t be scattered or lost.
“A few gaps still remain, mainly here in the south, and we aim to cover these in any future print-runs, but we feel we have a complete enough record to go to press.
“We are very grateful to the many people who wrote in, following the P&J piece, particularly Bill Duthie Jr of the FR 346 Tea Rose, James Cartno Jr of the FR 178 Silver Harvest, George Forman Jr for the PD 218 Star of Bethlehem, and a 97 year-old lady from Portsoy, on behalf of the first winner, the BF 592 Boy Andrew in 1936.
The group will be printing the book in the next few months before releasing it for sale across the country.
Men appealing for information about vessels and crews who won vintage Prunier Trophy
Mr Dickson added: “For all of us, it has been a timely and worthwhile task, and we want to the P&J and all the people of the north-east who took the trouble and had the interest to write in.
“To top it all off, we received eight varied photos of one of our more-difficult-to-find target vessels the Jessie Sinclair, which were sent down as a contribution by Steven Christie of the Shetlands Museum, and the winner’s presentation wallet that went to William Buchan Duthie of the Tea Rose in 1966 has now kindly been presented by his son Bill to the Maritime Museum in Lowestoft.
“Now we have a book thanks to the fishing community. Once complete, we will try to make it something worthy of their interest. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
All profits from the book will be devoted to maintaining the fisheries archive in the major maritime museums.
