William Hope crew

Craigie readers are, once again, being asked to provide information. A storyboard about the Aberdour Heroine, Jane Whyte, is being unveiled at Aberdour Beach (the Aberdeenshire Aberdour, not the Fife one) on Saturday, August 11 at 3pm.

It tells the story of Jane Whyte, a mother of nine, who helped to save the crew of the steamer William Hope, of Dundee, which had left Fraserburgh on the morning of October 28 1884 to head for Burghhead.

However, the wind direction changed and started to blow with hurricane force. The ship was being blown towards rocks and, after a two hour battle with the elements, the captain decided to run the vessel ashore in Aberdour Bay.

Having seen the ship being grounded, Jane Whyte waded into the sea and caught a rope thrown to her by the sailors. She stood firm on the beach, wound the rope around her waist and, one by one, the 15 men belayed along the rope to safety.

She then took the men to her home, offering food and warmth. The next day they were able to return to Dundee.

Bill Diack, who has been involved with the story board project, says: “We are particularly looking for names of the sailors who were on the ship when it was wrecked, as we can find no reference to them in the official records or the news stories of the time.

“Any other information would be equally welcomed.”

Bill can be contacted by email on bill. diack@gmail.com or you can contact Craigie and we will pass on any information.