Local history group

Guest speakers at the March meeting of the Local History Group were Tom and Lindy Rowley.

Lindy talked about the setting up of the Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre which came about when people started asking her what they should do with seafaring mementoes that were in danger of being thrown away. A group was formed which took over an empty shop in Eastborough to house the growing collection. They started putting on exhibitions every three months, the current one being about Shackleton’s expeditions (eight men from Hull were on these).

The centre has now moved to its own premises across the road at 45 Eastborough. It has an award-winning website, and Lindy was awarded an MBE for her work with the group.

Tom then spoke about his 37 years as a fishermen, lifeboatman and fishmonger in Scarborough. His family came from Ireland at the time of the potato famine. He attended the Graham Sea Training School where he had lessons in seamanship, then went with his father and with other skippers coble fishing. Coble fishers were not at sea as long as trawlermen, so many of them were able to man the lifeboat as well.

Tom got his skipper’s ‘ticket’ at Hull Technical College before buying his own boat ‘Our Margaret’ which he skippered for 25 years. In 1998, after illness, he had his boat decommissioned under a government scheme. After this he took anglers out fishing then got a job as engineer on the ‘Coronia’ then on the ‘Regal Lady’ for 12 years taking visitors out for short cruises.

After a spell as a fishmonger at Safeways, he retired completely. Tom told anecdotes of his father and friends and his time at sea, including attending other fishing boats in distress. ‘Our Margaret’ was once in a near collision in fog with a foreign-owned boat skippered by a black captain. The fault was entirely the other boat’s fault and Tom swore loudly at the captain - who was later suspended for bad seamanship but threatened to report Tom for racial discrimination for what he had said (nothing came of this).

The last coble in Scarborough was built in 2009 and the centre has the moulds for it in their store at Quay Street. Tom’s tales were much appreciated by his audience.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday April 18, back at Staintondale Village Hall at the usual time of 7.30pm when Steve Sherlock, who was responsible for the Anglo-Saxon dig at Streethouses, will talk about the archaeology revealed when work was done on the A1 road scheme. All are welcome to come.