The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Considerable curiosity
A REGULAR reader with an interest in shipping emails to say the arrival of a German ship atArbroath harbour at the onset of the First World War caused interest among local townsfolk in August, 1914, as mentioned in a recent feature article.
“The three-masted auxiliary schooner Behrend caused considerable curiosity when she arrived from St Petersburg with a cargo of oilcake for ag ricultural merchants Messrs. J. & J. Cunningham,” he writes.
“When the vessel was seen as she lay off the harbour her German flag attracted more than passing scrutiny. She had been on passage for 24 days due mainly to calm weather in the Baltic region.
“The captain had been unaware of the outbreak of war when he put into Arbroath. He had seen a large number of warships in the North Sea but as there was no word of war when he left St Petersburg he did not realise the meaning of their presence.
“A Customs Officer and Chief Constable Macdonald boarded the ship which was guarded by members of the Burgh Police Force. Later some of their duties were taken over by the local Boy Scouts. The captain and crew had been placed under arrest although, when a start had been made to discharge the cargo, members of the crew assisted.
“The following day the Leith steamer Orient arrived from Pernau with a cargo of flax, some of which was destined for local merchants.
“A similar event occurred at Kirkcaldy harbour with the arrival of another Germanowned schooner Rosenthal from Hamburg, her cargo of whiting being consigned to Messrs. M. Nairn & Co. Only part of her cargo had been discharged when she was boarded by Customs Officers who seized the vessel and cargo and took the captain and crew into custody.
“However, one of the crew was found to be Russian and he and the captain’s wife were allowed to remain on the ves- sel temporarily. From the time it had entered the dock it had been kept under surveillance.
“The captain, after being questioned, was set at liberty. The following week 13 German seafarers from ships berthed at Methil and Kirkcaldy were taken to Edinburgh by train with an armed escort of a dozen policemen.
“Those were exciting days indeed.”