Eyemouth disaster

The Eyemouth disaster was a severe European windstorm that struck the south-eastern coast of Scotland on 14 October 1881. One hundred and eighty-nine fishermen, most of whom were from Eyemouth, were drowned. Many citizens of Eyemouth call the day Black Friday.

The granite memorial in Eyemouth, depicting a broken sailing mast
The paired grave of members of the Stevenson family from Newhaven, drowned in the Eyemouth disaster and washed up the following spring, Rosebank Cemetery in Edinburgh

Disaster

Following a period of poor weather, the morning of 14 October was calm. Though the storm was predicted (as the barometric pressure was very low), the fishing fleets put to sea through economic necessity.[1][2]

Many of the fishing boats were either capsized, or wrecked against the coastline.[3]

Casualties

Some boats that had not capsized were wrecked on the Hurkar Rocks. Many houses were also destroyed. Two days later, the Ariel Gazelle turned up in Eyemouth, having braved the storm instead of fleeing.[5]

Aftermath
The bronze memorial at St Abbs - figures of women and children look out to sea

A donation-led relief fund was established to provide financial security to families who had lost members to the storm. The response was significant, bringing in over £50,000 (£4,550,000 in 2015).[6][7]

The disaster was the subject of a contemporary oil on canvas painting by Scottish artist J. Michael Brown

See also

Notes
  1. The Eyemouth Disaster - Historic Scotland
  2. Eyemouth Museum - Fishing Disaster
  3. Scottish Archives for Schools - The Eyemouth Fishing Disaster, 1881
  4. Edinburgh Evening News Oct15,1881
  5. "Historical Prints: Ariel Gazelle". Eyemouth Museum. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  6. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  7. New Research Paper 2005 template Archived 26 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine

References
  • Peter Aitchison. Children of the Sea: The Story of the People of Eyemouth. Tuckwell Press Ltd, 2001.

Further reading
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