1881 Eyemouth Fishing Disaster

1881 Fishing Disaster Memorial, Cove

My intrigue in the following article was sparked by a commemorative memorial situated in the small village of Cove, in south east Scotland, which I saw on a recent trip to Scotland. The memorial stands near the cliff edge, and depicts women and children pointing and looking out to sea. On my return, I decided to research the disaster and uncovered just how much impact this disaster had on the families of Cove. Carrying out genealogical research on each of the fishermen who lost their lives, also showed this disaster wasn’t the first to hit many of the families.

Being a fisherman has always been a treacherous occupation, even today, fishing communities are still seeing loss of life. On one particular day, 14 October 1881, eleven fishermen from the small village of Cove lost their life when a storm hit. When the fishing boats set out, it was reported that the wind was comparatively calm, however while out at sea, the sky darkened, and the wind suddenly picked up.[1] Four fishing boats, Snowdon, Renown, Pearl and Velex, which left Cove that morning had a total of fifteen men onboard, of which only four would return. The disaster was made all the more distressing, as the boats were only about a quarter of a mile from shore and insight of their homes, with family only able to watch and hope.

An earlier disaster to hit Cove was on 13 February 1864, when a fishing boat was hit by a gale, with the loss of all six fishermen onboard. They were James Grieve, Peter Grieve, William Fairbairn Senior, William Gordon, Robert Gordon and James Gordon. Five of the men were married and left a total of twenty children between them.[2]

The article in The Kelso Chronicle in 1881 described Cove as a small fishing hamlet, with little more than twenty single storey houses. It had a fishing population of twenty one. The disaster of 1881 claimed just over half. Below is a list of boats from Cove and the details of the fatalities.

All six fishermen on board the Snowdon were lost.

David Fairbairn was the son of Thomas Fairbairn and Helen Anderson. David was married to Janet Matheson, and they had four children, Thomas, Jane, Robert and David. David was only thirty four when he died at sea. His oldest child was only ten and his youngest child was less than a year old. He is buried at Cockburnspath Parish Churchyard. David was the cousin of John and Thomas Fairbairn mentioned below.

John Fairbairn was the son of William Fairbairn and Jane Burgen. John was unmarried and only twenty four when he died in the disaster.

Thomas Fairbairn was the brother of John above, and the son of William Fairbairn and Jane Burgen. Thomas was also unmarried and only nineteen years old. John and Thomas' father, William Fairbairn, died in the earlier disaster of 1864.

David Fairbairn was the eldest son of Christopher Fairbairn and Mary Lawrie. David was unmarried and only eighteen years old when he died. David was the cousin of John and Thomas Fairbairn mentioned above.

James Gordon was the eldest son of William Gordon and Margaret Fairbairn. James was unmarried and aged eighteen when he lost his life at sea. His father, Robert Gordon and uncle William Gordon were both fishermen who were lost at sea in 1864.

Robert Grieve was the son of James Grieve and Margaret Thorburn. Robert was unmarried and only twenty four when he died in the disaster. Robert's father, James, died in the earlier disaster of 1864.

All three fishermen on board the Renown were lost.

Richard Gordon was the youngest son of Richard Gordon and Agnes Dougal. Richard was married to Ellen Crow, and they had four children, Sophia, Richard, Agnes and George. The children were aged between eight and three when Richard died. Richard was thirty three years old. His older brother James Gordon was one of the fishermen lost at sea 1864.

John Fairbairn was the son of James Fairbairn and Janet Paterson. John was married to Margaret Crow (the sister of Ellen Crow mentioned above). John and Margaret had five children, James, George, John, Thomas (who died in 1880 aged two), and Thomas, who was only five months old when John died, and his child eldest was eight. John was thirty one years old.

Thomas Fairbairn was the brother of John mentioned above, and the youngest son of James Fairbairn and Janet Paterson. Thomas was unmarried and aged twenty four when he died.

One fisherman on board the Pearl was lost, with two fishermen surviving.

John Fairbairn was the brother of David Fairbairn who was aboard the Snowdon, and the youngest son of Thomas Fairbairn and Helen Anderson. John was married to Margaret Nicholson, and they had six children, Elizabeth, Thomas, John, Adam, Robert and Helen. Helen was born in April 1882, after the death of her father. His eldest child was only seven. John was the cousin of David, John and Thomas Fairbairn who were onboard the Snowdon. John was thirty two when he died, and he is buried at Cockburnspath Parish Churchyard.
Brothers William and Adam Gray both survived the disaster.

One fisherman on board the Velex was lost, with two fishermen surviving.

Andrew Henderson was the youngest son of Andrew Henderson and Jane Smith. Andrew was unmarried and aged twenty three when he died. The newspaper article stated that Andrew died on the eve of his wedding.
Andrew's older brother Thomas Henderson, and James Fairbairn both survived.

1881 Fishing Disaster Memorial Plaque, Cove

The plaque on the memorial reads, "Commemorating the widows & children of Cove left by the fishing disaster of 14th October 1881 when 189 fishermen were lost off this coast. Cove lost 11 out of 21 fishermen."

As the research and the article in The Kelso Chronicle (1881) highlighted, the families in this small fishing village were connected by intermarriage, with the article stating, "one could scarcely enter a house in the little hamlet without finding people mourning for lost relatives."

Cove was not the only village to have suffered loss on that day, a total of one hundred and eighty nine men and boys lost their lives that day in the Eyemouth Fishing Disaster, which was named locally as "Black Friday".[3] There were one hundred and twenty nine from Eyemouth, twenty four from Burnmouth, fifteen from Newhaven, eleven from Cove, seven from Fisherrow and three from Coldingham Shore. In total, the storm left one hundred and seven widows and three hundred and fifty one children fatherless.[4]

There are a further three memorials, which Jill Watson was commissioned by the people of Berwickshire to create, located in Burnmouth, St Abbs and Eyemouth. The Eyemouth Museum also has a tapestry on display, which includes name panels documenting each boat and crew that perished.

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10 oct

Very interesting read. My thoughts go to the women’s and children left behind as the fishermen were all bread winners in those days and no benefit system to fall back on. A hard life I would think.

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Contestando a

It was indeed a hard life for widows and children in those days. So many suffered that day. It's so sad.

1881 Eyemouth Fishing Disaster

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