Wick launch of touring exhibition celebrating the herring girls
It became known as the herring capital of Europe so it’s only right that the Scottish launch of a touring exhibition which celebrates the stories of the herring girls takes place in Wick!
Between 1850 and 1950 herring fishing was a huge industry, exporting millions of barrels of cured herring across Europe and employing thousands of people. This new exhibition highlights the substantial role that these hardy women played in both the economy and the community of fishing towns across Scotland and England during that time.
Opening at Nucleus: The Nuclear and Caithness Archives on Thursday 8 May, ‘Following the Fish’ is a joint initiative involving High Life Highland’s Archive Service, Suffolk Archives, the Norfolk Record Office, and Tasglann nan Eilean (the Hebridean Archives) with grant funding from Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
The exhibition is the result of research and the gathering of stories and photographs following a plea that was issued by the partners last year.
Lorna Steele-McGinn from High Life Highland has been working with staff at the other archive services to collate the stories, images and artefacts for the exhibition. She said: “This is one of the loveliest projects I have ever had the chance to work on. While I knew something of the herring girls and their way of life, it’s been wonderful to find out new information, particularly around the family dynamics. With so many women away from home it’s been fascinating to hear about the juggling of work and home life, and the memories of fathers, grandparents and other community members bringing up children in their mothers’ temporary absence.
“It’s also been really interesting to hear about the journeys they made – at the peak of the herring industry around 6,000 women from the Highlands and Islands would travel around the country, swelling local populations during their time in any given port, with most travelling on special trains but we were also told the story of a woman walking from Kyle of Lochalsh to Wick to work as a herring girl.
“Following the Fish is a wonderful exhibition which celebrates these hard-working women and preserves their legacy.”
The herring season started in May in the Western and Northern Isles and gradually made its way clockwise round the coast of Scotland and England, with the season finishing in December in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk and Lowestoft, Suffolk.
The Scottish herring girls were employed primarily to gut, cure, and pack the fresh catch within 24 hours of being caught. It was challenging and highly skilled work, which meant the women were in high demand and would travel around the UK throughout the eight-month-season. They were the backbone of the UK’s fishing industry for over 100 years, becoming seasoned travellers and often marrying and settling far from home as they followed the fleets around the UK’s coast.
While in Scotland, the herring girls had their own local identity depending on where they hailed from but once south of the border they were all just known as the Scotch Girls.
As well as touring Scotland, ‘Following the Fish’ will also be launched in Ipswich, Suffolk on 22 May. Philip Faircloth-Mutton, Cabinet Member for Environment, Communities and Equality at Suffolk County Council said: “I am pleased that ‘Following the Fish’ will be coming to Ipswich. It’s a fascinating exhibition that shines a light on the important role the herring girls played in communities and the fishing industry around the UK. Their hard work and determination had a lasting impact, and it’s great to see their stories being shared and remembered here in Suffolk.”
The exhibition will appear at various locations throughout the Highlands and Islands – and further afield – over the coming year. For future dates and locations follow the Highland Archive Service on Facebook or check in regularly at the High Life Highland website: Highland Archive Service – Archives Service
Main image provide courtesy of Mary Morrison
