| Description | Tape 1, Side A: WILLIAM MURRAY born 18 March 1926 Fraserburgh. (Mrs Theresa Murray also present). Background to name. Only child. Paternal family: father, Peter Murray, manager of ironmongery. Things bad so he moved back to Buckie, ran shop selling cigarettes etc. He later worked in civil service UAB (Unemployment Assistance Board). Details. He was one of seven. Grandfather a fisherman, had iron steam herring drifter. Details re boat, crew, fishing work in different seasons. Went with grandfather to harbour, learned about boats. Recalls names of boats, all privately owned. During First World War father in Navy, worked in drifters, grandfather made lieutenant. Further details re boat names, crew. Story of Stornaway men. Mentions traditions. Importance of grandfather in childhood. Details about him, his youth. Story of his premonition of disaster. Dangers of fishing. Grandfather recited poetry, e.g. How Horatius Held the Bridge. Quotes beginning of poem. Details re Jean Finletter's Loon, grandfather's party piece. At end of Yarmouth season he took home barrel of salted herrings. Recalls family meal gatherings, tatties and herrings, grandfather's reason for not eating herring. Relationship with grandfather, his feelings re desirability of going to sea. Describes grandmother Jessie Murray nee Clark. She ruled the household. She recalled important routines re preservation of fish. Mentions other members of extended family. Maternal family: grandfather, John Menzies, from Keith, a miller, liked poetry, song etc. Mentions several families of 7 children. Recalls grandfather's mill, grandmother Maggie nee Milne, her making cushions for herring drifters. Details re grandparents' life, moves. Father a Freemason. Details re his attitude to education. Describes mother. Recalls discipline at home.
Tape 1 Side B: Recalls life in Buckie. Details re large family, complex relationships, ways of naming, identifying family members. Reference to Cowie family. Buckie population 8000. Education: went to Buckie School. Religion: went to Sunday School with a penny. Caught spending part of it. Reference to Reverend Meek. Father an agent for football pools. Circumstances leading to his resigning as a Church elder. Story illustrating father's canny character. Details re church, UP (United Presbyterian), Auld Kirk. Strong grounding in religion. Grandfather was superstitious. Details re fishing superstitions including not mentioning rabbits, salmon; substitute words. Politics: grandfather supported Lloyd George, father more to the left. Own politics more like grandfather's. Education: recalls Miss McCombie, stories about her; Pa McCallum who had taught father, stories about him. He taught navigation to most skippers in Buckie area. Spoke Buckie dialect outside school. Details re dialect. Gives examples with translation. Buckie people still speak dialect. Moray Firth coast people identifiable from differences in their speech. Gives examples, e.g. words for seagulls. Expected to speak English at school. Perception of England in childhood. Defines own identity, feelings re Scotland, England. Mentions current rugby world cup. Had no career aspirations at school. Explains perception of different occupations then. Those who went fishing after war made money. Mentions purse-net fishing. As only child read a lot. Details. Played football successfully. Sport important. Keen golfer. Explains character-building aspect of golf. Clear memory of day war broke out. Member of Air Training Corps, wanted to become aircrew. Father refused. Recalls argument. Went to university. Ended up in Army. Details. Reference to King's Royal Scottish Borderers, Gordon Highlanders.
Tape 2 Side A: Reference to daughter. Joined army 1944. Details re university subjects. Did army training at Fort George, in Borders, England. Volunteered for airborne training, got pay rise. Mentions reinforcements necessary for battalion after Tobruk etc. Trained with experienced men. Details re their attitude to authority. Recalls flying to Norway at end of war. Details re flight, difficulties re toilet needs, hazardous landing. Brief experience of war, rounding up German troops. Describes accidental explosion blowing up train, near miss, casualties, August 1945. Example of mentality of soldier, importance of airborne division's red beret. Mentions missing victory parade. After repatriation, sent to Germany. Accepted for Intelligence Corps. Did crash course in German. Explains method of working on de-nazification, tracking down SS people. Details re section staff, involvement of Scots, Jews etc. Recalls vetting establishment of new political parties. Had ideas of becoming a teacher. Returned to second year at Aberdeen University, a struggle. Explains. Background to joining salt curing side of herring industry with MacFisheries, Unilever in Aberdeen, training for management. Describes Aberdeen pre-oil, kindness of people there, in contrast to its reputation. Origin of reputation. Example of an anti-Aberdeen joke. Importance of fishing, granite, paper, farming then. Recalls personal benefit of university. Details re ownership of MacFisheries, Bloomfields, link with Great Yarmouth. Recalls cooperage at Footdee, setup of company, staff. Details re responsibilities including erling. Girls came for fishing from Moray coast, Lerwick, Ireland etc. First went to learn cooperage in Lerwick for season. Had good tutor. Details re him, own work. Recalls Lord Leverhulme's scheme for Leverborough in
Tape 2 Side B: Management trainee work (cont'd). Own new scheme for landing, processing fish. Benefit of having worked as labourer. Recalls an injury. Describes Shetlanders, their pride as island folk. Compares with Stornaway people. Effect of use of Gaelic language. In Shetland 1949 during herring season. 1950 back to Aberdeen, labouring in cooperage. Details re coopers' agreement, union membership requirement. Explains in detail work making barrels, components, complications, measurements. Old fashioned machines used. Recalls fellow coopers, e.g. Jockie Murdoch. Coopers took a good drink. Describes their ways of getting money out of their wages. Murdoch's way of hiding ten bob notes. He later got religion. Details. Recalls Jimmy Simpson hurting his back, his remedy, his pre-death wake. Worked in cooperage till stocktaking. Met wife 1949 at dance in Aberdeen, married 1951. Recalls social life in Aberdeen, picture houses etc. Wife's father a stevedore/crane driver. Explains non-membership of union then. Recalls annual meetings with TGWU re wages. Recalls location of company offices, factory in Aberdeen. Describes fishmarket area. Reference to Norman Davidson, Dr Clark, other herring companies, white fish and herring people. Most boats came from Lowestoft. Mentions impact of arrival of West Indians, their liking for mackerel. Worked during winters in cooperage, spent autumns in Great Yarmouth. Details re annual work routines, including summer work in Lerwick, clerical and other responsibilities. Significance of moon, tides to fishing seasons. In Yarmouth, worked in office and as buyer etc. Extra herrings turned into fish meal in Fraserburgh. Details. Describes own daily work routine in Yarmouth. Herring processes - gutting, salting, barrel-filling etc. Reference to seastick.
Tape 3 Side A: Herring processing (cont'd). Method of packing barrel. Top tier specially arranged. Had to sort out travel arrangements for fish worker women to Great Yarmouth in special train from Aberdeen. Mentions accommodation. Two different types of women. Explains. Story of Belle. Problems in Lerwick with fishermen coming in on Saturday nights. Recalls sorting situations out with help of Jimmy Simpson. No problems in Yarmouth. Recalls social life in Yarmouth, numbers of herring-related people there. Knew few local people. Wife went one year to Yarmouth. Reference Ocean House, headquarters of Bloomfields. Details re company. Boss, James Gormack, started Norfolk Line, later roll-on/roll-off business mid-1960s at time when fishing finished. Mentions Leverhulme personnel. Explains beginning of decline of fishing in mid-late 1950s. Recalls trophy for top fishing landing in Yarmouth. Explains cran measure, change to purse net fishing. Problem when North Sea temporarily closed for herring. Started importing, processing herring from Canada. Impact of situation on Aberdeen, Lerwick, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft. Recalls first consciousness of oil and gas, sudden change to Aberdeen, impact on cooperage in Footdee, premises being taken over by oil company mid-1970s. Reference to Harbour Board. Old Torry knocked down. Impact of industry on Aberdeen, house prices. Mentions finish of industry in Shetland, Great Yarmouth. Impact of freezing process, need to adapt to changing market. Mentions rollmops production. Recalls Scottish quines, Irish men in fishing industry, work available. No problems getting staff. Explains involvement in klondiking, export routines. Problems with weather. Impact of job on family life. Had long stays in Lerwick. Mentions closeness of family. Recalls getting news of Downs Syndrome child.
Tape 3 Side B: In 1970s did A-Level German, sent by company to work in Germany. Sent herring from Montrose to Germany. Took over MacFisheries wholesales, exports of fish. Sent by Herring Industry Board all over Continent, became known. Recalls link with Igloo company, dealing with supermarkets. Details re their fish preferences. Explains own approach to business. Company not affected by oil/gas industry. Explains. When 57, Unilever gave notice of getting out of fish (1983). Approached by old university friend, medical doctor who had gone into fish business, Schofish, to join him. Details re appointment, trouble-shooting, international aspects of job. Change from long-term management to instant management. Stayed until age 67. Details re MacFisheries, Bloomfields. Recalls Piper Alpha disaster. Reference to Chernobyl disaster. Little impact of oil industry on own life. Was totally absorbed in fishing. Herring and white fish quite separate from each other. Mentions work in sprats. Explains difficulties. Knew little re herring fishing technicalities. Explains wars over measure. Some crews had to be watched. Describes a trick played ashore. Small impact of oil industry on Bloomfields. Lost coopers in Wick to Dounreay nuclear power station. Family situation, 2 daughters. Details re deaths of parents. Keeps in contact with Buckie. Details re family. Retired 1993. Recalls own work routine, attitude to work. Current state of health. Keeps in contact with friends. Current lifestyle. Mentions wife's health situation. Own side of fishing - curing etc - has gone. Recalls curing matjes early in Lerwick season. Recalls eating raw herrings. Career in retrospect. Herring people bond together. Explains. Feelings about trust, own reputation.
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