This is a new feature on our Family History site which aims to publish interesting articles about particular events, people and places, compiled using our family history data, photographs and sources.
This first article concerns the crew of a fishing trawler which included our grandfather, Alexander Pirie.
ST Beathwood and the Fate of her Crew
A steam trawler at anchor off the East coast of Scotland on a beautiful calm clear moonlit night in September 1940. What happened next?
ST Osbourne Stroud, later renamed ST Beathwood
Boat building at 28 Seafield Street, Portknockie
Information and many photographs of William Lewis Pirie's activities, including building small boats in the back yard of 28 Seafield Street, and launching and sailing them at Portknockie Harbour.
William shows off a dinghy he has built in the back yard of 28 Seafield Street
William Cheyne drapery shops in Fraserburgh
Highlighting the two William Cheyne drapery shops through their proprietors William Cheyne (1860 - 1914) and William Cheyne (1841 - 1936), and their families.
William Cheyne Drapery Shop, 32 Broad Street, Fraserburgh
The Loss of the 'Evangeline' in 1905
A great tragedy unfolded on the village of Portknockie following a great gale that caught the fishing fleet in Orkney.
The Crew of the Evangeline
Portknockie Photographs 
A selection of Portknockie photographs, mainly from our family collection but also from relatives and collaborators. The page will evolve as more photographs are added.
Bow Fiddle Rock, Portknockie
Buckie and District Directory 1926 for Portknockie
Includes sections on:
- Portknockie people A-Z
- Portknockie people by street/house
- Findochty Drifters and Steamers
- Portknockie Drifters and Steamers
- Cullen Drifters and Steamers
Buckie and District Directory 1926
Fraserburgh: Past and Present by John Cranna
This comprehensive history of the fishing port of Fraserburgh, was originally published in 1914. It was written by John Cranna, a former Fraserburgh Harbour Treasurer. With the copyright of the text having expired some years ago, a project to digitise the book and make it freely available to all, was undertaken by volunteers from the Fraserburgh Yahoo Group. Click the link to access the book's webpage.
Kinnaird Head, Fraserburgh, 1822
If you have any comments or queries, we'd love to hear from you. You can either click the Neil Pirie link at the bottom of any family history page to create a new e-mail message, or use one of the Contact us links on the main site.
