Hidden Treasures and Inspiration - a Talk on Friday, 21st October

Last summer, as part of the Berwick 900 Our Families family history research project, we set up a small creative writing group to write fictional family stories about incidents and historical characters in Berwick’s, Tweedmouth’s and Spittal’s history, using research produced by the volunteers.

There's lots of scope for imagining what led up to incidents, what impact it had on people, what happened afterwards and creating a family story. One story, a poem written by Sandra Whitnell, is about a woman murdered at Middle Ord, Northumberland, in December 1876.

This year, Linda Bankier, the Berwick Archivist will give a talk at Berwick Literary Festival about the variety of records available in Berwick Record Office, and the audience will hear excerpts from three stories based on research into the Berwick Town Council account books, a newspaper cutting from November 1863 about a crinoline that caused an accident and a poster.

The talk is this Friday, 21st October at 12 noon at the Holy Trinity Parish Centre, Berwick; cost £5. 

Thomas Hogg's Family Story

From Thomas Hogg:

William Hogg and Mary Harrington Aitchison at their wedding in 1929

I was born on the Highfields Estate, Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1940.

My father was William Hogg (1896 – 1966) from Portobello, Scotland. He enlisted in the Cameron Highlanders in 1915 and fought in France till the end of World War I. After the war he returned to Portobello and worked as a journeyman butcher in West Linton, Ayton and Eyemouth and eventually Tweedmouth.

My mother - Mary Harrington Aitchison (1906 – 1995) - was born in Burnmouth, and had four brothers, namely William Spears Martin, James Martin, Thomas Martin (who went to New Zealand) and John.  My mother’s family tree (all connected with the North Sea fishing from Burnmouth and Eyemouth) can be found in the book ‘Children of the Sea’ by Peter Aitchison about the Eyemouth fishing disaster 1881.

My parents married on 25 September 1929 at the United Free Church, Burnmouth.
I was the 7th child in the family and had siblings - William (1930 – 2000), Elizabeth, Moira, Flora May (1934 -2011), Henry Bolam (1937 -2011) and James Aitchison (1939 – 2011), all of whom were born in Tweedmouth and Berwick.  A later sibling is Linda, born in Newcastle on Tyne where the family lived from 1944.

I returned to Berwick many times, in the late 40s and early 50s, with family members and stayed with relatives in Burnmouth or with the Mason family in St. Cuthberts Road, Berwick.

As a young child I enjoyed walking across the fields to bathe in the two sea-pools but was always afraid of the jelly fish that came in on the tide.   I remember going with my older siblings to the Berwick barracks and we went to one or two socials there.  In the town we loved to buy our favourite sweets, Ross’s Berwick Cockles, at a corner shop near the bridge - they were a real treat for us at that time.  

In the 50s, I recall going with my dad to Shielfield Park to see Berwick Rangers play Hibernian reserves before our team played in the new Scottish Divisions.
I still look now on Saturdays for the Berwick Rangers score.

At Burnmouth it is still easy to visualise the creels and fishing nets strung out for repair near the sea front at Cowdrait  and the many happy days we spent clambering over the rocks to collect whelks.    My grandmother (née Elizabeth Martin) lived in Cowdrait until her death in December 1947.  My uncle, Jimmy, also in Cowdrait was always telling us about the fishing off Burnmouth and about the family trawler, ‘True Vine’.

It was always fascinating later to visit the small harbour at the bottom of the brae, however the memorial stones in Ayton tell a story of tragedies in the family in the old trawling days.

Be Famous for a Few Weeks

Inspired by the town’s history of rope making and the legendary rope walks that residents and visitors to Berwick-upon-Tweed still remember, The Great Performing Rope is producing a 900 metre rope, which will be threaded through the town with objects and family stories attached to it.

Add your memories of Berwick, interest in Berwick or hope for the town's future by adding your story, now.

Also, consider sending us an email to

with your family story (and possibly a picture ?) connected with Berwick, Tweedmouth or Spittal for the family stories section of the blog.

Berwick Literary Festival, 16 to 18 October

There's more than 25 interesting talks and workshops to engage you during Berwick Literary Festival which runs from 16 to 18 October.

For example,
Friday, 16 October at 10am  
Archives for Creative Writing
A talk by Linda Bankier at Holy Trinity Parish Centre (tickets £2).

Friday, 16 October at 12 noon  
History in Historical Fiction: Icing on the Cake or Main Ingredient?
A talk by Margaret Skea about her latest book; A House Divided. Set in Scotland in the 16th Century, Munro, one of the Earl of Glencairn's followers, is trapped in a longstanding feud between the Montgomeries and the Cunninghames.

Sunday, 18 October at 2pm  
Archives for Creative Writing
A workshop led by Linda Bankier at Holy Trinity Parish Centre (tickets £5).

Full list of Berwick Literary Festival events.

Bookings for a talk or workshop.

Are you an author or want to be one ?
Are you interested being part of a creative writing group, based in Berwick, uses your own historical research, newspaper clippings or research produced by the Berwick 900 Our Families Project to write fictional family stories about incidents (before World War I) and historical characters in Berwick’s, Tweedmouth’s and Spittal’s history ?

There's lots of scope for imagining what led up to incidents, what impact it had on people, what happened afterwards and creating a family story.

If you're interested, please send me an email

Berwick 900 Seaside & Maritime Story

This video looks at some of the visual elements in the Spittal Seaside Festival and the exhibition in Tweedmouth Watchtower (introduced by Annie Robinson) where Margaret Kenny and volunteers work on creating a rag wall-hanging to celebrate Berwick 900. 

You'll see nice views of Berwick's landscape and architecture, Spittal promenade, Captain Jim (James) Evans talking about his cooper ancestors, colourful kites on Spittal beach, a teddy bears' picnic with an assortment of knitted woollen food.

Berwick-upon-Tweed's Fishing Story

Berwick-upon-Tweed's Our Fishing Story video begins with a view of the fishing boat, Reaper, entering Berwick harbour carrying Lauren Dixon, the outgoing 2014-15 Salmon Queen from Eyemouth to Berwick quayside.

As well as nice views of the quayside and the harbour, there's views of the nice food stalls on the quayside taking part in the Mouth of the Tweed food festival celebrating food that is harvested, grown or produced in the Berwick-upon-Tweed area.

On the quayside, that group of red tops and red caps is Prior Park First School there to entertain the crowds. The camera shifts to the Tweedmouth Watchtower and the Silver Shiels and Salmon Darlings exhibition with history displays about fishing and craftswork and paintings related to fishing: fishes, nets, a huge collage of fishes in the waves. Next comes Spittal Promenade with glimpses of Tidal's contemporary dance depicting the sea and River Tweed, then the Tweedmouth Feast carnival parade through the streets of Berwick, Tweedmouth and Spittal. There's commentary by Berwick's Mayor, Hazel Bettison, too.

Several views of people avidly reading the displays in Berwick's Maritime Connections Exhibition at Berwick Guildhall on 18 July, where volunteers were collecting family stories mainly about salmon fishing around Berwick and herring fishing inhabitants in the Greenses area of Berwick. More views of the town are followed by a pipe band leading the procession to the crowning of the new Tweedmouth Salmon Queen, Shannon Blackhall.

The video closes with the departure of Reaper.

Berwick's Fishing, Seaside and Maritime Story Exhibition - 30 July to 16 August

Following on from Berwick's Maritime Connections Exhibition at Berwick Guildhall, there's another exhibition at the Watchtower, West End, Tweedmouth from 30 July to 16 Aug, open from 11am to 4pm each day, bringing together community, history and the arts and crafts, with something for all ages and interests.

Berwick's Maritime Connections Exhibition at Berwick Guildhall on Saturday, 18 July

Part of the Central Display

Part of the Central Display and another Display

Fishing and Whaling

The Salmon Fishing on the Tweed Story-Telling Booth

We were very busy (496 visitors) today, talking to people at Berwick Guildhall exhibition on Berwick's maritime connections, about their Berwick, Tweedmouth and Spittal connections, to people whose family lived on the Greenses, or live there now, people with salmon and herring fishing connections, their family stories, seeing if they are related to anyone on our massive Burgon family tree. Several details on the tree were updated, there and then, others said they would look at their family trees tonight and come in tomorrow (Sunday), others said they would email us.

Some people wrote a family story for us and others will email us a family story, another family story with lots of photos was handed to me and will go on the blog at some time.

The Salmon Fishing on the Tweed project were there with their story-telling booth - come and tell your story, tomorrow.

We had visitors from further afield too, from Bedford, Glasgow, Poland, Switzerland and Yorkshire.

Bring Us Your Family Stories about Berwick's Fishing Families, Fri 17 to Sun 19 July in Berwick Guildhall

As you’ll have already seen, with an exhibition in the Watchtower, Tweedmouth, and other events, this coming month is all about the area’s fishing and maritime history. 

Also from 11am to 4pm each day from Friday, 17 July to Sunday, 19 July, we’re mounting an exhibition in the Guildhall on Berwick's maritime connections (of course, it’s admission free).

This includes Berwick's connections with salmon and herring fishing, ships and shipbuilding; whaling and about Berwick captains. Year 4 of Holy Trinity School, Berwick, have done some artwork based on families and fishing in the Greenses which will be on display, too. 

As part of the weekend, we would like to gather information on the Greenses fishing community, the people who lived there and stories about their lives. 

We are particularly interested in these names: Burgon; Manuel; Borthwick; Jamieson; Crombie; Young and Hattle but we’re also looking for any other names in that area connected with fishing. 

We have a Burgon family tree to which we have added some information but if anyone else can help us add more, come along and help us, particularly where they link in with the other fishing families in that area. 

We’re still interested in hearing your family stories whether they’re connected with fishing or the sea or not. If you have any interesting information about characters from your family’s past in Berwick or would like to get involved in the project, come along and see us this coming weekend or contact Peter Munro on berwickfamilies@gmail.com or Linda Bankier on berwickarchives@woodhorn.org.uk .

More on the Brigham Family of Tweedmouth

There's more information on The Brigham Family of Tweedmouth.

Gail Petrov writes:
I thought we would share our Tweedmouth family photos. 

William Brigham and Mary Hudson Brigham about mid 1890s, who died in 1904 and 1911, respectively.  

It was shortly after his mother (Mary Hudson Brigham)’s death that James emigrated.

James and Mary Brigham with children, James and Mary

The Brigham brothers, Charles and William standing, Hudson and Ernest sitting

Prior to leaving England for a new life in Canada, James and wife Mary, with children James and Mary sat for one portrait, the other four sons Charles, William, Hudson and Ernest sat for another.   These photos were to help them adjust to not being together for a year.

The Brigham Family of Tweedmouth

Gail Petrov and Beverly Brigham from Canada write:
Our Brigham roots stem from East Yorkshire, to Holy Island, on to Fenwick
(Kyloe Parish) then to Tweedmouth.
In 1911, our great grandfather, James Brigham, emigrated to Canada.

William Brigham, born 1833 in Fenwick (Kyloe Parish), married to Mary
Hudson, was part of a family joinery business.  The joinery was started in
1782 by his grandfather, John Brigham, in Fenwick.
William eventually took over the Joinery with his sons, John and James.
By 1889, they were in Tweedmouth residing and operating the joinery workshop
on Main Road, Tweedmouth. 

William Brigham & sons, Joiners and Contractors

After William's death in 1904,

the sons took over the business but in April 1911, dissolved the partnership.   John continued to reside in Tweedmouth and operate the business until it closed in the mid-1940s.  James emigrated with his family in May 1911 to Canada.

On 11 May 1911, James with wife, Mary Lightly Brigham, daughter Mary and youngest son James left Glasgow, Scotland, on the ship Saturnia.  They arrived in Quebec, Canada on 14 May 1911.

James is listed 19 May 1911 in the Britain, Trade Union membership registers, union branch Winnipeg, which shows he continued his joinery trade.

Their other 4 sons remained in Tweedmouth with their grandmother, Agnes
Rutherford.   On 27 April 1912, the boys and their grandmother left Glasgow, Scotland on the ship Hesperian, arriving in Quebec, Canada, on 6 May 1912.

It was a short family reunion as James died on 2 December 1912 in Winnipeg.

During World War I, James' eldest son, William, enlisted 11 January 1916 and was sent overseas.  He was seriously wounded on 16 September 1916 at the Battle of The Somme, at Courcelette, losing his right eye and later having his right foot
amputated.

Berwickshire News, 17 Oct 1916

Another son, Charles, enlisted 17 April 1918 and also served overseas in
World War I.

Two more sons, Hudson and James, enlisted to do their service for Canada in
World War II.  Both were sent overseas and had contact with family members in
England.The Canadian Brighams still have contact with family members in the UK.

Come to our Easter Family History Surgeries at Berwick-upon-Tweed

This weekend is the start of the Berwick 900 Festival that celebrates 900 years of Berwick’s history.

The theme of the Easter weekend, 3  to 6 April is “Our Christian Story” that celebrates Christian institutions, religious life and a few of the great Christian leaders in the town.

At St Andrews Church, Wallace Green, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 1ED as well as the “Moments in Time” Flower Festival, inspired by the church’s history, there will be display panels about Robert Balmer, an inspirational minister at Golden Square, Dr John Cairns and Berwick’s well known physician, Philip MacLagan, a church elder.

Although all these men were born in Scotland and at times lived elsewhere, they all had strong links with Berwick. Like them, John Hamilton Hall, a freeman, was born in Coldstream, moved to Berwick as a child where his father was a doctor, left the town to fight in India, returned when he retired from the army, aged 40, got married and then moved to Edinburgh.

Did your family move into or out of Berwick ?
Why did they do that ?
If your family is associated with Berwick, Tweedmouth or Spittal, the Berwick 900 Our Families Project would love to hear your family stories.

Normally you need to visit Berwick Record Office to consult the transcripts of church registers of baptisms, marriages and burials for Berwick and Tweedmouth. However, over the Easter weekend, you can look at some of the registers in the churches where the events took place – Berwick Parish; St Andrews and Berwick Roman Catholic churches and Tweedmouth Parish Church. Look on the Berwick 900 website for opening times.

Are you wondering how to start your family history ? Perhaps you’ve started researching your family but have hit a brick wall.

If you need any help why not come along to our Family History surgeries in St Andrews Church from 12 to 2pm each day from Good Friday to Easter Monday and speak to experienced genealogists.

Family History Volunteers Needed, Please Help !

The Our Families Project is looking for volunteers to help research families and their stories for displays as part of the other themed weekends for the Berwick 900 Festival in Berwick, Spittal and Tweedmouth this year.

If you are an experienced Family Historian, we’ll provide you with advanced training on specific resources.

If you are a complete novice, we’ll train you in basic family history and provide you with resources.

We are holding an initial meeting for Beginners on Tuesday 7th April at 10am in the Berwick Record Office, Council Offices, Wallace Green, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 1ED.

Do come along if you want to find out more and are keen to help us. Researching family history is fun and interesting.

For further information please contact Linda Bankier at berwickarchives@woodhorn.org.uk or tweet @Berwick900.

Free Access to Swedish Records on 21 and 22 March

Considering that Berwick was a major port for hundreds of years, it's fairly likely that some of the sailors would have been Swedish, whether on Swedish ships or on ships from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia participating in the Baltic Trade.

Perhaps some of those sailors decided to drop anchor and stay in Berwick, Tweedmouth or Spittal or were stranded when their ship sailed off without them.

Perhaps one of them was your ancestor.

Also, many Scots (including one of my ancestors) went to fight as mercenaries for the King of Sweden, so perhaps they married and had a family there.

To celebrate Genealogy Day in Sweden, which is on 21 March, ArkivDigital is offering free access to Swedish records in their collection at the weekend.
Sweden is one hour ahead of us so the free period is from 11pm on 20 March to 11pm on 22 March.

You'll need to register and download the ArkivDigital program.

There's also a useful guide to Swedish Genealogical records.
If this helps you to widen your family history, please let us know.

Get Your Name Up in Lights

Well, not really. Not up in lights, but on websites and in the newspaper, if that appeals to you.

From April to October 2015, Berwick-upon-Tweed is celebrating 900 years of its history - a long festival of exciting events in Berwick, Tweedmouth and Spittal - more information on the Berwick 900 website.

The Berwick 900 Our Families Project is looking for volunteers (both experienced and beginners) to help them unearth and research the stories of people who have shaped the history of Berwick, Tweedmouth and Spittal and to present them in interesting ways.

You'll get training in family history research skills, working with Berwick Record Office and using local resources, the internet and social media to look at families and people who have not only helped shape the communities of Berwick, Tweedmouth and Spittal but had an impact in the wider world.

Some of the research you do will be presented as exhibition displays, others as plays scripted and performed by the Maltings Youth Theatre, or as articles in local newspapers and on our blog.

If that sounds interesting, please come along to our Open Day at Berwick Town Hall on Saturday 14th March between 10.30am and 1.30 pm or alternatively contact Linda Bankier by email at lbankier@woodhorn.org.uk.

If you prefer not to have your name published, that's fine with us, too.
If you have a friend or a family member who would be prepared to volunteer to do research or help steward an event, please bring them along.

Ancestry Offers Free Access at Easter between 18 April and 21 April

To celebrate Easter, Ancestry are offering free access to some of their collections at Easter (from 00:00 on 18 April until 23:59 on 21 April).

You'll need to be registered to take advantage of the offer and be signed in when you search.

The collections are:

    1901 Scotland Census
    1901 Wales Census
    1911 Channel Islands Census
    1911 Channel Islands Census Summary Books
    1911 England Census
    1911 England Census Summary Books
    1911 Isle of Man Census
    1911 Isle of Man Census Summary Books
    1911 Wales Census Updated!
    1911 Wales Census Summary Books Free Index
    British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920
    British Army WWI Pension Records 1914-1920
    British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
    England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916-2005
    England & Wales, Death Index, 1916-2007
    England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 Free Index
    England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, 1837-1915 Free Index
    England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837-1915 Free Index
    England & Wales, Marriage Index, 1916-2005
    England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966

Access Ancestry's Easter offer and find your Berwick-upon-Tweed, Tweedmouth and Spittal connections !

Interesting Family History Stories Shared at Coffee Morning

I had an interesting day at Berwick-upon-Tweed on 5 April, talking to people about their families at the Riding of the Bounds coffee morning at the Guildhall, Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Linda Bankier, the Archivist at Berwick Record Office created a new exhibition about the ceremony and the people involved in the 20th century and that attracted lots of interest. The slideshow of a recent riding was also popular and I was surprised that one lady was able to name lots of the horses.

I was pleased that people came to share their family stories.

• One older man told me that in his youth there were 4 fishing families of his surname in the Greens area of Berwick. That's a huge contrast with the 1891 census when there 15 fishing families of his surname in the Greens area. He started going fishing with his father at the age of 5 or 6, and apart from 3 years war service had spent most of his life fishing - for salmon, sea fish, lobsters, and became a ghillie in his retirement.
• A lady told me proudly that her ancestors were freemen (of the Berwick-upon-Tweed Guild)  back to 1730, at least. One ancestor who had married again after the death of his wife was jailed for a debt of £3 but his wife and children needed welfare. In those days, the welfare was paid by the husband or the father's home parish and one of the parishes did not recognise the prisoner's second marriage as valid so there was a court case to decide which parish should bear the cost. Another man was involved in election irregularities in the 1860s.
• A visitor from York, whose father and uncle were freemen, told me his family were widely scattered, in Canada, Kenya, New Zealand
• Another lady told me that her grandfather attended a tribunal twice during World War I so that he could avoid being conscripted. His reasons were understandable and the tribunal agreed to exempt him.
• The granddaughter of a carter from Spittal told me that he carried stone to build the new bridge at Berwick-upon-Tweed; the business stopped at the start of World War I and her great uncle was killed early on, probably on the Somme.
• Another man told me that his surname was from around Newton Stewart and his grandfather came to Tweedmouth to work on the railway. That contrasted with a lady whose family came from Tyneside to work on fish curing.

Of course, more detail is needed on these stories, but these show the antiquity of the Berwick-upon-Tweed Guild and that Berwick has both immigrants and emigrants.

If you have an interesting family story, please give me a summary in the comments below.