“It’s been fascinating to hear about the journeys all these women made, 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.”
Lorna Steele-McGinn, Community Engagement Officer, High Life Highland
Following the Fish, a staff and volunteer-led research project, uncovered and celebrated the remarkable stories of the herring lassies; women who played a vital role in the economy and communities of fishing towns across Scotland and East Anglia.
This collaborative initiative, funded by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, brought together High Life Highland’s Archive Service, Suffolk Archive, Tasglann nan Eilean (the Hebridean Archives), and Norfolk Record Office.
The project sheds light on an often-overlooked chapter of maritime history, aligning two perspectives of the same story: the departure of women from their hometowns and the impact of their arrival at bustling fishing ports.
Between 1850 and 1950, herring fishing was a major industry, employing thousands and exporting millions of barrels of cured herring across Europe. The fishing season would begin in the Western and Northern Isles in May and moved clockwise around the coasts of Scotland and England. At the height of the industry, around 6,000 women from the Highlands and Islands travelled across the country, swelling local populations during their stay in each port.
The project had a variety of outcomes, including touring exhibitions, the design of a handling box and an online exhibition which has over 2300 views. The touring exhibitions showcased archival records from all participating archive services, as well as photographs and oral histories collected from each local community and descendants of the herring lassies.
The project team, with its wide geographical spread, collaborated remotely using a shared drive to store research outcomes, digital images and project plans. Team members had the opportunity to meet in person during the launch events in Wick and Ipswich, enabling them to showcase their respective collections and explore the towns connected to the project, fostering deeper engagement and mutual appreciation.
The volunteer team, coincidentally all women, embarked on a shared research journey to museums and archives, forming strong bonds along the way. As one volunteer put it, they “made some lifelong friends!”.
Visitors were inspired to contribute their own stories, enriching the displays with personal touches. For example, a brother and sister spotted their parents’ wedding photograph in the exhibition and added a charming detail: their parents had thought the fishing season had ended in Lowerscrofte when they got married, but a final catch came in and they had to stop the wedding breakfast and get back to work!
This project has fostered new relationships between the archive services and inspired further research into shared histories. Work is already underway to explore historical connections with the nuclear industry, opening new avenues for collaboration and storytelling.