David Butcher

The Last Haul David Butcher

This book is the last one, in a series of five, recording the oral history of commercial fishing in East Anglia during the first half of the twentieth century. The previous four, The Driftermen, The Trawlermen, Living from the Sea and Following The Fishing, were all published between 1979 and 1987 by Tops'l Books. Much has changed in the British fishing industry since those books were produced and, in general terms, the story has been one of consistent and continued decline. In the case of Lowestoft, that decline has been drastic. Given all that has happened in recent years regarding fishing activity in the town of Lowestoft, much of what is contained within the covers of this book will seem to reflect not only another age, but perhaps even another world! And, in a sense, the experiences recorded and presented do indeed belong to an era very different from our own. The earlier books dealt with drift-netting and the herring industry, with trawling, with the social life of shore-side communities and with land-based industries associated with fishing. This particular volume considers various types of fishing not previously covered, interesting and dangerous experiences connected with a life at sea, fisheries research, life on board Trinity House lightships and (strangest of all) a treasure-hunting expedition to the Cocos Island on a converted Lowestoft herring drifter.