Nicknames are very common in all sorts of environments — work, sport, schools, communities. These names may be a result of a` persons’ characteristics, behaviour, a particular incident, a family nickname, a workplace nickname, etc. In many instances a nickname may only be used within a specific group, i.e. within a workplace and would be meaningless to people out with that workplace.

However, in small communities with many people sharing a limited number of surnames, nicknames became an important way of identifying people. This was particularly true of fishing communities such as Newhaven where a limited number of surnames were shared by different families. The old tradition of naming the first son after the paternal grandfather, the second son after the maternal grandfather and the third after the father meant there was also a limited number of Christian names. For example, I knew of seven John Wilsons in Newhaven and there were probably more. Hence the use of nicknames.

Fishing communities grew up near natural harbours or where beaches were suitable for launching boats. Later man-made harbours developed but fishermen remained close to the sea so that in bad weather they could quickly check up on their boats. So communities tended not to spread.

Before the advent of trawling and seine net fishing, wives played an important part working on drift nets which were very long and often crewmen owned nets in addition to the skipper’s nets.

This was for herring. White fish were caught with long lines, which on the smaller day boats were baited by wives and families ready to be taken to sea. Larger boats which fished with great lines would be at sea for a few days and the lines would be baited with herring as they were being shot. I think most of the Newhaven boats worked on a daily basis with the lines being baited by the families.

You are maybe wondering what this has to do with nicknames. It would obviously be an advantage to have a wife with all these skills. It would be a brave decision to marry outside the community (for the husband) or into a fishing community (for the wife).

So, many fishermen married within the community. In some cases this led not to grandparents’ but rather to mothers’ surnames being used. In this way, you start getting Carnie Seatons, Carnie Logans, Liston Rutherfords, Linton Logans, etc. Hence the need for nicknames, One Seaton Hall, a cousin of my father, had a very squashed face just like the faces on the Bisto kids advert and was known as ‘Bisto’. Let’s have a look at the nicknames of John Wilson for example.

‘Johnny Biggie’, possibly a corruption of his mother’s surname, Begg, was a well-known trawler skipper in the latter years of the trawlers and skippered Lothian Leader. In 1963, he bought a 50ft ringnetter Fertility along with Carnie Seaton (’Carnie Bunner’). There were two John Wilsons who both had the nickname ‘Scone’. 

The older one was a trawler skipper and for many years was skipper of one of Joe Croan’s motor trawlers. The younger ‘Scone’ was son of ‘Geordie Biggie’ of the Gratitude. He was aboard the Gratitude for many years before going on to the Pilot Boats. Sadly he died quite young.

‘Tammy Lambie’, another John Wilson, got his nick name from his father, Tom Wilson, who was, I’m guessing, married to a woman whose surname was Lamb and so he got ‘Tammy Lambie’.

There was another John Wilson killed during the war in the Firth of Forth on a fishing boat which had been requisitioned for war service. The boat was blown up by an acoustic mine. These Wilsons were known as the ‘Backends’. The father ‘Jimmy Backends’ was married to Jeannie Ramsay whose nickname was ‘Jeannie Buckets’. 

She was the sister of ‘Bobby Buckets’ who skippered the Endeavour which paired at the ring net with the Ocean’s Gift of ‘Jimmy Backends’.

After the war, a third son, Willie, had a modern ring netter built also called Ocean’s Gift. Tragically, he was killed when was he was dragged into the winch while seine netting off Dunbar. He died leaving four sons, one of whom was born after his father died. One of the sons was yet another John Wilson.

The last John Wilson I’m going to mention was a trawl skipper who had the nickname the ‘Brave Laddie’. An interesting story there. He was a young skipper and there had been a spell of very bad weather with trawlers coming in with poor shots.

The story is there was a group of women in a shop discussing the bad weather. John’s mother was in the shop and informed the other women that in spite of the bad weather, her son had come in with over 400 boxes and she remarked “The brave laddie”, so that was his nickname from then on. ‘Johnny Biggie’, the trawl skipper had a brother, Willie, who got the nickname ‘Wee Wee’.

While communities remain tight knit, nicknames can be passed on but new nicknames also come into being, sometimes very topical… That’s another story for another day! ■

Bill Hall of Newhaven Heritage