Eyemouth disaster

The Eyemouth disaster was a severe European windstorm that struck the south-eastern coast of Scotland on 14 October 1881.

Though the storm was predicted (as the barometric pressure was very low), the fishing fleets put to sea through economic necessity.

[3] John Doull, from the Fishery Office in Eyemouth, hypothesized that there were so many casualties because many ships could not see the land due to the storm, and they sailed too close to land and thus were smashed against the rocks without being able to safely make it back out to sea or into the port.

[6] A donation-led relief fund was established to provide financial security to families who had lost members to the storm.

[4] The disaster was the subject of a contemporary oil on canvas painting by Scottish artist J. Michael Brown.

The granite memorial in Eyemouth, depicting a broken sailing mast
The paired grave of members of the Stevenson family from Newhaven, drowned in the Eyemouth disaster and washed up the following spring, Rosebank Cemetery in Edinburgh
The bronze memorial at St Abbs - figures of women and children look out to sea. Similar memorials can be found at other towns effected.