Maritime man Keith had a whole nautical heritage to write about
THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF WEEKLY FEATURES IN THE RUN-UP TO THE 2018 TALL SHIPS RACES IN SUNDERLAND
We are indebted to musician and historian Keith Gregson for sharing his own nautical stories in the lead-up to The Tall Ships Races Sunderland 2018.
Former history teacher Keith is perhaps best known for his work as voluntary archivist at Ashbrooke Sports Club in the city.
He also has an interest in, and writings about, the First World War.
But, as he explains, he has another lifelong historical interest, which is strongly related to maritime matters. Most of his ancestors made their living out of the sea.
“I am not a native of Sunderland but have lived here for over 40 years,” said Keith, who will be making occasional contributions to the Echo’s coverage of the lead-up to The Tall Ships Races.
“My maternal grandmother was born in South Shields. Before that the whole of that side of the family lived on the tiny Isles of Burra off the west coast of mainland Shetland.”
Keith’s great grandfather, Thomas Pottinger, and at least four of his brothers, came down to the North East of England during the 19th century to study for their masters’ and mates’ tickets.
These tickets allowed them to serve as deck officers in the Merchant Navy.
Keith added: “With cousins and nephews also called Pottinger, there were eventually at least eight in command of vessels sailing out of the Tyne and Wear between 1849 and 1939.”
But their fates were very different. “The first fell overboard and drowned off the east coast in 1865 while effectively in command of a tall ship while the last was a prisoner on board the Graf Spee during the Battle of the River Plate in the Second World War,” added Keith.
Of the eight Pottingers covered in Keith’s researches, four were based in Sunderland and four in South Shields.
However, all of them served at one time or another in a vessel constructed in Sunderland or registered at the port.
“I took my mother to Burra in the 1970s and have been hooked on tracing this story in detail ever since,” he said.
“I have found records in the North East on Shetland, at the National Archives at Kew and the Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Many of their vessels were sailing ships – from little coastal colliers to record breaking full rigged ships like those which will be on display when the tall ships arrive.” Watch out for much more from Keith in the weeks to come.