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Far north publishers release book on Leith shipbuilders in time for Christmas


By Staff Reporter

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WHITTLES Publishing based in Dunbeath is pleased to announce its latest tome is now rolling from the shelves.

Titled Leith-Built Ships: They Once Were Shipbuilders the book is volume one of a series by author Ron O Neish

The author is a proud shipbuilder, actively involved in the industry within a design and consultancy basis.

This first in the series concerns the almost forgotten part played by Leith in Britain's maritime heritage.

The cover of the new book from Whittles Publishing based in Dunbeath.
The cover of the new book from Whittles Publishing based in Dunbeath.

It comprises of a complete history of the ships built at Leith from around 1850 until the end of World War I and includes famous ships with tales of adventure and new trade routes sought out across the globe.

Leith-Built Ships is a testimony to the skill of the men who built the ships and to the many men and women who may have sailed or served on them.

Most people may well be aware of the part played by the great shipbuilding centres in the UK's history but many may be unaware of the part played by the shipbuilders of Leith. It was once Scotland's main port with many firsts to its name. Leith had begun building ships some 400 years before the great shipyards of the Clyde and these vessels reached all corners of the globe, touching many more people's lives. Some had sad histories while others took part in some of the great conflicts of the times.

In the foreword to the book, Robert W. Rowbottom, MRINA says: "In this wonderful book we can learn much about the early days of the shipyards and the many ships built there.

"It has been fascinating to read the wealth of information collated by Ron and [the book] deserves to become a classic of its kind as it preserves for posterity Leith’s proud shipbuilding history which could otherwise so easily be forgotten."

With a pedigree of shipbuilding second to none going back over 660 years of recorded history, the ships built at Leith deserve their place in history and this book begins the story.

ISBN 978-184995-443-3 234 × 156mm 144pp illustrated with 35 b/w photos and drawings. Softback priced at £16.99.

The book is available from Whittles Publishing in Dunbeath or through Amazon.


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