As Time Goes By

A potpourri of tales from times past mostly with a nautical flavour. Beginning with his early years at Sound and schooldays at Lerwick Central Public School and in Yell, the author takes us through his experiences on the training ship Dolphin, voyages in the merchant navy and his time as a Distressed British Seaman. Various tales are told of his grandfather “Faider o Bouster”, Lerwick’s Steamers’ Pier and its characters and the mysterious peerie man encountered in Australia. The little known story of a Yell man who became a prominent master in the American merchant navy and events at home and away in the early 1960s are also recalled. Born and brought up at Upper Sound, Lerwick, David Strachan was educated at Lerwick Central Public School and for a time attended the little known school at Vatster on the island of Yell. On leaving school at fifteen he completed a course at Leith Nautical College before spending the next twenty years in the merchant navy. He then took up a position as jetty operator at Sullom Voe Oil Terminal. Today he is on the executive committee of Shetland Folk Society and is a regular contributor to Shetland Life magazine, as well as a keen gardener, long distance runner, an enthusiast of merchant navy history and raconteur.