Fishermen's nicknames in Filey
From the book "Filey - a Yorkshire fishing town" by Irene E Allen and Andrew A Todd
FISHERMEN's NICKNAMES
The most popular method of disinguishing the numerous Jenkinson's, and all the other fishing families, was the use of nicknames or by-names. Men and women received these names, often in early life. We were told that Thomas Jenkinson ("Tint" 1905-73) got his nickname at school. If a teacher accused him of complicity in some schoolboy prank, his stock reply was "Tint me!" Some names were typical products of humorous irony: "Titch" Thomas Cappleman Jenkinson (1886-1963) was so called because he was the tallest man in Filey! Some names were corruptions of the christian name - this was the origin of "Reas" which was applied to Ross Jenkinson (c1882-1952), and "Eamen", which was given to his brother Edmund Jenkinson (c1890-1965).This name was inherited by his son, Thomas Chapman Jenkinson, the coxswain of the Filey lifeboat. In this way, a whole family was known by its inherited nickname: George Jenkinson (c1860-1933) was "Jossie Buggins" and his sons also became "Buggins", one of them, Frank, earning the extra title "Bonzo Buggins" after he found the famous seal, Bonzo. "Crow" was another inherited name, as he was "Dilt". Thomas Jenkinson (c1894-1964) was always known as "Laffy" because of his jovial diosposition; the name passed on to his son, Thomas Gordon Jenkinson(1916-74), so the father became "Old Laffy".
The nicknames were used universally. Even the Filey Post sometimes referred to the fishermen by their by-names only, and they were often used by the compiler of the Cappleman Accounts Book (1872-93). Like some of the Lancashire by names like Bill o'Toms o'Jacks, they effectively replaced the conventional christian name and surname.
There is a very real danger that these old by-names will be lost, if they are not clearly recorded. Already, the origins of many of the earlier names are not now known for certain eg
- "Walsher" (Matthew Jenkinson 1836-1911)
- "Old Brazzy" (Matthew Jenkinson 1850-1929)
- "Dicky Hoy" (Richard Cammish Jenkinson (c1874-1946)
- "Old Naz" (Thomas Robert Jenkinson (c1870-1951)
- "Old Baggy" (Richard Jenkinson 1847-1918)
- "Neddy Rasp" ( Edward Scales Jenkinson 1879-1942)
- "Wemp" William Robinson Jenkinson (1893-1948)
Some of the names must be of great age, dating back to the early years of the 19th century. William Cammish, taken by the press gang during the Napoleonic Wars whilst fishing for herrings near Whitby, is reputed to have carried the name "Old Traf" after his return fro service: supposedly, he served at Trafalgar(1805).
It is often only an accident that the origins of the names are still remembered. Terence Colins told us that "Billy Trummy" (William Jenkinson c1875-1919) got his name because he was one of the first Filey men to use trammel nets. These were strung between two boats which then trawled a stretch of sea sweeping up everything in the water. This seems to have been a Flamborough practice, frowned upon by the more conservative Filey fishermen.
Terence also suggested a likely explanation for "Barla", the nickname of "Trummy's" son, William (?-1982). Fishermen's oilskins would rub against the neck and wrists and , in the prescence of sea water, cause "slat water boils". To guard against this, they wore a muffler and a pair of wristlets (bandaged over). Perhaps William omitted to take such precautions, or perhaps he had an unduly sensitive skin. Either way, he got "Barla!"
We drew a blank on the origins of the nickname "Penny" which was apparently first carried by the somewhat eccentric William Hall Jenkinson (1849-?) who lived on Ebenezer Terrace. "Bill Penny" would "do a bit of helpin' with the cobles", as George Cappleman put it, and then go off shooting at Kittiwakes. he might accompany a boat(which would be followed by flocks of these birds when fish gutting was in progress) or venture on to the cliffs around Filey. There was a ready market, since fashionable Victorian ladies wore a complete stuffed bird in their hats! On these shooting expeditions, "Bill Penny" would be "in a an old coat, like a tramp", and his bizarre appearance earned him a certain amount of mocking attention. The local wags would shout after him "Squat Penny" stuck, there's a duck", so that this alternative by name of "Squat, Penny" stuck! "Squat Penny's old muzzle loader could be a dangerous weapon to all kinds of living creatures. he claimed to have rammed it full of paper and fired up the chimney to clean out the soot. This also blasted away the chimney pot and brought down a wild goose as a bonus!
Few men can have encountered the deadly "Squat Penny" in more harrowing circumstances than the unfortunate crewman of the Italian ship "Unico" in 1871. At least 14 of his fellows had been washed overboard to their deaths in hurricane winds, and (rumour had it at the time) the drunken Captain had shot the mate so that the tragedy would not be blamed on his shortcomings. Whatever the truth of the story, the sole surviving crewman is said to have scrambled ashore only to find himself staring into the barrel of "Squat Penny's" Kittiwake blasting musket! One can only speculate as to his feelings as he thrust his hands into the air in a panic stricken gesture of surrender! [Arthur Godfrey and J lassey - shipwrecks of the Yorkshire Coast(1982).
OTHER ARTICLES
• Flamborough Head - ancient fishing village
• Trawling and overfishing - Filey fishing
• Characters of the Filey fishing industry
• Tragedies in the Jenkinson fishing family in Filey
• Suzanne Pollard and her Filey Fishing relatives
• The Beam trawl and the Otter trawl
• Primitive Methodism amongst the Scarborough Filey and Flamborough fishing communities
• Famous fishing families - the Whitby Storr family and the Leadleys
• aThe coble boats of Filey Flamborough and Runswicks Bay
• Children of the fishing families in Scarborough
• The history of the Scarborough fishing industry
• Life in the Old Town of Scarborough and harbour - the fishing families
• The Smuggling of contraband and the coastguard in Flamborough
• The Womens work in the Filey fishing industry
• Fishing names in Scarborough's Old Town - Cammish Jenkinson and Sheader
• A common ancestry - The Filey Jenkinsons
• Instructions to sailors - Flamborough Head
• Filey and its early fishing industry
• Luggers and yawls in the filey fishing industry
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