Billy Craigie, Lerwick, Shetland, found that a life in the North Sea did not hold enough adventure for him. After attending nautical training he decided that he wanted to go to the whaling for a real voyage. His varied work at the whaling led him to being the mess boy in the hospital – one of the best jobs of his life, he said.
Craigie enjoyed his time at the whaling hugely, picking up some new interests one particular winter. He got into developing photos since he had access to a dark room in the hospital. They would tint photographs for some of the boys, bartering six or a dozen photos for a few hundred cigarettes. In the evening they would all convene in someone’s cabin – taking craft hobbies with them. Carving whales’ teeth, painting whale eardrums or making mats from the old pieces of the nylon lines.
Craigie has large collections of photographs gathered together over the years from friends and other whalers. When on board the factory ships he also had access to some of the officers records and would record them on his tape recorder to play for his entertainment.