Shipbuilding book launched by Dunbeath publisher
WHITTLES Publishing, based in Dunbeath, has launched a new book about the shipbuilding industry.
Leith-Built Ships: They Once Were Shipbuilders is volume one of a series by author Ron O Neish.
The author is a proud shipbuilder, actively involved in the industry on a design and consultancy basis.
This first in the series concerns the almost forgotten part played by Leith in Britain's maritime heritage.
It comprises 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.
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.
In the foreword to the book, Robert W Rowbottom 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."
Leith-Built Ships is illustrated with 35 black-and-white photos and drawings.
The book is available from Whittles Publishing or through Amazon (softback, £16.99).