I've been listening to Jon Boden on his site 'A Folk Song a Day' singing The Rose in June, and although I think I may have heard it elsewhere, Jon's format gives this song a real chance to stand out.

So with the help of Google, and some kind people at Fishing Boat Heritage, who know a great deal about the Scottish fishing industry, I've been able to find out something about the story behind this very powerful song. The newspaper accounts don't mention any hymn singing by the crew, and we still have to discover how the story turned up in Newfoundland.

The Rose in June was a 7 year-old 15 ton lugger registered at Kirkcaldy, Captain Andrew Davidson, on her way from St Monance to Elie in the East Neuk of Fife when she capsized outside Elie Harbour at one o'clock in the morning of Tuesday 17 December 1872. The master and owner, Andrew Davidson, and crew member, John Allan, were both swept overboard and drowned. The boat drifted on shore where the remaining crew of four men were rescued through the surf with lines and belts by fishermen on the shore. The bodies of the two men were found next day and taken home to St Monance. Andrew Davidson was 35, and he left a widow and three children, while John Allan was 22 and unmarried. The rescuers William Marr, Thomas Fernie, William Warrender, Walker Thomson, Jas.Corrybear, Andrew Lowrie, Alex. Meldrum, Jas. Warrender, William Thomson, J.Innes Davidson and Alex. Innes all received awards out of the Mercantile Marine Fund.
This was a big North Sea storm, lasting several days, and which caused much loss of ships and men all along the East Coast.

See 19th Century British Library Newspapers:
Dundee Courier & Argus; 18 Dec 1872, and 19 Dec 1872.
Glasgow Herald; 19 Dec 1872.

Scotlands Places; Rose in June, Elie, Firth of Forth

Thanks especially to Douglas Paterson, and aavh at Trawler Photos Forum.

Matthew