THE IMPACT OF EXTERNAL SHOCKS UPON A PERIPHERAL ECONOMY: WAR AND OIL IN TWENTIETH CENTURY SHETLAND. BARBARA ANN BLACK THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL HISTORY July 1995 ProQuest Number: 11007964 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11007964 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract This thesis, within the context of the impact of external shocks on a peripheral economy, offers a soci- economic analysis of the effects of both World Wars and North Sea oil upon Shetland. The assumption is, especially amongst commentators of oil, that the impact of external shocks upon a peripheral economy will be disruptive of equilibrium, setting in motion changes which would otherwise not have occurred. By questioning the classic core-periphery debate, and re-assessing the position of Shetland - an island location labelled 'peripheral' because of the traditional nature of its economic base and distance from the main centres of industrial production - it is possible to challenge this supposition. This thesis attempts a comparison of both the economic and social effects of the three major shocks, deploying oral sources as well as more conventional quantitative material. The thesis questions whether Shetland's apparent 'peripherality' has any historical foundations. Greater exposure to the world through trade, seafaring travel and emigration ensured that the three external shocks of this century had less permanent social consequences than may have been anticipated. Both World Wars brought naval and military personnel to Shetland, and saw the movement out of men and women from the isles. War experiences and contact with 'outsiders' had some effects on the attitudes and ideas of Shetlanders. But it is difficult to separate these from more long-term cultural change. In contrast, a great deal of concern was expressed over the social impact of North Sea oil, since the perceived vulnerability of this society, and its supposed unique features captured national and international interest. It was feared that the 'traditional way of life', arguably only devised as a reaction to oil, was under threat. But, as Shetland's history shows, it is not as susceptible to change as many may think, and represents a resilient society when exposed to external shocks. Preface 1. Correct Terminology For Shetland. The terms 'Shetland,' 'the Shetland Isles,' and 'the islands, ' are used inter-changeably to mean the group of over a hundred different islands which make up the most northerly county of the British Isles. 'The Shetlands' is never used. 2. Use Of Dialect. Oral sources have been used in this thesis, and transcribed in dialect. The problems of oral history as a source are not overlooked, and the transcription of Shetland dialect is an additional difficulty.^ Brian Smith has noted that there is still concern over the use of dialect and its accessibility to a wider audience. But, he states that, related to this, in my opinion, is a certain uneasiness Shetlanders still have about accepting their language as a literary language. ... Shetlanders often find dense dialect prose difficult to read, and they seem to think that others will have even more difficulty. I can understand this fear, but I don't take it seriously. D. H. Lawrence's play, The Daughter-In-Law. written in 1911, is entirely written in dialect, and hasn't been neglected....... In fact, ..., English literature is full of dialect . Elizabeth Gaskell, Tennyson, Dickens, even Hopkins.2 1. Davidoff, L., and Westover, B.,(ed) Our Work. Our Lives. Our Words. Women's History and Women's Work.(1986). Thompson, P., The Voice of the Past: Oral History.(1988), and Editorial in Oral History. Autumn 1993, V o l . 21, N o . 2. p . 2. 2. Smith, B., 'The Development Of The Spoken And Written Shetland Dialect: A Historian's View,' in Waugh, D.,(ed)[Title Unknown](Forthcoming): made available by courtesy of the author. iii The most notable sound in the Shetland dialect is the use of 'd' instead of ' th', and it is useful to be aware of easily translated words, such as: da the dan then dare there dere their dat that de you dem them dey they dir their -_7 dis this • . du you • fae from ■ ’ hae have shu she 1-7 whaur where 17 whin when i.** whit what wid would win get to ji't-f' wir were or our 111: ri wis was : ; a wye way yun that/those 17- y u n ' s that is /if yunder over there I ' . ' r ? But, for the sake of clarity it has been decided to change :7i i- certain words to the English form, such as: hed, or hid - had fur - for Other words are recognisably Scottish, such as cam - came hae - had ken - know kent - knew oor - our iv oot - out tae - to Other unfamiliar words have been followed by the English equivalent in brackets, except for those widely used, such as : peerie - small Individual's initials have been cited when using material specifically gathered for this thesis, whereas full names have been given where openly available in the archives. Date of births have been included to give an indication of the age of the individuals, and to differentiate between similar initials. Access to recordings undertaken for this thesis is now available in the Shetland Archives. V Glossary aa - all aboot - about af f - off afore - before a grain - a little bit ain - own alang - along anidder - another atween - between auld - old awye - away aye - always bald - throw bide - stay bigged - built bridder - brother budder - bother caad - called cam - came dell - to dig doon - down dunna - d o n ' t ee - always een - one eens - belong to one, people f ae - from fan - found fedder - father feenish - finished freend - friend geed/gud - went geen - gone gyann - going had - to take a grip off hime - home hoose - house i - in idder - other joost - just kale - cabbage lang - long leak - like lichts - lights mak - make mare - more me - my mede - made mesel - myself midder - mother nae - no nithin - nothing niver - never noo - now nort - north ony - any onybody - anybody ower - over peerie - small sae - say selt - sold smaa - small sooth - south tae - to tagidder - together tak - take tocht - thought toon - town twa - two wark - work wan - one we - with weemin - women weel - well wirk - work wrought - to work w y e (s ) - w a y (s) yea - yes yunder - over there vii Map of Oil Related Developments in Shetland. MUCKLSFLUGGA FAROE ISLANDS SHETLAND ISLANDS 3ERGEN •>9 3ALTASOUNO4 5 ORKNEY UNST S LANDS NORWAY A8EROEEN RAMNA STACKS EDINBURGH DENMARK 3ASTA v o e 3RITISH ISLES FETLAR YELL YELL SOUN NOWTHMAVINP s ' r /noFT J ^ ^MOSSSANK i F IR T H I OUT SKERRIES SULLOM V O 6 ST. MAGNUS SAY MAVIS GRINO ?6LTINS f v y ?8RAE VIOLIN'? MUCKLE ROE SWA R BACKS MINN " ( y-p » LUNNASTING WHALSAY PAPA STOUR MSSTlCifi /VglSOALE THE MAINLAND T1N G W A I.L FOULA l*'/WW jf LERWICK Oi 0SCALLOW AY Q C^BFI ESSAY 1 CONSTRUCTION VILLAGES FAIR ISL * 4\ j* t ^ OUNRQSSNESS I® ) SUPPLY BOAT BERTHS ‘ S A N O W IC K ^ X AIRFIELDS PARISHES Q SULLOM VOE OIL TERMINAL OIL RELATED DEVELOPMENTS IN SHETLAND 3UM3URGH HEAO (Source: Marshall, S., Shetland's Qll. SraLJ viii Contents Page Abstract i Preface ii Glossary v Map of Oil Related Developments in Shetland vii Contents viii Acknowledgements x List of Tables xi List of Figures xii List of Illustrations xvi List of Appendices xviii List of Abbreviations xix 1. Introduction 1 2. Chapter One 19 Section One - 1900 to 1919 3. Chapter Two: The Economic Impact of World War One 43 4. Chapter Three: The Social Impact of World War One 72 Section Two - 1919 to 1945 5. The Inter-War Years 110 6. Chapter Four: The Economic Impact of World War Two 121 7. Chapter Five: The Social Impact of World War Two 162 Section Three - 1945 to 1982 8. The 1950s and 1960s 203 ix 9. Chapter Six: The Economic Impact of North Sea Oil: The Construction Era 214 10. Chapter Seven: The Social Impact of North Sea Oil: The Construction Era 257 11. Conclusion 300 Appendices 3 05 Bibliography 324 Acknow1edaement s I would like to thank Professor M. A. Crowther and Doctor A. Durie for their supervision of this thesis; Professor R. H. Campbell for advise on sources and comments on draft chapters; Professor A. Slaven, the Centre for Business History, the Shetland Islands Council and subsequently the Economic and Social Research Council for funding; the secretarial staff in the Economic and Social History Department for their assistance; Staff at the Public Records Office, Scottish Records Office, Royal Bank of Scotland archives in Edinburgh, Shetland Museum, Ms M French at National Savings, Glasgow, Mrs Sandison at the Sandison Archives in Unst, and especially Brian Smith and Angus Johnson at the Shetland Archives; Mrs C. Mann at Shetland Council of Social Service; Mr J. Hunter in the Finance Department of the Shetland Islands Council, staff at the Lerwick Harbour Trust for access to material, and Mr Walterson for permission to use his cartoons.