Skipper William Collin

Skipper William Collin, Royal Naval Reserve. He was lost at sea in the Dover Area on 15th February 1918, aged 38. He had been born in Eyemouth and was the son of Robert and Helen Collin of Eyemouth and the husband of Margaret Collin of Gowanlea, Eyemouth and is commemorated on the Chatham Memorial. He was skipper of H. M. Drifter” Christina Craig ” which was caught in a raid by German Destroyers on the Dover Patrol. The Drifter went down with all hands 1 Officer and 9 Ratings. He was a keen Freemason and a noted local singer. The ship was a trawler of 86 tons, built for Eyemouth men in a boatyard near Buckie, hired by the Admiralty and had been stationed at No. 13 buoy as part of the Dover Patrol. the Patrol had been designed to prevent German submarines from reaching the English Channel and the wider Atlantic Ocean.  He and George Cowe ( above) were brothers-in-law and had been with the boat since she had been built.  (Also lost were cousins Andrew and William Young – see below ). The photo shows the ” Christina Craig” leaving Eyemouth harbour into rough seas. (photo courtesy of Will Collin).