Remembering George P.S. Peterson

George P.S. Peterson died recently. He was a notable archival source, teacher, writer, storyteller, folk dancer, and fiddler. He was deeply associated with the island of Papa Stour, spending as much time there as he could. He was in fact born in Mounthooly Street, Lerwick, in 1932, his father from Sandness and his mother from Papa Stour. She longed to return, and when a croft there became vacant, or cam vod, as George said, it meant a move. The Petersons went there in late 1934.

JM 01874 George Peterson resting by rocks on Papa Stour, looking to Foula. 1963. Photo by Bobby Mowat.

There were over a hundred people in Papa then nearly aa connected distantly or closely. A trip across the sound to the Sandness grandfolk still kept home in sight. It was a small world, but for George a rich one, and he thrived there. He spoke of playing with an old sole as a toy boat, listening to his mother and grandmother speaking turnin da pages o da generations. As an adult, he was to turn a few himself.

He left the island age three, when he broke his leg, and was taken out by lifeboat. The Papa people signalled in Morse code to the mainland by torch until someone noticed and summoned help. In the Lerwick hospital he lost some of his Papa speech, but it came back quickly. He was always someone alive to language, and more particularly, dialect. Writing too, books wis just pure magic, he said, and his parents made sure he had them. Unsurprisingly he went to the Anderson Institute school in Lerwick in 1946, and Aberdeen University in 1951, studying Swedish, Icelandic, and some Anglo-Saxon. After teacher training he did National Service in the Education Corps as a sergeant. It was always difficult to imagine him as someone with three stripes.

He said he was aten up wi langer for Papa and missed it terribly when he went for education in Lerwick. It was residential education, living in the town a term at time for people like George, and he treasured each trip home. His teaching career in Shetland took him firstly to another island, Bridgend School in Burra, where he had to cross two stretches of water to spend his weekends in Papa, then to Aith, an easier location, and finally a long service at Brae School.

Papa Stour’s population fell, in 1963 four families left, and the downward trend continued, with the 2011 census giving the population as 15. Papa has a particular tradition, the Papa Stour Sword Dance. George had joined the dance a bit short of his seventeenth birthday, and he took his knowledge to Brae with him, set up a team of boys there, and continued the tradition outwith the isle. He was always willing to be recorded, the quotations from him here are from a BBC Radio Shetland recording In Aboot da Night, held in the Archives. He contributed fiddle tunes – some associated with the sword dance -- and stories to the School of Scottish Studies. There are 47 tracks featuring him on the School’s site Tobar an Dualchais.

The archives has a recording of George online too, talking to the Yell History Group in 1983. He speaks about the past context Shetland people lived in, the importance of stories then, and makes a point about their moral content. He illustrated this with a story about the misuse of a gift from the fairies, and the consequences. One of his stories, Vee Skerry Seal Hunters, has the feel of a lesson taught too. A seal hunter has to return a seal pup skin so the pup can live, in return for the seal mother saving the hunter’s life. Once heard, it never leaves the listener.

A few months ago I needed some help from George. I never thought of him as an e-mailer so I phoned. Communication was friendly, but a bit difficult as he had become very hard of hearing. I went to the museum shop, bought a postcard, stuck a stamp on it and sent off my handwritten request. A few days later I got a gracious note from him, also handwritten, and the problem was solved. Archives and museums are built by helpful souls like that, and he was always willing to help.

Related Posts

Rounding up a busy week

During the winter months, our team at Shetland Museum and Archives dedicates a lot of time to community engagement connecting with ...

Read more

Fun Friday night at our Skekler Social

What a fun Friday night we had at our Skekler Social, there was making, yarning, music, stories and even a bit of dancing too!

Read more

Shetland Amenity Trust secures successful funding for maritime heritage project

Shetland Amenity Trust is delighted to announce that it has been approved funding of just under £97,000 from the Coastal Communities ...

Read more

Museum Shop Sunday

Shetland Museum and Archives invites visitors to an afternoon of festive cheer, exclusive shopping opportunities and creative crafts ...

Read more

Hay's Dock by the Dowry announces closure

It is with regret that we announce the closure of 'Hay's Dock by The Dowry', which was operated by Beervana Ltd, located at Shetland ...

Read more

Can you help us identify the last unknown person photographed in Chris Morphet’s Allover Exhibition?

We would love to be able to find the name of the lady standing in front of a peat stack and complete our search before the exhibition ...

Read more

Explore Thomas Irvine's sheep book on our online archive catalogue. Woollies - this is one for you!

Wool Week is upon us, posters have been printed, the annuals (thousands) are being packed and sent off, and visitors (a lot) have ...

Read more

New exhibition coming soon: ‘Allover’ – a photographic journey into 1970s Fair Isle knitwear by Chris Morphet

Shetland Museum and Archives is delighted to announce the opening of its latest exhibition next Saturday, ‘Allover’ celebrating ...

Read more

The Crafts of Foragers - new display

Shetland Museum and Archives is proud to announce a new display, The Crafts of Foragers, offering a captivating glimpse into ...

Read more

Shetland Museum unveils Twenty Shades of Blue in new art exhibition inspired by Shetland’s Seascapes

Shetland Museum is delighted to announce the opening of an inspiring new exhibition, Twenty Shades of Blue, in the Gadderie space this ...

Read more

New photographic exhibition capturing 1970s social history

A new photographic exhibition opens today at Shetland Museum and Archives which provides a glimpse into an aspect of Shetland’s ...

Read more

‘All About Everything’ featuring the creative work of Eric Gray students

The creative and colourful work of Eric Gray students is on display from today in a new exhibition ‘All About Everything’ at the ...

Read more

Marion Ninianson’s Roup

Roup is a word not commonly used in Shetland any more, although the Shetland Times in 1962 advertised a house in Scalloway “for sale ...

Read more

New summer exhibition Ebbe and Flow to open this weekend

A new exhibition celebrating cultural and maritime connections with Scandinavia through the work of Scottish and Norwegian artists ...

Read more

Shetland Amenity Trust celebrates collaboration with Shetland Family History Group in acquiring Gilbert Goudie’s Notebook

Shetland Amenity Trust is delighted to announce the successful acquisition of a significant 19th century notebook to the Shetland ...

Read more