Letchworth author and historian, Bill Lindsay, gave a fascinating talk based upon his recently published book on the history of his ancestor William Schaw Lindsay. An orphan who ran away to sea at the age of 16, Schaw's entrepreneurial nature led him to develop a significant merchant shipping line and successfully handle the transition from sailing ships to those with auxiliary steam power. Schaw wrote the key text on the history of merchant shipping and became the Liberal Member of Parliament for Tynemouth and North Shields.
