Northumberland Voices
Archie Dagg was born in Coquetdale at the very end of the nineteenth century. His father and grandfather were shepherds and when he left school at 14 years of age, Archie joined the family trade. Many of the tasks related to the job were dictated by the seasons and the weather.
This is an extract of Archie’s oral history recording that was made in 1978 by Northumberland Archives.
In 2011, Berwick Record Office (part of Northumberland Archives) was involved in an oral history project to collect the memories and experiences of sheep farmers and shepherds in Northumberland. Links to the website and clips of the interviews can be found below:
Paints a very vivid picture of how hard life must have been for these hill shepherds. They must have been an extraordinarily hard breed – both the shepherds and their sheep!