Son republishes late father’s Papa Stour book
An author’s lifelong passion for preserving Papa Stour’s rich heritage has been revitalised in a new edition – complete with colour photos and a hand-drawn map.
George PS Peterson first published The Coastal Place-names of Papa Stour in 1993 based on a series of articles he wrote for Shetland Life in the late 1980s.
The book takes readers on a clockwise tour of the island’s coast, pausing to explore possible origins of the place-names and interlacing fragments of long-forgotten social history, spanning centuries.
The author spent his formative years during the 1930s and 40s in his ancestral home of Papa Stour.
Being immersed in island life, as one of more than 100 residents at the time, he developed what was to become a lifelong passion for preserving the island’s rich heritage.
Now his son, Peter WK Peterson, has helped preserve his late father’s legacy with this new edition, which is illustrated with colour photos throughout.
Writing in the foreword, the younger Mr Peterson recalled how he and his father had discussed the potential of republishing the book.
“As well as the fact the original was long out of print, visitors dropping by my parents’ home would sometimes ask if there were any copies available,” he wrote.
“Sadly, Dad passed away in November 2022, aged 90, so we didn’t have a chance to work together on this.
“However, I know he would have been delighted to see it back in print.
“The new edition has been an absolute pleasure to work on over the past couple of years.
“As well as adding colour photos to help illustrate Dad’s words, the text has been updated in a few places and some new content added from a notebook he produced in 1978 containing descriptions, anecdotes and explanations of dozens of places around Papa – the source material for the original book.
“I hope readers enjoy this updated version and might even take some time to visit the island to seek out a few of the places mentioned.”
• The Coastal Place-names of Papa Stour has been published by The Shetland Times Ltd and is available to buy from The Shetland Times Bookshop for £10.99.
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