This week we look at one of the more interesting characters from South East Northumberland's history. But can anyone cast any more light on why he had his unusual name?
Billy the Whaler was one of Newbiggin's real old notable characters.
Here we have two photographs of Billy. On the right, we have Billy at the sea front. On the left, he is seen posing with two Newbiggin fisher-lasses, Bella Jefferson and Ann Wake Jefferson.
In March 1849, fisherman at Cullercoats found floating in the sea a fish of "uncommon length and of silvery and dazzling brightness".
It was later identified as one of the rare Gymmetrus species, 12ft 5in long, 13in in depth and three inches thick, with a crest of 14in in height.
The fish caught at Cullercoats in 1849
In 1846, other fishermen had caught off Alnmouth the first specimen in British waters of Trichiuvus Lepturus (the Blade Fish), 13ft 9in long.
Fishermen in Newbiggin were telling a whale of a story in May 1959.
This is the story of a battle at sea with a 40-foot whale which tangled up in the nets of the coble Green Pastures and had to be killed by rifle fire.
Mathew Stanton, 39, and 19-year-old Henry Rowe, both of Newbiggin, were quietly fishing for salmon a few hundred yards offshore in Druridge Bay when a whale larger than their 30ft boat charged into their nets.
It was Sunday, February 19, 1882. The time was three o'clock in the morning. A fairly strong wind blew in over the bay, but Newbiggin was quiet with sleep.
In the darkened houses the fishermen were dreaming. Perhaps of fabulous catches, for times were bad. Many of them, in fact, were working on the boats of their more fortunate neighbours.
Fishing vessels on the beach at Newbiggin
But before them was the day of rest. And the boats had been hauled up on the shore to wait well above the high water mark for the bustle of Monday morning and the start of another week of hard toil.
Nick Phythian has sent us an e-mail with a request for information about a soldier killed in newbiggin during World War Two:
"My late uncle, Cpl James Smith, and two other soldiers, Pte Tute and Pte Green, were killed in Newbiggin by the Sea as a result of "enemy action". They were serving with the 12th Btn The King's Regiment at the time.
"I have attached the relevant pages of the battalion war diaries [see below], and as you can see there is no explanation as to the type of enemy action or any details. Search as I might elsewhere, I cannot find reference to any action taking place in this area on January 28th 1941."
War diary pages: Part 1, Part 2
If you can help Nick, leave a comment below or get in touch with us at northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk
An explosion occurred at Newbiggin on Saturday afternoon, March 19, 1921, resulting in a considerable amount of damage, but fortunately no personal injuries were sustained.
The explosion occurred near Church Point, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, and was caused by a derelict wartime mine.
This mine had come ashore in the vicinity during the summer of 1920, and after the authorities had removed the detonator, the mine was moored by ropes.
Thinking about the winter and what the weather will be like, I decided to look up what conditions were like many years ago.
I just hope we never see these scenes again.
River Wansbeck winter 1894
In 1894 the winter was extremely severe with heavy snow and frost. When the thaw began, the River Wansbeck, near Sheepwash, turned into a raging torrent rushing to the sea.
Some major fishy finds were once discovered along the coastline of Northumberland.
In March 1849, fishermen at Cullercoats found a fish of "uncommon length and of silvery and dazzling brightness" floating in the sea. It was later identified as one of the rare gymmetrus species and was 3.8m (12ft 5in) long.
Royal sturgeon at Newbiggin, a very rare fish to be caught and look at the excitement on some of their faces....
In 1846, fishermen in Alnmouth caught the first specimen in British waters of trichiuvus lepturus (the blade fish), measuring 4.2m (13ft 9in) long.
A woman is hoping people from the area will help her search for information on her family tree.
Jane Lyster from Honley in West Yorkshire is researching her mother-in-law's family from Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, and contacted us to see if anyone had useful information to share.
She said: "All mum knew about her mother was her name - Isabella Sanderson - and that she died when mum was four or five. Isabella married John Sanderson in Gateshead in 1905."
Anyone with help or information can call Jane on 01484 661979 or email jane_lyster@ hotmail.co.uk
We dip into the Journal's archives to get into the festive spirit with some Christmas images from Northumberland's recent past.
Send your seasonal images of the county to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk if you would like to share them on our community sites.
Newbiggin
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