A knitwear brand that honours an important thread running through Hebridean history has marked its fifth birthday by signing a lucrative deal with national ferry operator CalMac.

The Herring Girls Collection takes its name from the formidable young women from the Outer Hebrides who followed the shoals of herring around the British coast undertaking gruelling work to gut, cure and pack the fish for local merchants.

While away from their families, the “Herring Girls” would pass the time knitting using patterns incorporating anchors, ship’s wheels, hearts, or marriage lines that were handed down through the years

The Barra brand will now be sold by west coast ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne, Isle of Harris Distillery, makers of Harris Gin and The Hearach whisky and Lews Castle, a museum and cultural centre in Stornoway.

This brings the number of outlets to ten in addition to a successful online platform which sees sales across the world.

The collection will now be sold on CalMac ferries The collection will now be sold on CalMac ferries (Image: Margaret Anne Elder) The agreement with CalMac will see items sold on six of its major vessels serving the Inner and Outer Hebrides and the West Highlands.

Hand crafted knitwear will be sold on the MV Isle of Lewis, MV Loch Seaforth, MV Isle of Mull, MV Hebrides, MV Clansman and MV Lord of the Isles and the company said there is also scope for extending this to other routes on the network in the future.

The Herring Girls Collection was launched five years ago in Barra The Herring Girls Collection was launched five years ago in Barra (Image: Getty)

Eighteen hand knitters on Barra will be kept busy crafting garments that will go on sale in all the outlets the business has secured since it launched in October 2019.

All the knitters are homebased with many getting involved as a second income stream in addition to their main jobs.

 The Herring Girl Collection uses fishing port registrations on the leather tags on each of its garments.

Its initial range in 2019 used the ‘CY’ mark, which represents the fishing port of Castlebay on Barra. Other fishing ports have since been added, with ‘SY’ for Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis and ‘BRD’ for Broadford on the Isle of Skye now featuring.

Up until the outbreak of the Second World War, the herring industry was booming.

Hundreds of young women, some as young as 15, left their homes in Barra, Lewis, Orkney and Shetland in the 1880s and the early 1900s to travel to industrial ports around the UK.

The work that they carried out was gruelling, required precision and speed and would often leave their hands covered in injuries, not helped by the mass of salt that would be rubbed into them during the curing of the fish.

Company founder Margaret Anne Elder, whose grandmother was a 'Herring Girl' said: “I am thrilled to be marking five years with these new retail agreements.

"All my retail partnerships so far have been with stockists that understand the heritage – a deliberate approach to expanding my business sustainably.  

Founder Margaret Anne Elder whose grandmother was a Herring Girl Founder Margaret Anne Elder whose grandmother was a Herring Girl (Image: Margaret Anne Elder)

“The story of the Herring Girls is fascinating. They were a band of women who worked incredibly hard in gruelling conditions but made sure their traditions were preserved.

"It is only because of this that I and those who knit for us can continue their work and we do so with pride.

"These new outlets not only allow us to expand the business but increase the visibility of the story of these amazing women among local people and visitors.”

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She added: “I am particularly pleased that over our five years Herring Girl Collection has been able to provide a steady source of income for many on Barra.

"This increase in outlets offers continued financial security to those who have come onboard to help grow the company and brand and maintain our heritage.”

Anne Mitchell CalMac’s retail manager said: “Celebrating the history and culture of the communities we serve is part of our mission, which makes adding the Herring Girl Collection to our retail offering a natural step for us.

“We are also delighted to be supporting an island business that provides sustainable employment opportunities and supports the Barra economy.”