Endeavour to be a Cornish Fisherman

In his first book, An Unlikely Cornish Fisherman: The Early Years, Michael related his memories of having his first rowing and sailing boat ‘Hilda’, on his 10th birthday and of the period of his youthful years up to the summer of 1963.

Endeavour to be a Cornish Fisherman is a sequel in which Michael relates his story from 1963 through the following years until 1972. His is a unique story, in which he shares his transition from a successful Guided Weapons Draughtsman employed by the Admiralty to become a member of his father’s crew on the 35ft Looe fishing vessel ‘Endeavour.’ (FY 369).

Michael describes his inner fears and his fight to prove to his family/ peers that being a 7th Generation fisherman was in his genes. His story takes the reader through the death throes and the final demise of the once vibrant Cornish Pilchard Industry in Looe. This story includes the personalities and elderly crew members with whom Michael came into contact. Interspersed with many comical moments are graphic descriptions of some dangerous encounters that befell the ‘Endeavour’, which all fishermen face in their everyday job.

Michael Hugh Soady was born in West Looe, Cornwall, on September 19, 1937, the eldest son of a 6th-generation Cornish fisherman. Michael was educated at Looe School, Liskeard Grammar School and Devonport Engineering College. He was conscripted into the British army from February 1960 to January 1962, serving as a non-commissioned officer in the Corps of Royal Military Police. After demobilisation, Michael held the post of a leading draughtsman for the admiralty armament supply officer. Endeavour to Be a Cornish Fisherman follows on from his memoirs in his first book, An Unlikely Cornish Fisherman, and covers Michael’s life experiences during the period 1963–1972.