Cumbrae man Todd Ferguson brings Battle of Largs alive

Todd Ferguson, who is known to many for his work as a councillor for the North Coast, was encouraged by residents to turn his interests into written work.

With the help of his partner Vicky Patchett, who provided the illustrations, and his passion for Scottish history after growing up in the shadow of Portencross Castle, his first book called Battle of Largs was born.

He told the News: “It is a fantastic project I have been working on for several years. I had been writing a series of social media posts to try and raise awareness of the Battle of Largs locally and then was encouraged to put it into a book format.

“I never thought I would write or produce a book, but I wanted to bring a piece of local history to a younger generation. There are lots of people who are aware of the Battle of Largs and the Viking Festival is internationally renowned.

“I wanted to write a book that wasn’t too academic as such but more of a story.

“However, it wasn’t until Vicky produced the wonderful illustrations that the book finally started to come to life.”

Todd Ferguson released his book a few months ago (Image: Newsquest)

Todd, who earned a first-class honour degree in history and archaeology at University of Glasgow, draws on the Norse Saga that was originally told by historian Sturla Tordsson in the 1260s.

The book itself challenges and debates the complexities of Norse influence in Scotland and the events following the battle itself.

“Over hundreds of years, Scottish historians took the story and worked it into their own format”, he added.

“The first part draws on the Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar ("The Saga of Haakon Haakonarson"), while the second part uses several Scottish historical sources and analyses how the narrative of events have changed through time. It is an important lesson for any young person who wants to learn history outside of school.

“As a community we are passionate about the Vikings, and you only have to look around Largs to see how many connections there are to them.”

The 47-year-old was keen to ensure that the book was produced using businesses in Largs from start to finish and now he is hoping that it can be used as an educational resource for people.

The book challenges and debates the complexities of Norse influence in Scotland (Image: Newsquest)

He continued: “The book is absolutely for anyone who is interested in the Battle of Largs and the complexities of our shared past.

“There are always historical segues when you start looking closely at contemporary sources. The first Scottish source describing events was written 150 to 200 years after the Battle of Largs. That is why it is interesting to compare them to the Norse saga which was composed a few years after events and relied on eyewitness accounts.

“I welcome people challenging what I have written because that is how we learn and grow. I am passionate about Scottish history and how we can bring that to a new audience. I want to engage with people and get them thinking about the areas they grew up in and visit.

The 47-year-old is hoping the book can be used as an educational tool for people (Image: Newsquest)

“Appreciating our historical connections to the landscape are vitally important in building a sense of community spirit and hopefully the book portrays that.

“I wanted to self-publish it using local businesses. Largs Printing Company were heavily involved in the project and had lengthy conversations about the format. They did a lot of the design work inside the book in terms of text and layout. I can’t thank Scott and the team enough for the finished product, it is a beautiful layout.

“I will be giving part of the proceeds to the museum and the Vikingar.”

The Battle of Largs is available to buy at the Largs Museum and online at Amazon.