Portknockie tribute to fishermen lost at sea rededicated during emotional 20th anniversary service
Two decades after it was first unveiled, a village community has rededicated their memorial tribute to fishermen who lost their lives at sea.
Villagers and guests gathered at the flagstaff in the village on Saturday, July 27 for the service at the memorial cairn.
During the service there was a reading by author and Portknockie Community Association member Michael Elliot, who is based in the village, during which he paid tribute to all those who have lost their lives at sea.
Addressing the gathering was the Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire Andrew Simpson. Joining the local community were at the event were volunteer crewmembers from Buckie RNLI lifeboat and rowers from Cullen Sea School and Findochty Water Sports Club.
The memorial service was opened by PCA member Liz Russell, who was the inspiration behind the rededication project, who introduced Mr Elliot and Mr Simpson. Following Mr Elliot’s reading, there was a minute’s silence followed by the Lord’s Prayer. Mr Simpson then addressed those gathered at the flagstaff.
Mr Elliot read the poem attached to a wreath laid at the memorial cairn by Buckie RNLI crewman and seafarer Jeffrey Tuckerman. The poem was written by z member of PCA chairman John Going’s family.
It was a case of full circle for Buckie and District Pipe Band piper Rab Taylor, who played at the original dedication service back in July 25, 2004 and played for around 10 minutes before the proceedings got under way.
Youngsters from the local primary school contributed to the day with artwork and speech bubbles exploring what the memorial meant to them.
A walk round the village was to provide the inspiration for Portknockie Community Association (PCA) member to set in the event motion.
She said: “I had recently joined the PCA after coming to live in Portknockie after leaving the Army - I was having a walk round the village one day and saw the Fishermen’s Memorial.
“I noticed that the 20th anniversary was coming up and thought how nice it’d be if we could rededicate it to help remind people what it is and why it’s there.
“The day was absolutely amazing, we couldn’t have asked for better. The harbour was very busy; during the minute’s silence, we could hear the hubbub from the harbour of children playing and so on, and many people commented that it was lovely to hear.
“The feedback we’ve had so far is that it went very well. It was certainly very emotional.
“There were also a lot of lovely comments about the pupils’ pictures and speech bubbles. Some of them talked about relatives they had lost at sea and there were also those which talked about relatives who are still at sea. It shows that we’re still very much a fishing community.”
Mrs Russell went on to pay tribute to Forget Me Not florists for donating the wreath.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Simpson paid tribute to the hard work of all those involved in the project.
He said: “Joining members of the Portknockie community on the occasion of the rededication of the Fishermen's Memorial was a special privilege.
“Twenty years ago people recognised the importance of remembering those whose lives were lost at sea and it is very appropriate to be reminded of the significance of the memorial and those it represents.
Twenty years ago saw a large crowd gather at the flagstaff to witness the formal unveiling of the memorial, which was the finale to Portknockie’s very first Festival of Fishing.
The dedication service was conducted by Superintendent Ray Hall from the Royal Nation Mission for Deep Sea Fishermen, with the guest speaker for the evening being Alex Salmond, who was later to go on to serve at first Minister of Scotland.
The original inspiration for the memorial were local community stalwarts Pearl Murray and Catherine Ritchie.
A plaque alongside it reads: This memorial is dedicated by the people of Portknockie to all fishermen who lost their lives at sea.
“The dedication service was conducted by Supt Ray Hall of the RNMDSF om Sunday, 25th July, 2004.”
