Remembrance
Ceremony held in Digby to honour fishermen.
The annual fishermen’s memorial service was held in Digby on Sept. 16 to honour the lives of fishermen who have lost their lives at sea.
The service was held at fishermen’s memorial park which opened in 2002 on Maiden Lane in Digby. The park hosts a monument where families can have their loved ones’ names engraved on the stone. The monument was added in 2004.
This year, the 18th name was added to the monument, Edward Stewart Murphy.
Murphy died in October 1976 in a dory in the Digby gut.
“Edward lost his life fishing, what he loved to do. He was in a dory and ironically near the life-saving station out here in the Digby Gut,” said Mayor Ben Cleveland, who was leading the ceremony. “It’s an honour to have his name here on the bottom of this stone.”
Rev. Donald Robertson was at the service and led a prayer to honour and remember the fishermen.
“The fishermen’s memorial was established in 2004 to honour Digby men and women who dedicated their lives and who have given their all to the sea,” said Robertson .
The monument includes a fishermen’s prayer and the statement: ‘ In memory of fishers of the Digby area, who have gone to sea in pursuit of their livelihood, never to return.’
Rachel MacLean provided entertainment at the event, including a performance of the song Fisherman’s Wife by Finley Mullally.