I concentrated on trying to be happy and get on with life
Shirley tells how she found love again four years after losing her husband Robert Stephen in ‘totally random’ disaster at sea
Robert is never a subject that is spoken of in hushed tones WIDOW SHIRLEY
SAPPHIRE widow Shirley Henderson never imagined her life would turn out as it has.
Tomorrow, she will visit the grave of her first husband, Robert Stephen, one of the four crewmen who perished 20 years ago.
Holding her hand as she lays a bouquet of flowers will be their 22-year-old daughter, Darcie.
The trawler tragedy cast a shadow over the Blue Toon despite the fishing industry being hardened to loss of life down the decades.
But the crew of the Sapphire were young men – Robert, 25, Adam Stephen, 29, Bruce Cameron, 32 and Victor Podlesny, 45.
Shirley, 44, said: “In our generation, there had never been such a loss of life.
“We’d never really been privy to that disaster aspect of fishing. You knew of it historically.
“They were huge vessels. You never heard of young lads going away to their work and never coming back.
“What happened to the Sapphire was totally random.”
Shirley recalls speaking to her husband on her mobile on the afternoon the boat began heading for her home port of Peterhead.
But on Wednesday, October 1, 1997, while carrying her catch into harbour, the Sapphire sank “like a stone” just 12 miles out.
Shirley said: “I spoke to Robert that afternoon. Darcie was just two. I can’t remember what we spoke about.
“They were coming in to land their catch that night but it’s a distant memory now.”
A Marine Accident Investigation Branch report blamed water pouring into open hatches and a faulty fish-hold hatch for the disaster.
The emergency beacon also failed to float free because vital parts had been painted over, and a release mechanism was overdue for replacement.
The widows felt skipper Victor Robertson – who survived after scrambling through the wheelhouse window – had a responsibilty of care for their men.
Resentment grew when Victor went ahead with his wedding plans, turned his back on the sea and bought a share in a pub.
But the marriage didn’t last and he now lives in a flat in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, where he steadfastly refuses to talk of the fateful day.
Four years after the tragedy, Shirley herself found love again and wed local joiner Paul Henderson, who she described as her “tower of strength”.
The couple went on to have a son, Owen, together and remain happy to this day.
Shirley said: “I’ve concentrated on trying to be happy and to get on with life.
“Owen is 15 and in fourth year at school. He makes us proud every day, he’s amazing. He wants to be an architect.
“Darcie is now 22, is still staying at home but has a boyfriend, Craig.
“Her and Paul are so close. Darcie’s really lucky. Paul taught her to drive. He stepped up and has been dad. She has two great dads.
“Robert is spoken about collectively by us all. It’s just like he’s here but he’s not. “He’s always involved. He’s spoken about regularly.
“He’s never a subject that’s shied away from or spoken about in hushed tones.”
Looking back, Shirley says she has no regrets about the controversial decision to go ahead with the raising of the boat.
And her admiration for Alex Salmond remains. She said: “He was a rock. He really stepped up. If it hadn’t been for his connections in government and with local companies and people he knew, it could have been a cry for help that was ignored.
“Alex and the Daily Record drove it forward. The Daily Record sat with me the night the boat came in.
“It was Alex Salmond who knocked on my door with the official confirmation that they’d found Robert’s body on board.
“My only regret was probably that we had to grieve in public.
“We never really had a day to sit down and think about them properly.
“There were the funerals and then everyone disappeared.”