250 years on, victims of fishing tragedy remembered

A CEREMONY to mark the 250th anniversary of an almost forgotten Scottish fishing disaster which claimed eight lives has been held.

Fifty descendants of the men who perished in the incident gathered at Crail, Fife, where a wreath was thrown into the water and a bench with a commemorative plaque was unveiled.

Details of the tragedy – on January 21, 1765 – are scarce, but it is understood that a sailing vessel foundered on rocks only yards from the safety of the harbour.

None of the crew survived and their deaths left six widows and 30 fatherless children.

It is not clear from records whether the men’s bodies were ever recovered.

The community was said to have rallied round to raise funds for the grieving rela- tives. The victims were named in records as skipper William Runciman, John Brown, Henry Burns, Thomas Cunningham, James Dewar, James Kay, John Ramsay and Andrew Taylor.

Mr Runciman’s descendants brought together the other relatives on Saturday after researching the family’s history.

All the families involved said they felt that it was appropriate to have a tangible memorial at the harbour to mark what happened. Alan Runciman said: ‘ We wanted to create something permanent so we decided to raise money for a bench for visitors to enjoy and perhaps learn about what befell our families all those years ago.’

Gordon Kerr, who threw the memorial wreath into the water at the entrance to the harbour, said: ‘ It i s an unknown tragedy from 250 years ago.

‘I hope what we are doing today raises the awareness of that loss of life.’