60-year-old cuttings are a lasting reminder of Wick family link to trawler disaster
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THE press cuttings on the loss of the Aberdeen trawler George Robb off the Caithness coast 60 years ago today have a special significance for Allan Tait and his family.
The cuttings were kept by his late mother, Isobel, and are a lasting reminder of the heroic bid to save the 12 crew on board the stricken vessel which came to grief off Duncansby Head on the evening of December 6, 1959.
A rescue attempt was made but the valiant efforts were in vain and all the crew died, leaving 34 children fatherless. A Wick coastguard officer, Eric Campbell, also lost his life after suffering a heart attack.
William Tait, Allan's father, was a 33-year-old fisherman on the Girl Mina at the time and lived with his wife in Argyle Square, Wick.
He and the others were fishermen who volunteered because they could have been in a similar situation themselves.
He was one of four local fishermen who volunteered to help with the rescue. The others were John Flett, Hugh Green and George Sinclair. The Longhope lifeboat tried to reach the men but had to give up because of the atrocious conditions.
"My father never really talked much about what happened," Allan said. "It was such a horrendous night they had no chance of getting anywhere near the boat. The sea was rough and there were 80 to 90mph winds.
"He and the others were fishermen who volunteered because they could have been in a similar situation themselves. Conditions were terrible.
"My father would probably have been carrying equipment to try and rescue the crew. It must have been hard on them to know there were 12 guys on that boat and there was nothing they could do to save them.
"One made it on to the rocks, but his body was found the next day. It must have been an awful experience for them."
There was another casualty that night as Mr Campbell, who was 52, collapsed and died during the rescue bid. Mr Tait and Mr Green found him and summoned help but it was too late to save him.
"I was always aware of the George Robb disaster through the cuttings which myself and my older brother Michael would look at from time to time," Allan said. "They were part of my family and the family history for 60 years and I have them now.
"It was a sad event, without a doubt. It is interesting to read the cuttings but the whole story behind it is such a tragic one."
Allan is involved in the bid to raise funds for a seafarers memorial in Wick and backs the plans to have a permanent memorial for the George Robb and other vessels at John O'Groats.
"That is a great idea and probably long overdue. It will be good to have somewhere to go where people can remember what happened," he said.
Allan, his brother Michael and sister Maureen Bremner plan to go to the memorial service at Duncansby today to mark the 60th anniversary.
"It will be a moving occasion," Allan said. "The whole north of Scotland was affected by the tragedy."
Allan, a development officer at Caithness Voluntary Group, lives in Dempster Street with his wife Lorraine. The couple have two sons, Cameron (24) and Fraser who is 21.
Outcry after fishermen had their benefit cut following rescue bid
THE loss of the George Robb was a tragedy that claimed the lives of 12 crew and a coastguard – but its aftermath also created a bit of legal history.
The law was changed after four Wick fishermen who volunteered to help in the rescue of the Aberdeen trawler 60 years ago had their unemployment benefit cut as life-saving was deemed "a subsidiary occupation".
The local fishermen were unable to go to sea on the day of the incident because of the stormy conditions and signed on at the labour exchange, as they were entitled to do. But after volunteering to try and help save the trawler crew they were told their benefit would be cut.
The decision led to anger and disbelief and was raised in the House of Commons by the then local MP, Sir David Robertson, who had been contacted by the men. He demanded an investigation.
Soon after the decision was reversed and the regulations were changed to allow fishermen to assist in rescues without having any unemployment benefit docked. It was pointed out that lifeboatmen and part-time fishermen did not lose unemployment benefit if they volunteered in rescues and the men did not see why volunteers for the coastguard should be treated differently.
One of the four fishermen affected by the decision was 33-year-old William Tait, who was a crewman on the Girl Mina and lived in Argyle Square. The others were George Sinclair (38), of Telford Street, John Flett (21), of Huddart Street, and Hugh Green (36), of North Murchison Street.
It was never anything to do with the money. It was a point of principle.
Mr Tait's son Allan described the decision as "completely unfair" but stressed that it led to a change in the law. "It was a test case," he said.
The four men received a payment of around £3 for being volunteers with the coastguard life-saving team but they all donated the money to the George Robb disaster fund which was set up by Aberdeen council and raised over £25,000.
"It was never anything to do with the money. It was a point of principle," Allan said.
"It was very unfair to penalise them when all they were doing was trying to help out. But common sense prevailed and just over a week later it was all sorted out.
"It was quite historic what they achieved. The coastguard and other emergency services depend on volunteers and the ruling [about the unemployment benefit] was not encouraging people to help. It was sending out the wrong message so a wee bit of good came out of what was a disaster."
There was huge press coverage of the story at local and national level and that helped their case, he said.
"I feel a bit sorry for the local labour exchange manager, having worked for the civil service myself," Allan added. "He was just following the rules as they were then and was probably quite glad they were changed and the guys got their money."
Duncansby Head commemoration 60 years after trawler tragedy
