Founder member and chairman 'sadly missed' as Merchant Navy Day is commemorated in Wick
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Merchant Navy Day was marked in Wick on Sunday, less than three weeks after the death of fishing skipper George Carter who had played a central role in the annual event over the years.
Mr Carter, of Lybster, was a founder member of the Caithness branch of the Merchant Navy Association and served as chairman throughout. He passed away last month aged 86.
A group of about 25 people, including representatives of the local Royal British Legion Scotland branch and Wick RNLI, took part in a short wreath-laying ceremony at the Kirkhill memorial garden following a service in nearby St Fergus Church.
Branch secretary Mike Coupland paid tribute to Mr Carter afterwards, saying: “He was a founder member. He was a driving force in the background.
"He will be sadly missed. He was chairman from the beginning right to the end.”
Locum minister Leslie O'Neill of St Fergus Church took the service and gave a reading at the memorial garden.
After a two-minute silence, Deputy Lieutenant Evelyn Bremner laid a wreath on behalf of the Merchant Navy Association. The wreath was placed between the engraved plaques at Kirkhill honouring those who lost their lives when the Merchant Navy vessel Isleford sank in Wick Bay in 1942 and the Caithness men who died when the Jervis Bay was sunk by the German ship Admiral Scheer in November 1940.
Piper Vida Sinclair played the lament Flowers of the Forest.
Willie Watt, Vice-Lieutenant of the county, was also present.
Mr Coupland was pleased that a church service could be held as part of this year's Merchant Navy Day, unlike 2020 when Covid-19 restrictions ruled it out.
“We are dependent very much for official duties now on the lifeboat," he added. "They're all members – they've joined us – and they get the benefits of the association, so it works both ways.
“It was a good turnout and it was good to be back in fellowship, because we haven't met together for 12 months. The church service was impossible last year but it worked very well.”
The sinking of the passenger liner Athenia by a U-boat on the first day of World War II – September 3, 1939 – led to the annual Merchant Navy Day commemoration being set up 21 years ago. It is observed on that date or close to it.
A couple from Alness who attended Sunday's church service, David and Joan Lipp, have a direct family connection to the Athenia as Mrs Lipp's father, John Mackenzie, was one of the survivors of the sinking.
Mr Mackenzie, from Hilton in Easter Ross, was in the Merchant Navy in the lead-up to the war and served in the Royal Naval Reserve during the conflict.
Mr and Mrs Lipp are the parents of Wick lifeboat coxswain Allan Lipp, who was attending the service in his RNLI role and also as a member of the Merchant Navy Association.
He said it had been a poignant occasion.
“My grandfather experienced the horrors of the Athenia getting hit and helped with the rescue," Mr Lipp said.
“In those days they didn't really talk about it much, it was just something that happened. It's quite interesting now trying to gather bits of information.”
His parents had been spending a couple of days in the Wick area.
“Knowing that the service was on, they were keen to come along," Mr Lipp explained. "They didn't know that there was going to be any mention of the Athenia so it was quite touching.”
The coxswain was part of a strong RNLI presence on Merchant Navy Day. “After losing George Carter a couple of weeks ago it was so nice just to show a wee bit of support," Mr Lipp said. "He was an RNLI supporter through and through for over 30 years.”
