Wick Society boat stalwart receives volunteer award at Greenwich
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A STALWART of the Wick Society has been honoured at a ceremony in London.
Malcolm Bremner, who is vice-chairman of the society and "skipper" of its boat section, received a Marsh Volunteer Award from National Historic Ships UK.
The long-serving Wick harbour master was hailed for his contribution to the group and for his tireless work over two decades to the upkeep of the historic fishing vessel Isabella Fortuna and the promotion of the heritage of the fishing industry in the town.
Mr Bremner gained his skipper’s ticket at an early age and after working for the Scottish White Fish Producers' Association took up the harbour master role.
For the past 22 years all his spare time has been dedicated to the society and Isabella Fortuna in particular. He also led the restoration of the old herring mart at the harbour, a building that dates back to 1890, which was converted into a small museum and lecture/film room.
He was presented with the award for historic vessel conservation at a ceremony in the Queen’s House, Greenwich, along with fellow winner and historic vessel enthusiast Patrick Fox, who works on the Edith May based at Lower Halstow, Kent, with whom he shared the £500 prize.
The Marsh Volunteer Awards are supported by the Marsh Christian Trust which was established by Brian Marsh in 1981 and which recognise unsung heroes.
The honour caps a successful year for the Wick Society which had already been named a winner by National Historic Ships UK.
The Isabella Fortuna was given a national accolade in April to recognise its importance to the community and the dedication of the volunteers who keep it shipshape. The 129-year-old traditional Fifie was one of three regional flagships appointed by National Historic Ships UK.
It made it a momentous year for us to get both awards.
The other two were Kingswear Castle, a Devon paddle steamer, and Kitty, a sailing barge operating in the Thames Estuary. Each flagship received a broad pennant to fly, together with £250.
The Isabella's pennant was officially handed over in June.
Mr Bremner was nominated for the volunteer award by his boat section colleague Alan Miller.
"It made it a momentous year for us to get both awards," Mr Miller said. "As secretary of the boat section I nominated Malcolm for the Marsh Volunteer Award unbeknown to him, and it was only recently that we got word that we were short-listed."
The nomination highlighted Malcolm's team-building and his motivational abilities and his commitment to the community as a whole, as well as his work on the Isabella Fortuna itself.
"It was a bit of a surprise for him at the end to know that he actually got it," Mr Miller added. "It was a joint thing because they couldn't differentiate between the two applications."
