Eyemouth

This morning Mrs CBL and I visited the town of Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders.  There is an evocative memorial at the harbour in the town which was unveiled last October.  Fellow blipper solaev21 has posted images of it in her journal which I found very moving and was keen to see it for myself.  I wasn't to be disappointed.

The five-metre long bronze sculpture called 'Widows and Bairns' commemorates the families who were affected by Scotland's worst fishing disaster.

For those interested here is their story.

A total of 189 men were killed in waters just outside the town's harbour when a severe storm struck in October 1881. All but 70 came from the town.  Many of them drowned within full view of their families on the shore.

The tragedy, which became known locally as 'Black Friday', left 78 widows and 182 fatherless children in the town.

The sculpture is a timeline which starts on Friday afternoon when the storm started.  The fishing boats sank having struck the rocks within sight of the harbour entrance.  Those gathered could hear the men shouting but they could do nothing to help them because the tempestuous seas.

The sculpture then moves along all the way to Sunday evening by which time all hope had gone.  At the end there is a family grouped together in despair, the young girl is depicted leading her weeping mother and younger brothers and sisters into the future (amongst the extras).

Some children were offered places in a Quarrier's Children's Home but their mothers refused saying, "We shall keep our bairns as they are the future of our fishing port".  It is because of the tenacity and determination of these womenfolk that the town that Eyemouth continues to be a thriving fishing community which is proud of its heritage.