Memorial to Fife fishing tragedy that left 72 children in St Monans without a father

A memorial is being built in St Monans to remember the 37 fishermen who lost their lives in a “fearful storm” off the East Anglian coast in November 1875, with the tragedy leaving a profound mark on the village and its people.

The bodies of only eight fishermen were ever recovered and buried in King’s Lynn in Norfolk, where a memorial stands to all those who were buried and those lost at sea.

READ MORE: The time capsule photographs of a ‘lucky’ Scottish village

Now, a memorial is being built in St Monans for the first time to remember all who died in the 1875 tragedy - and all those from this stretch of coastline who have risked their lives at sea.

Jim Paterson, 80, of Rosyth, is the great-great-grandson of James Paterson, the 49-year-old skipper of the Beautiful Star, which never returned to St Monans, along with the Thane and Quest.

The skipper’s widow also lost her son, Robert, her two brothers, three nephews, a brother- in-law and a cousin in the tragedy.

READ MORE: Traces of Scotland’s earliest residents found at Fife housing site

Mr Paterson, who only learned of the fishing disaster in later life when his sister started the family tree, will go to the unveiling of the memorial in November.

He said: “The memorial means so much and it just means that my family was not forgotten.”

In 1875, a fleet of around 80 vessels left St Monans, Cellardyke and Pittenweem that September in the annual chase for herring, with letters home during the voyage talking of the succesful trip.

But as the last boats left the south fishery to head home, a terrible storm whipped up in the North Sea. Three boats - the Beautiful Star, Quest and Thane - never made it home to St Monans. The village lost 21 men that night.

Two boats from Cellardyke carrying 16 fishermen also never returned.

The bodies of eight fishermen from the Beautiful Star and the Thane were recovered and buried in King’s Lynn, where the town rallied to give them a dignified farewell.

READ MORE: Love Scottish history? So do we, so sign up to our heritage newsletter and get all the best stories delivered to your inbox

The streets lined with fishermen and members of the local temperance movement, which paid for the funerals. A memorial to the Fife fisherman who never returned stands in a cemetery in the town,

Hugh Wallace, from the St Monans 1875 Memorial Garden, said: “That was the wonderful thing about the fishing community down in King’s Lynn. It looked after its own. That has up until now been the only place where there is a memorial to this disaster.”

He added: “We are remembering those who died in 1875 and also recognising how dangerous it has been out at sea and still is.”

Following the tragedy, Sir Robert Anstruther set up a fund and raised over £7,000 by public subscription. That money was then put into a trust for the widows of the fishermen to compensate for the loss of boats and buy uniforms and books for their children.

The memorial will depict the three St Monans fishing boats on three separate plinths. The landmark will carry the names of the 21 men of the village who died, along with the 16 from Cellardyke. Three other fisherman who were lost at sea will also be remembered.

The memorial has been designed by architect Fermin Beltran, who is based in St Monans.

A service will be held to open the memorial and garden in late November to mark the anniversary of the tragedy, with a memorial event also planned for King’s Lynn.