Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Stonehaven rail crash victim Christopher Stuchbury was ‘a man much loved by all who knew him’

Christopher Stuchbury
Christopher Stuchbury

On Friday afternoons, Christopher Stuchbury liked to bring a smile to people in need.

Armed with a coffee and a cake, he would wheel his tea trolley along the corridors of Roxburghe House in Aberdeen and stop for a chat with patients approaching the end of their life.

That the 62-year-old spent nine years volunteering at the NHS Grampian palliative care centre was typical of his compassion, loved ones said.

They were left devastated when Christopher died in the Stonehaven rail crash.

On the morning of the derailment, he had boarded the train as a passenger.

He was on his way to Fife, where he planned to do one of his final shifts as a tugboat master at Targe Towing Team. He had worked there for 24 years.

But he suffered severe injuries during the derailment and paramedics were unable to save him.

‘Chris really was a man much loved by all who knew him’

Christopher grew up in Burghead and suffered a childhood tragedy when his father John died when he was young.

That meant his mother Molly raised him and his sister Fiona alone.

Christopher Stuchbury
Christopher Stuchbury

John was in the Royal Navy stationed at Lossiemouth.

Christopher attended Lossiemouth High School before enrolling in a nautical studies course at Glasgow College.

He later married Helen and the couple lived in Blairgowrie with their children Neil and Faye.

He then returned to Aberdeen more than a decade ago, after Helen died suddenly in 2006.

Five years later, Christopher decided to give up his spare time to help people suffering from serious illness at Roxburghe House.

In a statement released following the derailment, his family said they were devastated by his death.

They added: “Chris was a much-adored husband, son, dad, stepdad, grandad, brother and uncle and was a treasured and loved friend to many, including the Targe Towing Team where he was an integral and valued member of staff.

“He also volunteered at Roxburghe House in Aberdeen during his spare time, which he thoroughly enjoyed doing.”

Flowers left at Stonehaven Railway Station after the train crash.

Mandy Urquhart, who manages volunteers at Roxburgh House, said: “Chris really was a man much loved by all who knew him.

“He was incredibly caring, fun-loving, genuine and kind.

“His compassion and understanding brought him through the doors of Roxburghe House nine years ago, to help others at their time of need.

“Since then he has become a familiar, and regular, face on the ward with his tea trolley and in our coffee bar.

“He brought comfort and a welcome distraction to patients, their families, our staff and volunteers in so many ways.

“We were absolutely privileged to work alongside him and will remember him with a smile and of the stories and the laughter we shared on so many Fridays.

“Our deepest sympathy and sincere condolences are with his family, friends and colleagues at this incredibly difficult time.”

‘He was a nice, nice man’

Christopher followed in his father’s footsteps by playing for Buckie Cricket Club.

He also played for Meigle and Blairgowrie cricket clubs and qualified as an umpire with East of Scotland Cricket Officials in 2019.

The Stuchbury family left such an impression at Buckie Cricket Club that its annual player of the year is awarded the John Stuchbury Trophy, which was donated by his widow, Molly.

Former Buckie Cricket Club player Bill Flett said: “Chris was a really nice young lad, just a normal young man, neither shy or flamboyant, very well brought up as you’d expect for a child of a Forces family.

“The thoughts of us all at Buckie Cricket Club are with Chris’s family at the saddest of times.”

Beadle Piper Patrick Glendinning pipes outside Burghead’s Church of Scotland in tribute to Christopher Stuchbury

His home town of Burghead came to a standstill exactly a week after the derailment when people lined the streets to join a two-minute silence.

Billy Davidson, chairman of Burghead and Cummingston Community Council said: “It’s quite sad really. What had happened is horrendous.

“He was a very nice fellow, he really was. He was a nice, nice man.”