What began as a small festive fundraiser has struck a chord with Red Lichties across the globe and brought a big boost for Arbroath’s RNLI lifesavers.
Harbour staff hoped to put something special into Christmas by placing a memorial tree at the town harbour.
And their idea of decorating it with a handful of festive bells caught the imagination.
Hundreds of requests flooded in from around the world.
It raised almost £1,300 for the town’s lifeboat.
And harbour assistant Grant Milne hopes the project might become something for people to enjoy all year round.
Bell Rock inspiration
He said: “We had a wooden memorial tree and thought about putting it down at the harbour for Christmas with some little bells on it.
“The bell idea was inspired by the Bell Rock lighthouse and we thought it would be a nice thing for people to see.
“And perhaps a few folk would want to add a bell to it in memory of a loved one.
“But is just kind of went ballistic – so we ended up with 600 requests for bells,” said the 62-year-old.
“Once it went up on social media we had people contacting us from all over the world.
“There were a lot of folk from the ex-fishing community, wanting a bell to remember someone.”
It turned into a mammoth undertaking for Grant to make sure every individual message was checked with families before the bells were added.
“I took a photo of every individual bell and message and sent them on to the families.
“You can’t afford to make a mistake when they are such a special thing to people.”
Boatbuilding firm’s kind gesture
“We ended up needing three trees for all the bells and Paul Simpson of Mackay Boatbuilders was good enough to build a shelter for them,” Grant said.
“I think it was quite emotional for people to see the bells, and there were a few tears.”
The trees were set beside a creel Christmas tree which has become another popular festive harbour feature.
“We took the trees down after a month, but we’ll definitely do it again for next year.
“And maybe it could be made a permanent thing,” added Grant.
“We didn’t really set out to do it for donations, but it just took off.
“Our target was £200, so to raise £1,280 was a great result.”
Arbroath RNLI operations manager Alex Smith said it had been a poignant addition to the harbour at Christmas.
“It was a lovely thing to do and I know a lot of people appreciated seeing it,” he said.
“We’re certainly very grateful for the support it has generated for the lifeboat.”
