A permanent commemoration of an Angus fishing fleet tragedy has been unveiled in a quiet harbour ceremony.
And the plaque at Arbroath finally honours three hero crewmen of the Laddies Ain who perished 101 years ago.
It has been put there by descendants of William Smith – The Rover – who died with two of his crewmates after seeing other local boats to safety during a freak summer storm.
Brothers Dale and Tony Smith are the great grandsons of The Rover.
The pair of Lichties moved to Kirriemuir many years ago, but are still weekly visitors to their home town.
And Dale revealed the loss of their father earlier this year had spurred the brothers to finally fulfil the promise to honour their forebears.
Only a brief newspaper report of the time details the tragedy, but Dale says the story of June 4 1921 is etched into Smith family history.
“The Arbroath fleet was at sea that day when the weather turned foul,” said Dale.
“Usually the boats kept within hailing or signalling distance so that they could support each other if one got into difficulty.
“These open fishing boats were relatively small, with a single mast and sail and a set of oars.
“When the weather turned bad it was safer to drop the sail and row back home.
“The next part of the story has been family hearsay for the last hundred years,” he said.
“All of the boats were similar with only one or two slightly larger.
“Laddies Ane, as one of the larger boats, led the fleet back to the harbour.
“It waited a couple of hundred yards outside the Bar as the smaller boats rowed past in very violent waves.
“The harbour area was crowded with families and friends anxious for the return of the boats.
“Along with the official beacons, they waved their Tilley lamps to help guide the fleet to safety.
Tragedy strikes AH 214
“As the last of the fleet passed, Laddies Ain turned to take up the rear and then happened one of those moments that changes lives forever,” said Dale.
“Within yards of the Bar and in sight of the townsfolk, Laddies Ain was hit by a freak wave and completely swamped.”
She sank immediately with the loss of William Smith, John Arnat and John Smith.
Dale said: “Miraculously, one crew member was washed ashore beyond Danger Point at the drying greens.
“He is believed to be a Cargill but, unfortunately for him, superstitious locals felt the Devil had intervened to save him and some shunned him for the rest of his life.
“He was a lonely character haunting local pubs and suffering from terrible depression.
“We recognise his symptoms today as survivors guilt.
“When tragedy struck the fishing community it did so suddenly and hard, and the loss of Laddies Ain AH 214 and three young men was the terrible price paid by families in the town.”
“We had chatted about raising a plaque but sadly it didn’t happen during the lifetime of my father, Dale JK Smith.”
But a chat with harbourmaster Bruce Fleming led to agreement for the plaque to go on the obelisk outside his office.
Arbroath RNLI operations manager Alex Smith unveiled the memorial in the quiet ceremony.
“Dad also has a bench above Victoria Park so we are grateful to the PKS Group harbourmaster Bruce Fleming and Angus Council for their permission to erect the sign,” said Dale.
