It remains one of the worst – and least-known – maritime tragedies in Dundee’s history.
On February 27 1940, the trawler Ben Attow struck a mine in the Firth of Forth, seven miles from May Island.
It was the first time since 1916 that a Dundee trawler had been lost with all hands.
The Ben Attow was only identified when debris began washing up on shore two days after the explosion.
Further evidence of its sinking came with the finding of a lifebelt bearing the ship’s name, as well as deck planking and several fish boxes bearing the name of the owners.
All nine crew were killed in the tragedy, leaving 26 children without their fathers.
One of these children, Peter Schiavetta, is now 86.
He has dedicated much of his later life to raising awareness of the tragedy and calling for a permanent memorial in Broughty Ferry.
Kirkwood Homes have now unveiled plans to name several new streets in their Balgillo Heights housing development after the sunken vessel.
Peter said: “It’s going to be very nice.
“I knew all these guys too, so it’s really great they’re doing this.”
Peter received a letter informing him of the street tribute following work from Broughty Ferry councillor Derek Scott to honour the crew.
The new plots in the Balgillo Heights housing development will have several streets named after the Ben Attow, including Ben Attow Drive, Lane, and Terrace.
Broughty Ferry is very different from the fishing village it once was.
Picturesque looking cottages and nautically named pubs are the only reminders of how people in the area used to live.
Life in the 1940s was tough, and men risked their lives going out to sea to earn a living.
Peter’s father, Luigi Schiavetta, was 47 when he joined the crew as an onboard cook.
The fateful trip was only his second time aboard the trawler which was built in Aberdeen in 1900.
Luigi, 47, and his brothers Joe and Angelo came to Scotland from Borgata in northern Italy in the early 1900s.
Luigi opened a chip shop in Dundee, and then in Monifieth before moving his business to King Street in Broughty Ferry.
After the shop closed, Luigi took work as an onboard cook in order to support his family.
He was only onboard the Ben Attow when tragedy struck because its usual cook was ill.
It was a sliding doors moment but with a sadder ending.
Luigi’s son Joe was a crew member on the trawler The Willow.
In a bitter irony, he helped rescue the men who were responsible for his father’s death.
The Willow rescued four Nazi airmen from the Forth after their bomber was shot down.
That was the plane that laid the mine that killed his father.
Six men from Broughty Ferry were lost in the Ben Attow disaster – Luigi, David Lorimer, George Anderson, Norman Ross, John Robertson and Alexander M. Gall.
The other three men killed were Arthur Lawrence from Monifieth and Robert Mayes and W. J. Briggs, both from Tayport.
The Rev William Campbell of St James’s Church in Broughty Ferry led a fundraising drive to help the families affected by the tragedy.
Dundee Rep also put on a performance of George Bernard Shaw’s Candida to raise funds for the families.
The theatre company hoped The Queen would attend the performance, but her apologies were sent by Buckingham Palace.
She sent her regrets but wished the fundraiser “all possible success”.
The names of the dead are included in the Tower Hill Memorial in London to commemorate civilian merchant sailors and fishermen who were killed as a result of enemy action and have no known grave.
The three streets in Balgillo Heights will be accompanied by others in the housing development which are to be named after additional ships that have been lost from Broughty Ferry over the decades – including the Mona lifeboat.
The tragic vessel was launched to assist the North Carr Lightship in St Andrews Bay on December 8 1959 but capsized in treacherous weather conditions.
All eight crewmen died in the shipwreck, including a father and son.
The lightship’s crew of six were rescued by helicopter the following morning.
There is a memorial to the Mona at Broughty Ferry lifeboat shed and Peter’s dying wish is that it will one day be joined by a permanent Ben Attow tribute.
He said: “This housing development is great. It’s right that these men finally get a memorial in Dundee.
“There are other memorials for ships by the lifeboat shed too. I hope I’d see a memorial for Ben Attow there in my lifetime.”
There are currently no dates yet for the Broughty Ferry streets to be built, however Peter hopes to attend the opening when it happens.
Until then he’ll keep talking about the Ben Attow tragedy.
He added: “It must never be forgotten.”
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