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.

Tay Bridge disaster memorial move

Post Thumbnail

A permanent memorial to the 75 people killed when the Tay Bridge collapsed finally looks set to be installed after more than 130 years.

A group to administer a Tay Bridge Disaster memorial fund has been officially formed.

It is hoped a main memorial in Dundee and a smaller one on the Fife side of the bridge can be put up.

“People are surprised that there hasn’t previously been a memorial to what was a very significant and tragic event in the latter part of the Victorian era,” said Dundee West End councillor Fraser Macpherson.

“It was a national disaster that left 75 people dead and we just feel there is a need to recognise that.”

Mr Macpherson has contacted the council’s archives section, which believes the only plaques in Dundee are there to mark the centenary of the construction of the present Tay Bridge.

The moves were sparked by calls for a memorial from a Fife descendant of two of the victims of the disaster.

Stuart Morris, Laird of Balgonie, said the event, in which a train plunged into the river in 1879 after part of the bridge collapsed during a storm, should be remembered.

His plea was taken up by Mr Macpherson, and both men, with representatives of the Tay Valley Family History Society and community councils in Wormit, Tayport and Dundee, attended a meeting last week.

“It was a very positive meeting and the general view was that it is right that we should create a permanent memorial to the people that lost their lives, ” said Mr Macpherson.

“We had a discussion, and the consensus was that the best place for the memorial would be on the Dundee side at the bend on Riverside Drive near the parking area.

“However, we feel it is important there is some marking of the disaster on both sides of the bridge.”

This could take the form of displays providing information about the disaster, he added.

The original bridge was designed by the famous railway engineer Sir Thomas Bouch, using a lattice grid that combined wrought and cast iron.

A train was travelling along it between Wormit and Dundee on December 28, 1879, when the bridge collapsed during a violent storm.

Among those killed in the tragedy were Mr Morris’s great-great-great grandmother Elizabeth Mann and her 16-year-old granddaughter Elizabeth Brown, who were travelling back to Dundee after visiting relations in Leuchars.

Although there has been no official memorial for the disaster in Dundee, it is remembered in the famous poem by William Topaz McGonagall.