Strong backing for seamen's memorial

Published on Thursday 23 September 2010 17:17

A STATUE to honour merchant seamen is set to be unveiled in the Capital later this year after its £100,000 price tag was raised in less than six months.

A flood of donations from around the world means the memorial celebrations for the thousands of merchant seamen who gave their lives in British conflicts is now progressing at full steam.

The Princess Royal, patron of the Merchant Navy Memorial Trust, is coming to Leith on November 16 to reveal the bronze statue, which will stand atop a 15-foot plinth outside the Malmaison Hotel at The Shore.

The memorial's sculptor Jill Watson said she is "delighted" that she will be given the honour of meeting the Princess Royal, who she described as "a wonderful supporter of the Trust".

She added: "I certainly hope the sculpture will be well received, but it is not for me to say.

"The story is so important and so many people so connected to it, not just in Leith but throughout Scotland. Everyone you meet, has some connection, memory or story to tell.

"I have family connections with the sea through the fishing industry. My grandfather had a timber business very near the site of the monument.

"A friend was a young chief officer on board the ship which took Winston Churchill across the Atlantic during the war."

The statue on top of the plinth will be a bronze, timber and steel representation of a merchant vessel.

Ms Watson added: "It is made up of modelled steel and timber bows with sails cast into bronze.

"I am enjoying the work enormously. The committee have been tremendously helpful.

"The whole thing has been a huge challenge, to do justice to the brave men who went to sea.

"It is an important and complex commission.

"Learning about the importance of foreign trade, the hard lives at sea, the war years, the dangers, has been an adventure in itself. It will have educational benefits for future generations."

The Trust now hopes to add to the donations they've received so far and raise a total pot of 250,000 to fund other projects in the future.

Lord Provost George Grubb said: "Preparations are well under way for the formal unveiling of this magnificent lasting tribute to those who sacrificed their lives on our behalf.

"The Port of Leith has played a critical role in Scotland's seafaring past, so it is entirely fitting that the new monument should take pride of place at the Shore.

"There are countless families here in Edinburgh, across Scotland and beyond whose forebears served this country at sea and this striking monument will be of national significance."