Viking longship tribute to dead man

Published on Wednesday 3 December 2003 00:00

FRIENDS of a North Sea diver who died from lung cancer have paid him a tribute by launching a burning Viking longship in his memory.

Many former work colleagues were unable to attend John Halsall’s funeral on the Isle of Man, so came up with their own tribute.

Mr Halsall’s best friend, David Sheppard, and a former colleague, Georges Arnoux, spent seven weeks of planning and work creating the three-metre longship, complete with oars, sails and a picture of the 51-year-old on board.

Mr Halsall was originally from the Isle of Man and was said to be proud of his family’s Viking heritage.

About 75 people converged on the banks of the River Dee in Aberdeen on Friday night for a torchlight procession before the boat was launched and burned.

Mr Sheppard, an offshore representative for Stolt Offshore, said: "The people of the Isle of Man are very proud of their Viking tradition, and John was the same.

"Many people wanted to go to the funeral, but it just wasn’t practical. We chartered a plane to go over there, but there could easily have been three or four as so many people wanted to go."

Mr Halsall began his career as a diver in the North Sea in 1974, when he moved to Aberdeen.

One of his most high-profile jobs was when he took charge of the recovery of the Solway Harvester vessel, which sank off the coast of the Isle of Man in 2000 with the loss of its seven crew.

And last year he was asked by the government to look into the viability of sending a diver to examine the wreck of the Gaul trawler, which sank off Norway in 1974.

He was first diagnosed with mesothelioma in July and died in October. He is survived by his wife, Helen, and children, Nigel and Grant, who live on the Isle of Man.