27-05-2025
£30k memorial planned for 21 St Monans men killed in fishing tragedy
A Fife community is creating a £30,000 memorial to 21 men killed in a 19th century fishing disaster.
Three St Monans boats, were lost after being caught in a severe storm in November 1875..
The tragedy left 11 women widowed and 43 children fatherless, and devastated the close-knit community.
Two further boats from nearby Cellardyke also went down in the disaster.
Now St Monans villagers aim to commemorate the local lives lost through the creation of a memorial garden.
The area at the corner of East Street and Station Road will include vessel-shaped pedestals, one for each boat lost.
And each will be engraved with the names of the men who died.
A sculpture is also planned.
It is hoped the memorial will be unveiled in November, in time for the disaster's 150th anniversary.
The three St Monans boats – The Quest, The Beautiful Star and The Thane – went down as they returned from Norfolk.
The crews had been fishing for herring off the coast of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.
And the tragedy also touched the community of King's Lynn in Norfolk, where eight of the recovered fishermen were laid to rest.
The memorial has been designed by local architect Fermin Beltran Dos Santos.
And is hoped it will provide a place of reflection and remembrance.
Along with the pedestals, it will include a new community planter, seating and a community noticeboard,
Hugh Wallace, from the St Monans Memorial Garden Committee, said it would be a reminder of the sacrifices made by fishermen, both in the 1875 tragedy and throughout the village's maritime history.
The community is holding a series of fundraisers to pay for the project.
And an online Crowdfunder page is already up and running.
It is hoped representatives of the King's Lynn community, and the wider fishing fraternity, will attend the official dedication ceremony.
Mr Wallace added: 'The committee is dedicated to creating a beautiful and meaningful space that will stand as a testament to the village's heritage and the enduring bravery of its fishing community.'
