A bid has been launched to create an Aberdeen memorial honouring North Sea divers who have lost their lives over the past 50 years.
Former saturation divers James McLean and Nick McClellan commissioned Alan Beattie Herriot to design the piece, the same artist who created the Robert the Bruce sculpture outside Aberdeen’s Marischal College.
He recently created the hilt of a new sword presented to King Charles in Edinburgh.
£120,000 required
Mr McLean and Mr McClellan estimate that, since 1967, a total of 79 oil and gas industry divers have lost their lives in the UK, Norwegian, German and Danish sectors of the North Sea.
Around £120,000 is needed to create the Aberdeen diver memorial, which would likely be placed at the beach or harbour, pending city council planning permission.
The bronze, life-size statue would be enveloped in stainless steel “kelp” on a granite plinth, with a dedication to the divers.
Mr McLean and Mr McClellan have both lost friends in their careers.
“They were pioneers in an industry breaking new ground very fast,” Mr McLean said, adding: “Health and safety wasn’t as developed as it is now, and people ended up giving their lives.
“It is important for people to have a memorial… where they can go and reflect and remember those individuals: loved ones, husbands, brothers, fathers.”
It would be nice to do something for the families of all the divers who died.”
Nick McClellan
It is hoped the oil and gas industry will “dig deep” to support the project.
The memorial would recognise divers lost in all North Sea countries.
Mr McClellan, who worked for US energy services firm Halliburton before his retirement nine years ago, said: “I got in touch with Jim, an ex-diver and very good friend, to say it would be nice to do something for the families of all the divers who died.
“Initially we thought there were about 59. But going back to 1966-67 we noticed a count of about 79 divers who died in the North Sea – right up to recently, when a couple of divers died at wind farms in Germany.
“The main theme for this is to have something for the families.”
Mr Beattie Herriot’s other past projects include a sculpture of Robert Louis Stevenson in Edinburgh, a Royal Army Medical Core memorial in Staffordshire and Elgin’s Drummer in Moray.
The artist said: “I was delighted to be asked to design and sculpt this proposed memorial which would be dedicated to divers who lost their lives in the course of their work. It’s articularly relevant in Aberdeen given, its long association with North Sea oil.
“I was shocked to learn the number of divers who had lost their lives over such a short period of time. The statue will be a fitting memorial to them and ensure they – and the dangers they encounter on a daily basis – are never forgotten.”
Mr McLean and Mr McClellan and are in the process of creating a JustGiving page. For more details, contact Mr McClellan at nick.mcclellan61@gmail.com
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