New bench for Pittenweem memorial

A new bench commissioned by the Pittenweem Fishermen’s Memorial Association (PFMA) has been installed alongside the village’s memorial to lost fishermen, reports Paul Scott.

Designed by Alan Herriot, who also created the memorial, the bench has been crafted from seasoned oak by Pittenweem-based woodworker Ben Silk.

Ronnie Hughes, chairman of PFMA, told Fishing News: “Although there are many benches on the Mid Shore looking out to sea at Pittenweem, they are all facing away from the memorial.

“So really, just in general conversation, as there was a spare piece of cobbled ground, it was thought that a curved bench placed in that area with a side-on view of the memorial would be a good thing. We made people aware we were thinking of doing this, and everybody was in favour.

“Due to the pandemic, it was delayed a wee bit, and we constantly had locals asking: ‘When’s that bench going up?’”

The PFMA also installed bollards around the bench. “For many, many years the boats ran their wires down the west pier and round the bollards, and today they can still do that in the same place as their forefathers,” said Ronnie Hughes.

The positioning of the bench, and memorial, is of significance, he said. “As you sit looking up the firth, you are looking at history, as the old fishing grounds are all around, and men were lost close to the shore on many occasions long ago.

“The Fluke Hole is only about one mile off Pittenweem, and it was such a prolific fishing ground for herring that for many years the Pittenweemers nicknamed it ‘California’, as it was their Gold Rush.”

This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.30 here.