A tribute to doomed Mearns fishermen who died at sea has been unveiled at a museum.
The names of 16-year-old Roland Church and the four sons of 19th-Century skipper James Taylor are among those on a memorial wall at the Maggie Law Maritime Museum in Gourdon.
They join other Gourdon fishing families represented in a display surrounding a newly-installed stained glass window.
The museum’s project director, Dave Ramsay, said the wall will provide “a lasting memorial” to Gourdon’s fishermen, to which impetus was given by the emergence of two stories.
Robin and Hilda Shipp nee Church from Bristol contacted the museum about one of their relatives, Roland Church, who was swept overboard from the fishing boat ME 183 Coastguard on September 15 1890.
The Shipps presented a brooch to the museum and have worked to uncover more details about the young man’s life.
George Glennie from Echt recently came in to research a family story concerning a fishing tragedy.
The ME 124 Truelight left port in October 1899, and was capsized in a sudden squall.
Skipper James Taylor survived by clinging to an oar but his crew of four sons, aged between 19 and 28, all drowned.
One swam to his father’s oar but said “I maun jist awa” when he realised it would only support one person’s weight.
Mr Glennie said: “I knew snippets about a boat lost in which family members perished many years ago, but not the full story.
“(This) has since led to tracing my family history going back to 1847 in Gourdon and the Mearns.”
Mr Ramsay said: “It is this wonderful combination of museum archives and community inquiry, working together, which is enabling these stories to come alive and be recorded for all time.”
The window, designed by local artist Fiona Paterson, was unveiled by Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire Carol Kinghorn during a ceremony.
Viscount and Viscountess Arbuthnott helped place plaques on the wall, and the Rev Dennis Rose provided a dedication.
The museum will launch a new service to help piece together family history and maritime heritage this weekend.
Former Aberdeen lifeboat coxswain Norman Trewren has compiled a database of all Gourdon fishing boats, registration numbers, crew, skippers, owners, and more.
Visit www.maggielaw.co.uk for more information.