A memorial service is to be held in Southport, North Carolina, on Saturday for a former Dundee merchant sea captain William Barclay Foreman Sawers, who died peacefully at his home aged 96.
Captain Sawers was born in August 1914 in Calcutta, India, the only child of Angus parents Isabella Cathro (Foreman) and Thomas McIntosh Sawers.
When he was two years old his parents brought him home to Carnoustie, where he lived with his grandparents.
Educated at Carnoustie Primary School and later Morgan Academy in Dundee, he began a four-year apprenticeship with Andrew Weir & Company and boarded the MV Meneric at Dunston on Tyne in 1931.
During periods ashore he studied at Dundee Technical College.
In January 1949 he received his Master Mariner’s Certificate and his sailing life took him all over the world on passenger and cargo ships.
During the second world war he was inducted into the British Merchant Marine Corp. After the war he commanded various ships for The Anchor Line (British) and later for Zim Israel Navigation Company.
The last ship he commanded was the Israeli flagship MV ANAT, transporting cargo between Sunny Point in North Carolina and Haifa, Israel.
In 1969 he came ashore, continuing to work for the Zim Line as marine superintendent in New York, London and Houston.
He had a passion for golf, having learned to play as a young lad at Carnoustie Golf Course.
Later he became a member of Panmure Golf Club, near Carnoustie, and in later life enjoyed playing many of the courses in North and South Carolina and was a member of The Lakes Country Club.
He was a Freemason and an elder of the Church of Scotland (Menzieshill, Dundee).
A member of Southport Presbyterian Church, he was described as being a gentle, witty man, dearly loved by all who knew him.
He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Judith Boyles Morris Sawers, stepson Neil Morris and stepdaughter J. Gayle Morris.
The service will be held at Southport Presbyterian Church. Memorials may be made to Southport Presbyterian Church Building Fund.