Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Broughty Ferry streets to be renamed after tragic city shipwrecks

Crew for the Borughty Ferry lifeboat, the "Mona".
Crew for the Borughty Ferry lifeboat, the "Mona".

Dundee shipwrecks are to be commemorated as Broughty Ferry streets will be renamed after them.

The new residential development at Linlathen Road will celebrate the Ferry’s maritime history.

Streets will be given names such as Mona Crescent and Nimrod Drive, to commemorate sunken ships.

The Broughty Ferry Lifeboat ‘Mona’ stranded on the beach at Buddon after disaster, on December 12 1959

Plans at Balgillo Heights, which will become 150 luxury properties, will see the first phase of homes be named after tragic vessels Mona and Nimrod,  Dundee City Council agreed on Monday.

As the sinking of the Mona lifeboat approaches its 60th anniversary, its legacy remains a rich part of Broughty Ferry history.

The boat perished during a rescue attempt at St Andrews Bay, rocking the community.

The ship set sail on December 8, 1959 at 3.15am to assist the North Carr Lightship.

But with severe weather conditions, the Ferry lifeboat’s last message was recorded at 4.48am, notifying they had cleared the bar of the Tay and were heading south.

The Mona struggled to reach the North Carr reef, and the Fife Ness Coastguard reported they were unable to reach the ship by 5.08am.

The lightship’s crew of six were rescued by helicopter the following morning.


Follow our special series at www.thecourier.co.uk/tay


The Mona, however was uncovered after it capsized on Buddon Sands, near Carnoustie, after battling the brutal winds.

All eight crew members died in the shipwreck, including a father and son.

The lifeboat – built in 1935 – saved 118 lives in her time.

Photograph showing the crowd of people gathered to listen to the service held for the crew of the ill-fated Broughty Ferry lifeboat, “Mona”, which was relayed to those outside. 11 December 1959.

A lengthy investigation into the shipwreck determined the boat was seaworthy at the time of the accident.

A disaster fund, raising more than £77,000 in less than a month, was set up to aid the families of the crew members. The fund reached £89,815 by March 1960.

Broughty Ferry Conservative councillor Derek Scott said: “During the consultation on possible street names for the new housing development, I raised the matter at a meeting of Broughty Ferry Community Council and the general view was that it would be good to have a theme relating to Broughty Ferry’s history.

“I later consulted with a local historian about a suitable theme and subsequently put forward the suggestion of using the names of vessels with a Broughty Ferry connection that were lost at sea.

“This will help serve as a reminder to future generations about Broughty Ferry’s maritime heritage and the resilience and bravery of those associated with it.

“The first two names proposed to be used are Mona and Nimrod, which is quite poignant as we will soon reach the 60th anniversary of the loss of the Mona.”

The maritime theme may be continued in further phases of the development.

Nimrod ships to be memorialised in street names

The fateful fishing boat, known as the Nimrod, will be celebrated in the naming of the new  streets.

On March 31 1831, eight Broughty Ferry men perished in the shipwreck after battling severe conditions on the Tay.

The fishermen were at sea onboard the Nimrod, alongside six other boats, where they were hit with hazardous winds.

The first four boats, which entered the river first, reached safety.

But the fifth was struck by a heavy cross sea and immediately disappeared, just 100 yards from the westward buoy.

The final two boats stood out to sea after witnessing the tragedy.

Ramsay Sime, the owner of the boat, alongside his three sons perished in the shipwreck, alongside John Rollo Gall, Robert Anderson and David Kidd.

The boat was cast ashore near the South Ferry Lights the following day, but the bodies were not discovered.

A fundraiser was set up by locals to aid their wives and children.

Decades later, its namesake would set sail for a popular expedition as part of Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic voyage in 1908.

The new Nimrod ship was built in Dundee in 1867 and had been used for whaling before being purchased for the South Pole exploration.

The ship was used to unpredictable weather, as it had become known for sailing the Antarctic waters.

But on January 31 1919, 10 years after the polar expedition, the Nimrod floundered in the North Sea after running aground on the Barber Sands off the coast of Norfolk.

It resulted in just two survivors, after 10 crew members perished in the gale.

The survivors were found washed ashore on Caister beach, still clinging to an upturned lifeboat.


Follow our special series at www.thecourier.co.uk/tay