HUNDREDS of victims who have lost their lives after suffering asbestos-related diseases in Scotland will be remembered with the unveiling of a memorial this weekend.

More than 500 names of the dead have been engraved on the stainless steel sculpture but just as poignant will be an empty plaque for the hundreds of victims who are dying and for those expected to lose their lives to the silent killer in the future.

The International Asbestos Memorial – The Known and Unknown, designed by Glasgow artist Jephson Robb, will be unveiled tomorrow by Fiona McGuire, whose late husband Frank, of Thompsons Solicitors, fought tirelessly for justice for asbestos victims over the years.

Family, friends and dignitaries will gather for an emotional ceremony to remember lives lost and those who are still suffering, at the memorial which has been erected in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire. The town, famous for its shipbuilding and heavy industry, was once known as the asbestos capital of Europe and was.

The Clydebank Asbestos Group has spent over a decade raising thousands of pounds for the memorial, and volunteers at the charity said the it means the world to them and everyone affected by asbestos all over the world.

The group’s secretary Hope Robertson, 71, lost her husband David to mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos exposure, 15 years ago. He was 59.

The granddad, who was exposed to asbestos while working in John Brown’s Clyde shipyard as an electrician, died eight weeks after diagnosis.

Hope said: “Sadly, there will be an awful lot more names added to the memorial in the coming years because there are people out there who still don’t know they have it. This terrible disease lies dormant for years and is a silent killer.

“The big deal now is the school children, teachers, nurses, doctors, patients and anyone really who spent time in old buildings with asbestos. It is still killing people. People just don’t realise the extent of it.

“It will be a very emotional day for a lot of people and not just here but there are people abroad who worked in Scotland and then emigrated who have the disease too.”

Every year more names will be added to the memorial during a service of remembrance at the sculpture on International Workers’ Memorial Day on April 28.

Hope added: “The memorial means the world to those who have lost loved ones.

“The memorial is for the known and unknown because on one side of the memorial will be the names of those who have lost their lives and on the other side there are no names and that is for the unknown – all those we don’t know about it, those who are suffering now and for those who will suffer in the future.”

Her husband David will be among the hundreds of names etched on the memorial along with the brother of the group’s chairman Bob Dickie, 82, who lost his brother Jackie to mesothelioma 35 years ago.

Bob worked at John Brown’s shipyard for year as a joiner, in the same place as his brother and alongside Scottish trade union activist Jimmy Reid. But thankfully he is free of the disease.

He said: “The Clydebank Asbestos Group was formed in 1992 to help people suffering from asbestos-related illness and to help them with their legal rights.

“Clydebank was a heavy industrial area with the shipyards and Singer sewing machine factory and Turner’s asbestos factory. At one time Clydebank was known as the asbestos capital of Europe.

“There are five panels on the memorial and each panel will have the names of the people who have passed away and there is space on the panels for future cases whose names will be added to the plaque.

“The memorial is made of stainless steel with five separate panels. The fact that it’s stainless steel connects the memorial to Clydebank’s proud past in shipbuilding.

“This is a big deal for us all. We have been raising money for a long, long time – since 2002 really – to get to this day where a memorial to those who lost their lives can be remembered.”