IT was on a stormy night in 1959 that the trawler George Robb was dashed onto rocks at Duncansby Head near John O’Groats at the north-eastern tip of the Scottish mainland.

On the night of December 6, 1959, the near-hurricane conditions made rescue impossible and by the following morning all 12 fishermen on board were dead. The disaster claimed a 13th victim when a coastguard from Wick collapsed and died as he tried to get to the scene and help the crew.

The 91-ton trawler, a converted former minesweeper, was pictured aground and being pounded by waves. Some 34 children were left fatherless and nine wives were widowed on that awful night.

Now an appeal has been made to find relatives of the dead men to attend a 60th anniversary memorial service being planned for John O’Groats on Friday, December 6.

The National can reveal that at least three families have responded via Facebook to the appeal by the John O’Groats Development Trust.

Andrew Mowat of the trust told the John O’Groat Journal and Caithness Courier: “The men who died were mainly from around the Aberdeen area so we’ve been trying to locate any relatives around there.

“We plan is to set up an information board about the tragedy along with the old foghorn that was removed from Duncansby Head lighthouse 20 years ago as a focal point to the memorial.”

Those who died on the George Robb were: Marshall Ryles, 31; Peter Dempster, 24; Bruno Saborowski, 39; William McKay, 35; Robert Dugan, 38; James Findlay, 30; David Lockhart, 30; John Adams, 45; George Duffy, 25; Albert Smith, 45; William Farquhar and William Duthie, 47. Wick coastguard station officer Eric Campbell, 50, died while heading to the wreck.