Great great grandchildren of an Ardrossan lifeboat hero are planning to commemorate his bravery – and that of two colleagues - with the installation of a plaque on Ardrossan’s South Beach.

The plaque will also acknowledge the existence of the Ardrossan Lifeboat Station from the early 1800s to 1930 and the 200th anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

Douglas Gorman, his sister Fiona Martin and other members of their family will pay tribute to their ancestor and other lifeboat personnel at a dedication service on Sunday, October 27 at 1.30pm.

Ardrossan Community Development Trust (ACDT) have kindly agreed to mount the plaque on a plinth near the new Community Café and Hub.

In the early hours of March 1,1880, a sailing ship, the Matilda Hilyard, was approaching Ardrossan Harbour on a voyage from France in atrocious weather and ran aground on Horse Island.

The Ardrossan lifeboat, the Fair Maid of Perth, was launched. It was a rowing boat with 10 oars, crewed by harbour workers who were friends and, in some cases, relations. The coxswain was William Breckenridge.

Stormy conditions prevented the lifeboat getting direct access to the stricken ship, so the harbour tug towed the lifeboat to the opposite side of the island from where six lifeboatmen reached the Matilda Hilyard on foot.

With great effort, these brave men got a line aboard and brought the twelve crew members ashore to Horse Island where there was no shelter from the dreadful weather.

Eventually, the rescuers and rescued got into the lifeboat and were towed by the tug towards the harbour.

Unfortunately, the lifeboat capsized and its occupants were tossed into the sea.

Sadly, lifeboatmen William Grier and Alexander McEwan perished and two crew members of the Matilda Hilyard also drowned. They were John Hickey from the United States and Vincent Luthemburger from Austria.

William Grier and Alexander McEwan lived near each other in Harbour Row, Ardrossan. 

William was 53 years old and left a widow and a grown-up family. Alexander was 47 and left a widow and six young children.

The two families came together for a joint funeral at Ardrossan Cemetery on 3 March.

William Breckenridge, despite having suffered for some considerable time previously with a chest infection, left his sick bed to attend the funeral. Unfortunately, exposure in the bitterly cold water, caused his condition to worsen.

He died on 28 March, aged 41 years, and was buried near his fellow lifeboatmen on March 30. 

A tribute in the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald of 10 April mentioned that: ‘His wife and he were much endeared to each other and the bereavement is a very sad one for her and her two little boys’.

John Hickey and Vincent Luthemburger were buried in ‘free ground’ at Ardrossan Cemetery on April 9 and 24  respectively. Free ground is an area of unmarked graves for deceased who have no rights of burial or family to buy a lair.

Arrangements for the dedication service are ongoing but it is hoped that representatives from ACDT, the RNLI and Ardrossan and Largs Sea Cadets will attend.

Douglas and Fiona would be delighted if descendants of the three lifeboatmen could also be present.

If you are related, please contact the Herald on 01294 464321 or editorial@ardrossanherald.co.uk and we will pass on your details.