When John Fergusson, of Maybole, was 15, he wanted to go to sea on a fishing boat. However, John said, “My mother would not let me go because her grandfather was drowned coming into Dunure harbour. Six years later when I was married I went to sea.” He continued, “Last month, at a meeting of Maybole Historical Society,  Roy Storrie gave a talk on Dunure Harbour and lighthouse.

“I asked him about my great grandfather, Hugh Thomson, but he had never heard of anyone drowning in the harbour. Nor did anyone else I spoke to.“This got me wondering if my mother was having me on to stop me going to sea, so I decided to do some research.“I visited the old grave yard at Dunure but could not find a headstone, and there are no records for burials at the cemetery.

“I then went to Masonhill but could find nothing there, either, so I headed for Ayr registrar’s office and got the death certificate and a copy of the of the inquest into his death.“The records show that the body of my great grandfather, Hugh Thomson, 74, was found on the sea shore about 300 yards north of Dunure Harbour. He had been a victim of accidental drowning on February 28, 1906 when his boat sank at the entrance to the harbour.

“I felt it appropriate to put this memorial close to where the accident happened.” He added, “My grandfather, Hugh’s son David, immediately gave up the notion of going to sea, talked to his mother Catherine (née Grieve) and walked to Maybole where he got a job on the ash cart and ended up manager of the town’s slaughterhouse. His brother, John Thomson, had drowned in 1892 when his boat sank off Drumshang about a mile away.”