The Wormit Bay Memorial

Wed, Aug 12th 2026 at 12:40 pm - 2:00 pm

Jill Craig

‹ › ×

Virginia Fowler, chairing the meeting, welcomed members and guests. After lunch Gillian Craig spoke to the Club about the Wormit Bay Memorial to the victims of the Tay Rail Bridge Disaster in 1879 when, on a stormy Winter’s evening, the central high girders of the bridge collapsed taking the train from Burntisland and all its 59 known passengers to the river below. There were no survivors. The disaster is of course commemorated by William McGonagle, but few realise that he had written his first poem about the original bridge and a third about the opening of the new replacement bridge. The Wormit memorial was erected in 2013 exactly 134 years after the disaster, and matches an identical memorial on the Dundee side. Three tall polished granite stones are engraved with the names of those lost, from ages 4 to 62. Gillian spoke of the horror and heartbreak of the families left behind and showed photos of the scenic spot where the memorial stands, urging members to visit this little-known and very touching site on the Fife Coastal Path at Wormit. Members related fascinating stories about their own connections to those lost in the disaster, and Tommy Brown gave the vote of thanks.