Vigil

It is a thing of great beauty and a symbol of both reconciliation and shared suffering- at the second time of asking.

For all of the talk of an empathy between nations and peoples the first of these magnificent statues was stolen just leaving a tall, slim stone pedestal, some 3 metres high looking forlornly towards the River Humber on the historic waterfront of Hull.

The plinth used to support and elevate a bronze statue, 'Voyage' which leaned into the windswept landscape and represented a call out over the sea in memory of British sailors who perished in the bleak Icelandic waters over past centuries.
The statue was commissioned by the people of the Icelandic town of Vik , on the southernmost edge of the island who were often called upon to rescue and provide sustenance to trawler crews which ran aground or foundered in the North Atlantic waters.

The gesture does warrant considerable admiration in that our two seafaring nations were in a conflict in the Cod Wars of the 1970's with Icelandic gunboats mobilised against the British deep sea fishing fleet in a protectionist move over fishing stocks.

In more recent years the collapse of Iceland's banking institutions caused a major loss of confidence and trust with the evaporation of the savings and long term financial security of private individuals, Local Authorities , Charitable concerns and many others from the British Isles.

The hardships suffered by the Icelanders themselves are no less devastating to lives and livelihoods but have not been acknowledged, such has been the clamour for action and compensation from these shores.

The original "Voyage" statue arrived in Hull in 2006 and became a major focal point and landmark for the river frontage, itself undergoing a major transition from industrial scale trawling and shipping to residential, business and leisure uses.

Out of the corner of its left eye the statue will have been aware of the thrusting pinnacle of The Deep, the worlds largest submarinium, and now a thriving tourist and research destination. The right eye will have seen families promenading about on the old Ferry Pier in front of the now converted ticket office building and enjoying an ice cream or a bag of chips from the small cafe.

The gradual and natural tarnishing of the bronze figure blended in well between the old Horsewash slipway, the brown waters of the River and the far Humber Bank in the distance.

The weathering from spray and wind did not however diminish the symbolism of the statue.

Unfortunately, it did not serve to disguise the net value of the statue as scrap metal and overnight on the 24th July 2011 it was wrenched away from the plinth to disappear for good in the back of a van.

The theft was captured from some distance on a grainy CCTV system. The projecting figure is seen to waver under unseen forces and then fall from sight into the dark skies over the river.

At first the incident was thought to be a prank.

Such prominent figures do disappear from time to time but return after being photographed in a holiday setting, discovered in nearby undergrowth or under the bed of a hungover student.

Two men were arrested out of what was thought to be an involvement of 5 persons on that night.

The statue is now believed to have been sold to be melted down for a paltry sum of £1500.

The Roll of Honour for the Lost Trawlermen of Hull currently extends to over 200 pages and in excess of 3000 untimely deaths in what has been regarded as one of, if not the most hazardous occupations.

On a purely materialistic calculation, completely disregarding the human element and all that a seafaring life entails for crews and their loved ones , the thieves of Voyage attributed a nominal value of 50 pence on each and every lost soul and condemned a worthy symbol of their sacrifices to the scrapheap.

The sister statue by the sculptor Steinunn Thoraninsdottir remains at vigil on the Icelandic mainland.

(First written in March 2012, re-issued July 2014)