Son of Prosperity victim at 50th anniversary service

A SERVICE was held on the headland above Lihou this morning to mark the 50th anniversary of the deaths of 18 people aboard the merchant ship Prosperity off the island’s west coast.

Standards of uniformed organisations are lowered at yesterday’s memorial service for the 18 people lost when the MV Prosperity foundered on La Conchee reef 50 years ago. Closest to the camera with RNLI standard is Rob Alder. (Pictures by Peter Frankland, 32887959)

About 80 people, including the son of one of the men who died in the 1974 tragedy, braved the poor weather to pay their respects at the service, which was conducted next to the Prosperity Memorial.

The Dean of Guernsey, the Very Rev. Tim Barker, led the service alongside Rector of St Peter’s, the Rev. Dr Adrian Datta, while a brass band from the Salvation Army accompanied the singing of hymns.

The Dean was pleased that people had come to remember the tragedy in spite of the wind and rain.

‘I think it’s very easy to assume that shipwrecks were things that happened way in the past, but this was within living memory, and it is a reminder of how perilous the seas still can be,’ he said.

‘We rely so much on people who do this day by day and most of the time they are safe, but we know that accidents still do happen and today is a very salutary reminder of how much we rely on the people who bring food and other supplies to our island.’

Evangelos Giagkoudakis, centre, is visiting from Greece. His father was one of the 18 lost when the Prosperity foundered. With him are friends Maria Samara and Evangelos Gkikas. (32887953)

Evangelos Giagkoudakis, whose father Nicolaos perished on board the Prosperity, said that the service and day as a whole had been an emotional one for him.

‘I’m glad that people came to watch, even with the bad weather.’

Originally from the Greek island of Evia, Mr Giagkoudakis was paying his first visit to Guernsey along with friends Maria Samara and Evangelos Gkikas, and said he had been touched by the kindness shown to him during his visit.

‘The people are so friendly, I didn’t expect something like that, but I saw it from the first moment with Reverend Datta when we started to speak.’

Local shipwreck expert John-Paul Fallaize said he had felt compelled to attend the service, having extensively researched the Prosperity since 2009.

Pupils at La Houguette Primary School study the loss of the Prosperity as part of the curriculum. Four of them and two staff members attended yesterday’s 50th anniversary memorial service. (32887981)

‘There are loads of personal cards and letters from after the disaster in the Priaulx Library. I felt a little bit of a bond after reading that stuff and wanted to come down and have a look.

‘With every shipwreck it’s not just an iron hulk on the seabed, they’ve all got stories, and I thought the service was a lovely reflection on the people who were lost.’