Memorial Garden

Mrs Elaine Jukes

2005

The day I will always remember was the 26th June 2005.

My friend Betty and I decided that we would make a Memorial Garden to the Midget Submarines (XCraft) Submariners because they did not have anything to commemorate the daring deeds that they performed during the Second World War.

We found a derelict piece of ground in the village of Port Bannatyne (where we live) on the Isle of Bute, we asked the Argyll and Bute council and the owner of the boatyard (Martin Stirling) that the ground was adjacent to, if we might make a garden there. They both said that we could, the council workers came along with a JCB digger and cleared the brambles and weeds, which were knee high and very thick. Betty and I dug the ground, laid a membrane, and then we spread 4 tons of gravel which was provided by Martin Stirling, over half the garden. The other half of the garden we planted with 10 yellow roses for each of the XCraft and the submariners who sailed from Port Bannatyne and did not return. We also planted other flowers and I made an XCraft badge of coloured glass. Betty's son (Fraser) made a replica XCraft which we filled with potting compost and planted with saxifras plants.

We asked the local drystone dyker (Angus Hannah) to build a cairn. Jimmy Standaloft made the three large Xs and 5 hanging basket brackets (to which we added beautiful hanging baskets with thank you labels to all the people who had helped us to make our garden). Malcolm Johnston made the plaque which was to be fixed to the base of the cairn, Betty made the roundels with dolphins set in, we cut and cemented into the edge of the garden fence posts and a fixed a blue rope (which the two Tommy's had spliced for us) onto the fence posts. We had a large notice board made to hold a picture of HMS Varbel (the headquarters of the XCraft submariners) and a brief resume of the story of their exploits and the medals they had earned. The whole garden took us a year to make and it was a great pleasure to do.

On the 26th of June 2005 the day (of the VE/VJ Celebrations) that we opened the garden the weather was perfect, warm and sunny. We covered the cairn with a Saltire and a bunch of Sweet Pea flowers for Commander Lorimer's wife. Then Commander Lorimer took off the Saltire and declared the Port Bannatyne Memorial Garden open.

The children from the local primary school sang beautifully, the garden was blessed by the vicar and the Naval contingent from HMS Submarine laid a wreath in memory of all the submariners. One retired XCraft submariner (Adam Bergius) honoured us with his presence and the people of Bute came along in their hundreds. The 'Buteman' our local newspaper sent a reporter/photographer to record the event.

Betty and I have never been photographed by so many people all at the same time. We were quite dazzled by the flashes, but very happy that the day had gone wonderfully well.