After a memorial commemorating the 13 men who died in a helicopter crash near Happisburgh in 1981 was unveiled last month, Lauren Cope looks at the daily struggle their loved ones face to move on.
Talking to the loved ones of the 1981 Wessex helicopter crash victims makes one thing clear – the effects of the tragedy are never far from the surface.
Thirty-three years have passed since the fateful day when 13 men – eight from Norfolk – lost their lives off the coast of Happisburgh when their Westland Wessex 60 Helicopter, operated by Bristow Helicopters, plummeted into the North Sea.
And while widows have found a second chance of love and children have made families of their own, the losses suffered on Thursday, August 13, 1981 have forged a connection not easily pushed aside.
It is a bond strengthened by a lack of finality. Although a memorial commemorating the 13 men was unveiled last month, the details remain vague.
The 11 Amoco gas workers, a pilot and cabin attendant were being transported from the Leman gas field on the 'bus service' to the gas terminal at Bacton just after 3.40pm.
Take-off was no cause for concern, and it was only after captain Basil 'Ben' Breach sent a distress message reporting engine failure that the alarm was raised. His last words were 'ditching, engine failure'. At 4.30pm, the helicopter, the Whisky India, plunged 1,500 ft into the North Sea.
Wreckage was spotted off the coast of Happisburgh – and it quickly became evident there were no survivors.
An inquiry was immediately launched and the Department of Trade sent in Donald Cooper, a helicopter expert from Scotland. But human error was quickly ruled out –with Ben described as 'probably the most experienced Wessex pilot in the world,' by Alan Bristow, founder of Bristow Helicopters.
Although an inquest recorded an open verdict, theories on the crash range from drive-shaft failure between the engines and the main gearbox to a misjudged auto-rotation because of bad visbility.
Bill Olive was working for Amoco at the time of the crash. He flew out to the Leman field on the Whisky India – but, by chance, his return journey was on a Puma helicopter.
'When I got back home I had a neighbour come round and ask if I had returned. He said that there had been a crash – I couldn't believe that it had happened. It was a real shock to the system. Everybody was pretty shaken up. The atmosphere at work the next day was very sombre. I was very lucky,' he said.
The local men lost in the crash were Bob Phillips, of Wymondham; Adrian Amis, of Caister-on-Sea; Stephen Harvey, of Thurton; Douglas Browne, of Norwich; Basil Breach, of Great Yarmouth; Ian Cullen, of North Walsham; James Faircloth, of North Walsham; and Barry Waland, of Dereham, as well as Gordon Errington, Brian Nalton, Anthony Green, Peter Lawrence and Thomas Smith.
But in what has been an uphill battle for answers and recognition, last month the families received some good news when the commemorative memorial was unveiled at the entrance to Great Yarmouth Minster.
Tirelessly fought for by Paul and Joyce Harvey, who lost their son Stephen in the crash, the memorial finally marks the lives of 13 husbands, fathers, sons, brothers and friends who deserve to be remembered.
Do you want to pay tribute to a loved one? Email newsdesk@archant.co.uk
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