THE FUNERAL took place at David Mackay's Chapel of Rest in Gowan Street, Arbroath, on Wednesday of an Arbroath man who had gained notoriety when, as a teenager, he took a fishing boat on an adventure towards the Norwegian coast.
He was John Guthrie (72) who died in Little Cairnie Hospital on Thursday following a short illness.
He shot to international fame in January, 1950, when, aged only 14, he took the fishing yawl 'Girl Jean' from Arbroath harbour, sparking a major ai
r and sea search.
Taking part were craft from the local fishing fleet, Royal Air Force aircraft from stations in England, civil charter aircraft and flying boats of the Norwegian Air Force.
All coastguard stations were apprised of the boat's disappearance and there was a broadcast to shipping to keep a sharp lookout for the 'Girl Jean'.
The first indication that the search had reached a successful conclusion came in a terse radio message from Hull trawler 'Reptonian'. They said that the vessel had been contacted at a point 215 miles NNE of the river Humber - about 165 miles due east of Arbroath - and that the boy was OK. A crew was put aboard for the tow back to Aberdeen.
When the Reptonian crew members boarded 'Girl Jean', they found Guthrie lying between decks "almost gone", but he was able to tell them he had had nothing to eat for two days.
Arbroath fishing boat Girl Jean safely back in her home port a week after being taken by 14-year-old schoolboy John Guthrie. She is being examined for damage. At the stern is Alex Gerrard, of Gerrard Bros., boatbuilders, and those at the bow are, from lef
Wireless operator F. Riley of the 'Reptonian' told the story of finding the missing vessel.
He said: "We sighted her at about 12.45 p.m. when we were 215 miles out from the Humber on the way to the White Sea fishing grounds.
"The helmsman saw her first, a good way off and the skipper decided we had better take a look.
"When we came up to her we saw it was the 'Girl Jean', drifting without any sign of life on her. We couldn't make the boy hear our hails. It turned out he was below decks semi-conscious. We thought it was a mixture of sickness and lack of food and sleep."
'Reptonian' headed for Aberdeen where there were amazing scenes when she berthed.
Thousands of people congregated at the harbour, but the police had erected barriers to keep the crowds from the quay.
The boy was brought ashore, his face pale and his hair tousled before being whisked away to Aberdeen Police headquarters. He was then taken in an Angus Police car to Dundee.
When he was reunited with his family, John was able to relate his adventure after leaving Arbroath harbour on the Tuesday.
He said: "By midnight on Tuesday I was well out to sea but had not seen a ship. I decided to stay at the helm until dawn. Then I locked the wheel and went down for a half-hour's sleep. I was very tired.
"When I came on deck again the sea looked very rough and I decided to go home.
"I turned the boat round towards Arbroath on a NW compass bearing.
"At 11 o' clock on Wednesday morning I was going fine. On the radio I could hear trawlers talking about their catches but I could not answer them as I could not work the transmitter.
"At midday, the engine conked out one fuel tank was empty and I could not link up the other one.
"At three o'clock I went below again and tried to sleep but the gale began to howl and the seas broke over the ship. The radio went dead. The set is worked from a battery from the engine.
"I tried to sleep again. I woke up soaked with my seaboots full of water and had to move to another bunk.
"I don't remember much about what happened between then and one o'clock on Friday when I felt a bump and heard footsteps on deck. I thought I was dreaming.
"But I wasn't There were some men from the 'Reptonian' on board and they offered me beans, toast and coffee but I couldn't eat much.
"The tried twice to get me aboard 'Reptonian' but we couldn't get close enough to jump. I was still seasick.
"I felt much better when I did jump aboard 'Reptonian' at about three o'clock on Saturday."
Once their initial anger had abated, seasoned sailors and fishermen marvelled at how a 14-year-old boy had managed to pilot a large fishing boat safely out of the harbour, across the harbour bar and over the North Sea.
However, John's seagoing adventure brought about a stiff penalty as he appeared before a juvenile court and was sent to an approved school for three and a half years.
On being released he was unable to find work at sea so, on leaving school, he joined the army, serving for 17 years in places such as north Africa, Cyprus, Germany and England.
He then became a lorry driver and worked hard to support his family.
John Guthrie is survived by his wife, Evelyn, sons Johnny, Philip, David and Andrew and daughter, Lisa.
