Piper Alpha Disaster 20th Anniversary Services 6 July 2008
Introduction
It seems hard to believe that it is 20 years since the tragedy that claimed 167 lives in the North Sea took place. It has become known simply as Piper Alpha. Yet for those who were bereaved by this event it possibly still seems like yesterday. The shock, the sadness and the pain that followed were shared by people around the world as the full realisation of what had occured began to sink in.
The UK Oil and Gas Chaplaincy arranged two onshore events and one offshore event to mark this significant anniversary.
The Service
You can listen again to the service from the Kirk of St Nicholas. By clicking the link you will be taken to a new page on Northsound Radio's website. We are grateful to Northsound for making this available. To listen to the broadcast you must be using Internet Explorer 6 or above and have suitable audio software installed please click here.
Sunday 6 July 2008
 On Sunday 6 July 2008 at 2.00pm there was a Service of Remembrance in the Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting, Union Street Aberdeen. Some 1200 people - families of those who perished in the disaster, survivors, people from the industry and people from the city of Aberdeen and beyond - filled the Kirk.
They were joined by HRH The Duke Of Gloucester, First Minister Alex Salmond, Minister of State at the Scotland Office David Cairns as well as the Lord and Lady Provost of Aberdeen and the Provost of Aberdeenshire.
The Service which was led by the Rev Andrew Jolly, Chaplain to the UK Oil and Gas Industry, was broadcast live on Northsound 1 & 2 and Original 106 FM.
Both onshore services were led by the Rev Andrew Jolly, Chaplain to the UK Oil and Gas Industry. He was assisted by the Very Rev Gerald Stranraer-Mull of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Deacon Brian Kilkerr of the Apostleship Of The Sea, Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, the Rev Stephen Taylor of the Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting and the Rev Fred Coutts, Head of Spiritual Care, NHS Grampain of the Chaplaincy service at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
During the Service in the Kirk the Rev Andrew Jolly, the Rev Fred Coutts and the Very Rev Gerald Stranraer-Mull read out the names and occupations of those who perished in this tragedy.
The names were also read out during the Act of Remembrance at Hazlehead which took place at 4.00pm. Many folk took the opportunity to lay floral tributes.
Lest We Forget. 167 men died as result of the Piper Alpha Disaster. We must never forget that these men were individuals who were loved, are loved and will always be loved. To read a full list of those who perished please click here.
Reflection. The address given by the Rev Andrew Jolly, Chaplain to the UK Oil and Gas Industry, at the service in the Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting can be downloaded in pdf format by clicking here.
The Order Of Service. The Order of Service used at the Kirk Of St Nicholas Uniting and at the Act Of Remembrance at Hazlehead Park is available for download. The document is in pdf format and most modern computers will have the necessary software. To download the document click here.
Offshore Installations. All offshore installations within the United Kingdom Continental Shelf observed a Minute's Silence on Sunday 6 July 08 in memory of those who perished in the Piper Alpha Disaster. Many installations used the anniversary to focus on safety.
 Memorial Service on the Piper Bravo. The Rev George Cowie, on behalf of the UK Oil and Gas Chaplaincy, conducted a Memorial Service on the Piper Bravo on Sunday 6 Jul 08. Talisman, who now own and operate the Piper Bravo asked the Chaplaincy to make this possible. A wreath was placed in the sea on the spot where the Piper Alpha stood. The Rev George Cowie is a member of the UK Oil and Gas Chaplaincy's Aberdeen Emergency Response Team and minister of South Holburn Church in Aberdeen. The Piper Bravo Order Of Service can be downloaded in pdf format by clicking here.
Photographs. The photographs below were provided by the Press and Journal and Aberdeen City Council. Copies of the Press and Journal photographs displayed on this page along with many others taken on the day may be viewed and obtained through their website by clicking this link and typing Piper Alpha Memorial in the search box.
 The services at the Kirk of St Nicholas and at Hazlehead Park were attended by HRH The Duke of Gloucester. The Duke of Gloucester is President of RAPID (Rescue and Preparedness in Disasters). Protocol demands that he is greeted by the Lord Lieutenant of Aberdeen who is also the Lord Provost. The Lord Provost is Aberdeen’s civic head, an ancient office dating back to the 13th century. Peter Stephen was nominated and elected as Lord Provost for Aberdeen in 2007. He holds office for four years. The Provost is also the Convener of the Council and continues to carry out the normal duties of an elected member. Photograph Aberdeen City Council .
 The Lord Provost introduced the Duke to representatives of national and local government. In the picture from right to left are; Alex Salmond MP MSP, First Minister and Mrs Salmond; David Cairns MP, Minister of State at the Scotland Office representing the Westminster Government; Mrs Farquharson and Mr Angus Farquharson OBE, Lord Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire and Provost Bill Howatson, Provost of Aberdeenshire since 2007. Photograph Press and Journal.
 The Duke was introduced to the Rev Andrew Jolly who then introduced him to the other clergy participating in the Kirk service. They included representatives of the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. Joining the clergy was the Rev Fred Coutts, Head of Spiritual Care, NHS Grampian. Fred was representing the hospital chaplains at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. The hospital chaplains played a pivitol role at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in the aftermath of the disaster supporting survivors, relatives and friends. In the picture from left to right are the Rev Fred Coutts; Very Rev Gerald Stranraer-Mull, Scottish Episcopal Church; Rev Stephen Taylor, the Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting; HRH the Duke Of Gloucester and the Rev Andrew Jolly. Photograph Aberdeen City Council.
 One of the many people who attended the service included Sir Ian Wood of the Wood Group. The Wood Group lost a large number of its employees in the Disaster. Like so many Sir Ian took a seat in the Kirk - no special seats for anyone just a huge congregation brought together by the loss and pain suffered through Piper Alpha. Photograph Press and Journal.
The start of the service in the Kirk was marked by the Bible being carried into the church. This was followed by the Piper Alpha Book of Remembrance which was carried into the Kirk, laid on the table and opened by Steve Rae - a Piper Alpha Disaster survivor. Since the  time of Piper, Steve has been committed to safety offshore. Currently General Manager Drilling Operations UK with Seawell Limited UK, Steve has worked passionately on safety issues. He serves as a member of Step Change In Safety and in recent months has undertaken a number of presentations in conjunction with Oil and Gas UK examining the lessons of the Piper Alpha Disaster. A DVD is available of one of these presentations through Oil and Gas UK.
The UK Oil and Gas Chaplain greeted many people at the door of the Kirk. Photograph Press and Journal.
 Following the service in the Kirk there was an Act Of Remembrance at the Memorial in Hazlehead Park. The Memorial has three distinctive figures of offshore workers adorning the top. The names of those who lost their lives are picked out in gold lettering. The Memorial is never without floral tributes. Designed by Sue Jane Taylor it was completed by 1991 and unveiled in the presence of the HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. For further information on Sue Jane Taylor and the Memorial please click here. Photo Press and Journal.
At the Memorial, the Act of Remembrance was conducted by the Rev Andrew Jolly and the Rev Fred Coutts. The Order of Service used for the Act of Remembrance can be found at the rear of the Order of Service which was used in the Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting. The Order of Service can be  downloaded in pdf format by clicking here.
As at the Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting the names of those who perished in the tragedy were read aloud. The time of silence started with the lament "The Flowers of the Forest" played by Piper Alex Simpson of Grampian Police Pipe Band. If you wish to hear this part of the service and listen to Piper Simpson playing the lament then please click here to be taken to the BBC website. Photo Press and Journal.
 Following the Act Of Remembrance floral tributes were laid by HRH the Duke of Gloucester, First Minister Alex Salmond, Scotland Office Minister David Cairns, the Lord Provost of Aberdeen with the Provost of Aberdeenshire. Silently and with much emotion many people then laid their own floral tributes. Families, survivors, unions, friends, companies all placed their tributes around the Memorial. Photo Aberdeen City Council.
All the photographs below are from Aberdeen City Council
Press Reports
The Services to mark the 20th Anniversary of the Piper Alpha Disaster were widely reported in the press around the UK. We have provided some links to press reports below. These links will take you out of the UK Oil and Gas Chaplaincy website and they will be opened in a new window. Click on the name to be taken to the site.
STV - Scottish Television
SKY Television
ITN
BBC News
The Scotsman
The Herald
The Times
The Guardian
Times Online
The Daily Record
Daily Express
Scotsman.com
Sunday Sun
Many other reports can be found by using a search engine such as Google and typing Piper Alpha Memorial Services.
Contact and Newsletter
It is our intention to publish a twice yearly Newsletter which will give you information about events the Chaplaincy is planning as well as information regarding the ongoing work of the Chaplain. If you would like to receive this Newsletter then please either click the email link below or contact us by phone.
Email:
Or telephone the UK Oil and Gas Chaplaincy: +44 (0)1224 297533
Thanks
The UK Oil and Gas Chaplaincy would like to express thanks to the following for their assistance and support with the arrangements for the Services on Sunday 6 July 2008.
Northsound Radio We are grateful to Northsound Radio for broadcasting the service from the Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting live on both Northsound 1 and Northsound 2. The service was available through their website which allowed people around the world to listen to the service live. We would express our thanks in particular to Ken Hancock their Chief Engineer who also presents their religious affairs programme "Stained Glass Radio" which is broadcast on Sunday evenings at 9.00pm.
Original 106 FM We would also express our gratititude to Neil Metcalf and Original 106 FM for broadcasting the service live and also making it available through their website. Neil also presented a number of programmes during the week leading up to the anniversary which focussed upon the Piper Alpha Disaster.
First Bus First Bus kindly provided two coaches, free of charge, to transport people from the Kirk to Hazlehead Park at the conclusion of the service. This was especially useful to people who had travelled to Aberdeen by public transport and were unfamiliar with the city. Particular thanks are due to George Mair, Managing Director, First Group for so willingly responding to our request and to Tom Gordon for making the necessary arrangements.
Aberdeen City Council The City Council and in particular the Lord Provost's office provided an immense amount of support throughout the planning of these events. The Council provided the temporary toilets at the Kirk, refreshments at Hazlehead Park, stewarding at Hazlehead Park for cars and people. A special word of thanks must go to the ground staff at Hazlehead for their work in maintaining the Rose Garden around the Memorial. In particular we would like to thank the Lord Provost, Peter Stephen, Chief Executive, Douglas Paterson and Dawn Shultz Marketing and Events Manager (City Region).
Oil and Gas UK We would like to express our thanks to Britta Halbaur and Trisha O'Reilly of Oil and Gas UK for handling all our press related matters. As a Chaplaincy we lacked both the experience and time to deal with the huge number of press related matters that arose in the weeks prior to the services as well as on Sunday 6 July 08.
Kirk Of St Nicholas Uniting We are grateful to the Minister, Kirk Session and Congregation for their support with the planning and organising of the service. The UK Oil and Gas Chaplaincy has always had a close relationship with the Kirk and the "Oil Chapel" and the Piper Alpha Book of Remembrance can both be found there. Many ushers at the service were from the Kirk as well as from the industry.
Red Cross The Red Cross provided emergency medical facilities within the Kirk on Sunday 6 July 08. We are grateful to them for providing this facility.
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