George Medal (Elizabeth II)
AssociatedAssociated with
Iain Letham
AwarderAwarded by
Queen Elizabeth II
(London, England, 1926 - 2022)
AssociatedAssociated with
Piper Alpha
Date1988
Object Namemedal
Mediumsilver and fabric
ClassificationsNorth Sea Oil and Gas Industries
DimensionsOverall: 3 × 36mm
AcquisitionPresented in 2022 by Jean Letham and Family in memory of Iain Letham.
LocationOn Display - Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Object numberABDMS095645
Keywords
That was the day the Piper Alpha platform operated by Occidental was destroyed by an uncontrolled series of explosions resulting in 167 deaths.
Iain as coxwain of the Sandhavens small fast semi rigid rescue boat gunned his craft into the the inferno directly beneath the burning platform to attempt to rescue survivors. During the attempt, yet another explosion occurred and caught Iain, his crew mates and the survivors they had picked up, melting the craft and killing all but Iain aboard. Iain himself suffered major burns and described finding himself in the sea and not remembering how he got there. The lifejacket he had been wearing also had melted in the explosion but he was fortunate that one of the Piper Alpha crew Bob Bannatyne who had managed to escape saw him and the two managed to stay afloat until they were eventually picked up.
Within weeks Iain had taken up a new career as a safety and survival instructor. In his work Iain used the example of Piper Alpha to reinforce and campaign for the need for higher safety and survival standards for those offshore.
Iain's reason for doing this was he said, "I just want to make things better".
For his bravery Iain was awarded the high honour of the George Medal in 1990. The medal he received was gifted to Aberdeen by his wife and family in honour of Iain in 2021.
Iain died in 2017 aged only 56.
late 20th-early 21st Century
mid 20th-late 20th Century
