Coastguards through the generations

Feb 12 2010 by Edwin Lawrence, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

AN AYR family’s links with the coastguards are almost as old as the service itself.

And the death last month of Bill McKay brought the amazing connection back into focus.

Bill, who was 81, is the young lad in this photo, taken nearly 65 years ago.

With him are his father and grandfather – both also called William McKay.

They are pictured at the former coastguard lookout station at Ayr harbour.

And, as if three generations aren’t enough, the McKays can claim two more.

For Bill’s great-grandfather, Thomas McKay, was also an Ayr coastguard.

And his son Billy was also a coastguard for a time.

Bill’s daughter Jane told the Post: “We grew up with this incredible coastguard tradition in the family.

“We used to play down at the coastguard station as kids.

“And I still live down near the seafront to this day.”

Coastguards were first used to counter smuggling, in the early 1800s.

But the service gradually came to focus on life-saving.

And today it is a world leader in maritime search and rescue.

But today’s hi-tech coastguards acknowledge a debt of gratitude to families like the McKays who were the backbone of the service for more than a century.

Ironically, the collection at Bill McKay’s funeral service didn’t go to what was once HM Coastguard, as the service now forms part of a government executive, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

But Bill’s family still wanted the cash to go to saving lives at sea, and a cheque was sent to the RNLI, earmarked for Troon lifeboat.