Wick Coastguard Rescues. 

Gull Eggs - Sunday 10th May 1959.

As reported in "The Coastguard" - (Vol 11 No. 2 - August 1959.)

"Dangerous Pastime"

Stories of cliff rescues began to come in early this year and among the first was one from the Wick Coastguards who normally have far fewer calls to assist stranded raiders of sea birds' nests than their colleagues on the south coast. It was quite early in the morning of Sunday, May 10th when a young man who works at Wick airport went to collect gulls' eggs from the 200 ft. high cliffs at a spot known as Slately Face on Hempriggs Farm, and lost his foothold and fell.

Fortunately he bounced twice on to out-jutting rocks which caused him to pitch on to a shelf about twelve feet below an overhanging edge, forty to fifty feet from the cliff top. This undoubtedly saved his life because but for landing on the ledge he would have dropped sheer for 140 feet into the sea and on to the submerged rocks below.

Realising his peril, he decided to wait in the hope that he would soon be discovered, and sometime afterwards he was seen by Mr. William Robertson of Wick, who was out for a walk, and happened to stop and look back, when he noticed the man waving to him.

(This picture is reproduced from the original copy of The Coastguard magazine - with kind permission.) Left to Right: Mr. J.A. Addison, District Officer, Wick; Mr. Macadam, the rescued man; Mr. W. Robertson of Wick, who spotted him and brought help; Station Officer E. Campbell and Cgd. S. Bremmer. (Click on picture to enlarge.)

Further stories of above can be read as reported by:

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