On 31 January 1953 the car ferry, the Princess Victoria, left Stranraer on its regular crossing to Larne, Northern Ireland. On departure 53 year old David Broadfoot, the ship's Radio Officer, sent his routine "TR", as he had done countless times before - "GPK de GZMN = QTO STNR BND LNE".

It was heavy weather that night, a factor not unknown in the North Channel at that time of the year, and something the ship and it's crew would be quite familiar with. But disaster struck when heavy seas battered down the ship's stern doors allowing water to rush in and begin to fill the ship.

On the Master's instructions David Broadfoot broadcast an SOS, giving the ship's position, a tranmission answered by his fellow Radio Officers at Portpatrick Radio/GPK who immediately notified all emergency services.

For four hours, in driving spray, storm force winds and heavy rain, ships alerted by broadcasts from GPK searched the position given by the Princess Victoria, unaware that she was still under way, making slow headway on one engine. For the duration of this operation David Broadfoot maintained his position in his Radio Room, in constant communication with Portpatrick Radio, with immaculate Morse Code transmissions despite the horrendous weather conditions and the peril the vessel was in.

Using their direction finding receiver, the Radio Officer's at GPK realised that their DF bearing on the ship's signals and the given position did not tally. But the search and rescue authorities chose to ignore this information because it came from unreliable electronic equipment operated by non-navigators. By the time they realised that the ship's position had changed, vital time had been lost - with disasterous consequences.

As Princess Victoria finally began to founder, David Broadfoot maintained his transmissions and sent one of his last messages "sorry for the Morse om ship on beam end".

Princess Victoria foundered with the loss of 133 lives

including that of Radio Officer David Broadfoot

Within days of the disaster, Buckingham Palace announced that David Broadfoot was to be honoured for his bravery and devotion to duty by the award of the George Cross, a medal only awarded for "the greatest heroism or the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger". David's widow Muriel and his son Billy travelled from Stranraer to Buckingham Palace to receive the award from the Queen.

In September of 1999 David's son Billy, now 60 years old and living in southern England, made a return journey to Stranraer. He was concerned about the future of his father's medal and he and his family made the decision to offer it to the the town of Stranraer, which readily agreed to receive and look after the medal.

In the year that Morse Code ceased to part of the distress system for world shipping, it is to be hoped that the town will use the medal as a fit memorial to a brave man and a proud profession.