Bob Ballantyne was a man of immense pride - pride in his family, pride in his beloved Clyde football club and pride in the honours degree he achieved at Aberdeen University and which allowed him to move on in life after surviving the Piper Alpha disaster which left 167 dead. His degree also let him teach people with learning difficulties.
Until July 6, 1988, he was an electrician working in the North Sea, and an active union member who had warned that an offshore disaster was likely. His words were ignored.
His fears became reality when the first explosion rocked the platform at 10pm on July 6. He subsequently became the face and distinct soft voice of the Piper Alpha survivors.
He was on his bunk reading a book at the time of the first blast and quickly decided that with no leadership, no plan for such catastrophic events and no chance of outside help, he would try to save himself. He made it to the edge of the platform, lowered himself some way down a rope and then jumped into the North Sea. He was picked up by a rescue craft.
He saw sights that night which plagued him for years: he could never again face going to bed before 10pm, the time of the first explosion. He avoided crowds in confined spaces and was startled by sudden noises. He also felt guilt that he had survived while many of his friends were among the dead.
The media were drawn to him because he was articulate and keen to highlight the
dangers of the North Sea industry. Bob also helped provide the stories that would help achieve safety improvements and, with his affable nature, he established enduring friendships with journalists.
Although always happy to speak about Piper Alpha and promote North Sea safety, he was never able to return to the industry and studied for his degree to open up a new career. When he graduated, he taught people with special educational needs and inmates at Peterhead prison. His infectious enthusiasm was one of his most potent tools in helping to educate those in his classes.
Recently he had established a company called Culture Cabs which was proving successful in offering guided tours of the north-east.
Bob, 61, was a devoted family man who is survived by his wife, Pat, and their daughters, Naomi, 13, and Iona, 10. He has two children from a previous marriage. His love of his family was matched only by his love of Clyde, a passion he had passed on to his daughters and, typically, as he lay ill in hospital one of his main concerns was how the girls would get to the football because it is not a passion Pat shares.
The normally rational thinker recently confessed that as he battled for survival in the North Sea the thought of eventually seeing the Bully Wee winning the European Cup spurred him on.
Ronnie MacDonald, former general secretary of the OILC offshore union in which Bob was active, said he had gone to university to try to get his life together after Piper Alpha and had done so successfully. ''He got involved in teaching people with learning difficulties and was very good at it. People who previously had no interest in education were brought on by Bob. Bob could get angry about things but not angry in a negative or confrontational way.''
In 1998, the 10th anniversary of Piper Alpha, a special service of remembrance was held at which Bob read a poem by Birago Diop which he had discovered during his studies and which echoed his belief that the Piper Alpha victims would never be forgotten . . . ''the dead are never gone but are there in the flickering shadow . . .''
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