Dozens of people have rallied to raise funds for a “gentle giant” North Sea worker who passed away earlier this year.
Karl Kirkland, from Dunning, near Perth, spent 20 years in the industry before passing on January 18, aged 44, having just returned home from offshore when he faced health complications.
He is survived by two young children, aged two and six years old, who friends and colleagues are seeking to raise funds for.
Upon hearing the news, Liam Coulson, who shared a room with Karl for several years on the Nelson platform in the North Sea, decided to get in touch with the family and set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money for his friend’s young children.
“My initial thought was ‘he’s got two kids, how is that going to affect them and his family’ financially really,” he told Energy Voice.
He never had a bad word t say about anybody, he was just a really good guy.
“He never had a bad word to say about anybody, he was just a really good guy.”
The goal is to give Karl’s children “a little kickstart in life and put a little pot together to help their future.”
Describing his friend and former roommate, Liam said: “I’ve known Karl for the last 10-15 years, he was a big guy, muscley, but a gentle giant.
“We worked together for many years and I worked with him on different platforms.
“Working offshore you do form family relationships with people because you’re working with them and in the instance of Karl, I shared a room with him, so I got to know the guy very well.
“He was just a well-thought-after guy and it’s such a shame what’s happened.”
After hearing the news of his friend’s passing, Liam got in touch with Karl’s mum to get her permission to set up the fundraiser for the family.
Karl’s mum has been “very supportive” since hearing about Liam’s plans.
“Originally I suggested the funds going to Karl’s family and his children to help with funeral expenses but she came back and said ‘we’ll distribute this to Karl’s children.'”
Liam could not speak more highly of his friend Karl, saying: “If the shoe was on the other foot, he would be the first to get something going for one of his friends or he would have been the first to put into the pot, that’s just the type of guy he was.
“He was well loved by the offshore community.”
Liam said that he would “really love for the offshore community to get together and donate what they can to help out in any way they can, it doesn’t matter how small”
“The offshore community is like a brothership, we work together and we live together in the circumstances that we do, it would be really nice to see the community come together and help two young people to get a good start.”
Karl’s funeral will be held on Friday the 17th of February at 2 pm at the Perth Crematorium for anyone who would like to pay their respects.
Initially aiming to raise £1000 the Go Fund Me page has raised almost £2500 with over 70 people making donations, if you would like to make a contribution, donations can be made here.
The Go Fund Me Page for Karl’s children will remain open until the 28th of February.
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