St George’s schoolchildren placed flowers and paid respects at the St David’s memorial to those lost at sea, in a tribute to two much-loved members of the East End community.Teachers Ann Williams and Anne Kermode, of St George’s Preparatory School, took the P5 and P6 students to the monument overlooking the waters where brothers Mustafa Abdul-Hadee and Mikel Williams perished after their boat hit reefs earlier this week.Explained Ms Williams: “We had the children make floral tributes and written sentiments to place around the memorial out of respect. Children need to recognise a time like this, and St George’s is a small community. The children might not have known these men but their parents did.”Ms Williams, a first cousin to the lost mariners, recalled the two men as “the type of persons you would want to know”.“They were very gifted men, in every way; construction, electricians, handymen. If there was a hurricane coming, they’d walking around and check to see if people needed help getting set up with plywood.”The P5 teacher added that many in St George’s were still struggling to understand how the two, known to be accomplished mariners, drowned offshore.“It was dark out there, and the jolt must have put them in a daze and they went to sleep,” she said. “The children are sad and asking a lot of questions, which is why we decided to go.”The bronze memorial at Great Head Park was erected in memory of the lives claimed by the ocean since Bermuda’s discovery.“Their names won’t make it on the memorial, which is for Bermudians lost at sea, whose bodies were never found,” Ms Williams said. “I’m glad they made that call for help and their bodies were found, because it gives their families some closure. Otherwise they would never have known what happened. Having closure is a small peace of mind.”