In loving memory of Soma Veres
Soma was born in Stirling in 2006; his Scottish birthplace, and his Scottish – Hungarian nationality. Soma was proud of both his Hungarian and Scottish heritage and therefore grew up bi-lingual.
At the age of 10, the family relocated to Orkney and Soma adapted comfortably to the transition, so much so that they expressed that he felt ‘at home’, like they had always been there.
Orkney gave many opportunities for this hungry-for-adventure -youngster:
Soma competently played the bass guitar, but it was towards wind instruments that he felt most drawn. He had a particular affinity for the saxophone and on discovering that this was indeed his specialty, Soma graduated through various sizes of the instrument until he finally fell for the huge baritone sax.
Soma excelled in scientific subjects and was as fervent a scientist as he was a musician. His love of the natural world, of the technological achievements of humanity, his respect for the power of nature all made for a mind that was ever questing and eager to continually learn new things. Such was Soma’s towering intellect – a mind that was always seeking and searching new truths and questioning and one that made him something of the perfectionist he was besides always seeking to be challenged.
Soma possessed a huge respect for human rights and particularly the religious beliefs of all people. He also was very helpful to others in every aspect of life.
It was the Sea Cadet Corps, in which Soma served with the rank of Ordinary Cadet (the rank structure being broadly similar to the Royal Navy), and his abiding love for the sea and ships, that overarched his many interests. Soma was passionately proud of the Sea Cadet Corps and took great delight in serving with the Orkney Unit, Training Ship Thorfinn.
Soma was involved in various activities and groups in order to acquire new skills and was also part of a group of young people from Kirkwall Grammar School who completed his Bronze DofE in Orkney 2021. His Volunteering, Physical and Skills sections were all completed within the Orkney Sea Cadets.
Lewis G Dunnett, Officer in Charge, wrote this about him: “Soma is a very pleasant individual, always polite and willing and has been a great asset to the Junior Section and I hope he will continue helping out in the future. Soma has greatly improved his instructional technique and has learned to develop activities and games for the younger cadets. His leadership has been a great asset to both the juniors and the adults running the section.”
He threw himself into the many activities on offer and excelled in all, not least the seasonal waterborne activities where he proved to be an example and inspiration to many younger recruits who were lacking in confidence. Soma was a gifted sailor who handled the sailing dinghies and felt exhilarated during sailing activities. His aim was to ‘break the mould’ and recruit members for the first, Orkney Silver DofE, Sailing Expedition. Unfortunately, he didn’t live to see this through.
Soma battled with mental his health since the Covid 19 Pandemic. Unfortunately, the help he needed was not available at the time due to many factors. His depression grew stronger then eventually he gave up all his battles and died of suicide in February 2022. Soma has left behind his heartbroken family; his extended family, his mum and dad, his sister and his 2 borzois amongst other family dogs he loved.
“Your presence we miss,
Your memory we treasure,
Loving you ALWAYS,
Forget you NEVER! “