Seaman NORMAN MACINNES, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 1 Breaclet, Great Bernera, died today in 1914 at the age of 41
Private ANGUS MACLEOD, Gordon Highlanders, late of 2 Eoropie, died today in 1914 at the age of 25
Seaman DONALD MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 30 Cross, died today in 1914 at the age of 39
Monday, 31 October 2011
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Linked to Direcleit
Many a man with roots in the Outer Hebrides lost his life in the service of King and Country during both World Wars, without the link to the islands being acknowledged. One such example is Donald Mackillop Ridgway. A tribute in the Stornoway Gazette of 11 August 1944 serves to highlight the Harris connection.
Mr Norman Mackillop, Dereaclate, has received news that his nephew, Lieutenant Donald Mackillop, Ridgway, died on Sunday 30th July in a military hospital in England after a short illness. Lieut Ridgway was the eldest son of Mr Alfred Rdigway, Brumley, Scanthorpe. His mother before her marriage was Miss Ann Mackillop, a daughter of the late Donald Mackillop, Dereclete. The deceased, who paid many visits to Harris was a young man of much promise. He was a qualified chemist and was settled in practice for two years before joining the army. He was 24 years at his death which is deeply regretted by many in Harris. Sympathy is felt for the parents and other relatives.
Without the tribute in the Gazette, he would have gone down as a loss to the county of Lincolnshire. Whilst that is entirely appropriate, it is equally appropriate to highlight the Harris connection.
Donald, Rest in Peace.
Mr Norman Mackillop, Dereaclate, has received news that his nephew, Lieutenant Donald Mackillop, Ridgway, died on Sunday 30th July in a military hospital in England after a short illness. Lieut Ridgway was the eldest son of Mr Alfred Rdigway, Brumley, Scanthorpe. His mother before her marriage was Miss Ann Mackillop, a daughter of the late Donald Mackillop, Dereclete. The deceased, who paid many visits to Harris was a young man of much promise. He was a qualified chemist and was settled in practice for two years before joining the army. He was 24 years at his death which is deeply regretted by many in Harris. Sympathy is felt for the parents and other relatives.
Without the tribute in the Gazette, he would have gone down as a loss to the county of Lincolnshire. Whilst that is entirely appropriate, it is equally appropriate to highlight the Harris connection.
Donald, Rest in Peace.
Remembering today - 30 October
Steward DONALD M MACDONALD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 8 East Street, Sandwick, died today in 1914 at the age of 18
Captain KENNETH MACKENZIE MACIVER, South Africans, late of Green Park Upper Bayble, died today in 1918 at the age of 38
Leading Seaman NEIL MACLEAN, Canadians, late of 14 Leurbost, died today in 1918 at the age of 34
Seaman JOHN SMITH, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 26 Coll, died today in 1918 at the age of 30
Seaman ANGUS JOHN PATERSON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 3 Brue, died today in 1939
JOHN MACINNES, Merchant Navy, late of 4 Gress, died today in 1940 at the age of 27.
Captain KENNETH MACKENZIE MACIVER, South Africans, late of Green Park Upper Bayble, died today in 1918 at the age of 38
Leading Seaman NEIL MACLEAN, Canadians, late of 14 Leurbost, died today in 1918 at the age of 34
Seaman JOHN SMITH, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 26 Coll, died today in 1918 at the age of 30
Seaman ANGUS JOHN PATERSON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 3 Brue, died today in 1939
JOHN MACINNES, Merchant Navy, late of 4 Gress, died today in 1940 at the age of 27.
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Remembering today - 29 October
Private DONALD GRAHAM, Gordon Highlanders, late of 30 Borve, died today in 1914 at the age of 21
Private RODERICK A MACKENZIE, Gordon Highlanders, late of 3 Plantation Road, Stornoway, died today in 1914
Seaman MURDO C GRAHAM, Royal Naval Reserve, late of Flesherin, died today in 1918 at the age of 18
Seaman D MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 7 Knock, Carloway, died today in 1920
Private RODERICK A MACKENZIE, Gordon Highlanders, late of 3 Plantation Road, Stornoway, died today in 1914
Seaman MURDO C GRAHAM, Royal Naval Reserve, late of Flesherin, died today in 1918 at the age of 18
Seaman D MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 7 Knock, Carloway, died today in 1920
Friday, 28 October 2011
Remembering today - 28 October
Private DONALD KENNEDY, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, late of 4 Maciver's Buildings, Stornoway, died today in 1914 at the age of 20
Seaman JOHN MACDONALD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 2 Swordale, died today in 1915 at the age of 19
Seaman KENNETH JOHN MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 8 Kirivick, died today in 1918
Seaman JOHN MACDONALD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 2 Swordale, died today in 1915 at the age of 19
Seaman KENNETH JOHN MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 8 Kirivick, died today in 1918
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Remembering today - 26 October
Private JOHN MACAULAY, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 3 Lundale, died today in 1914 at the age of 22
Seaman ALLAN THOMPSON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 15 Swainbost, died today in 1914 at the age of 45
Private DONALD JOHN MACLEOD, Canadians, late of 2 Habost, Lochs, died today in 1917 at the age of 25
Private NORMAN MACLEOD, Canadians, late of Catherine Hill, Back, died today in 1917 at the age of 41
Private DONALD WILLIAM MURRAY, Canadians, late of 20 Newton Street, Stornoway, died today in 1917 at the age of 29
Seaman ALEX MURRAY, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 4 North Tolsta, died today in 1918 at the age of 19
Deckhand DONALD MORRISON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 24 South Bragar, died today in 1919 at the age of 20
Seaman ALLAN THOMPSON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 15 Swainbost, died today in 1914 at the age of 45
Private DONALD JOHN MACLEOD, Canadians, late of 2 Habost, Lochs, died today in 1917 at the age of 25
Private NORMAN MACLEOD, Canadians, late of Catherine Hill, Back, died today in 1917 at the age of 41
Private DONALD WILLIAM MURRAY, Canadians, late of 20 Newton Street, Stornoway, died today in 1917 at the age of 29
Seaman ALEX MURRAY, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 4 North Tolsta, died today in 1918 at the age of 19
Deckhand DONALD MORRISON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 24 South Bragar, died today in 1919 at the age of 20
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Remembering today - 25 October
Private MALCOLM MACKAY, Gordon Highlanders, late of 3 Havelock Court, Stornoway, died today in 1914 at the age of 23
Private MALCOLM MACKAY, Gordon Highlanders, late of 37 Newton Street, Stornoway, died today in 1914 at the age of 20
Seaman / Gunner KENNETH MACAULAY, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 19C Breasclete, died today in 1915 at the age of 23
Private ANGUS MACNEILL, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 3 Keith Street, Stornoway, died today in 1918 at the age of 25
Deckhand JOHN MARTIN, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 1 Fivig, Bragar,, died today in 1918 at the age of 18
Leading Seaman MURDO MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 48 Swainbost, died today in 1943 at the age of 28.
Leading Seaman MURDO MCLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 6 Balallan, died today in 1943 at the age of 29.
Private MALCOLM MACKAY, Gordon Highlanders, late of 37 Newton Street, Stornoway, died today in 1914 at the age of 20
Seaman / Gunner KENNETH MACAULAY, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 19C Breasclete, died today in 1915 at the age of 23
Private ANGUS MACNEILL, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 3 Keith Street, Stornoway, died today in 1918 at the age of 25
Deckhand JOHN MARTIN, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 1 Fivig, Bragar,, died today in 1918 at the age of 18
Leading Seaman MURDO MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 48 Swainbost, died today in 1943 at the age of 28.
Leading Seaman MURDO MCLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 6 Balallan, died today in 1943 at the age of 29.
Monday, 24 October 2011
Crashed on St Kilda, buried at sea
Stornoway Gazette, 23 June 1944
Rev Lachlan Macleod, St Columba's, Stornoway, visited St Kilda by Admiralty trawler last week to conduct a funeral service for ten airmen who lost their lives when a Sunderland flying boat crashed on St Kilda. The bodies were found at the summit of the second highest hill in the island, scattered round the wreckage of the flying boat. Bearer parties of RAF personnel who had gone to St Kilda for the purpose carried the bodies to the little jetty, whence they were transferred to the trawler and buried at sea. Several of the crew of the crashed plane were New Zealanders. The rest were English. [article ends]
There were three planes that crashed on St Kilda during the Second World War, and those lost are remembered on a memorial on St Kilda. The names of the crew of Sunderland ML858 which crashed on Gleann Mhor on 8 June 1944 were:
WO Cecil Osborne RNZAF
F/O Richard Dillicar Ferguson RNZAF
F/O William Alexander Thompson RNZAF
W/O John Raymond Lloyd RNZAF
F/Sgt Bryan Bowker RAF
Sgt Roy Lewis RAFVR
Sgt James Scoular Thomson RAFVR
Sgt Francis Matthew Robertson RNZAF
Sgt David John Chubbin Roulston RNZAF
F/Sgt Oliver George Reed RNZAF
Rev Lachlan Macleod, St Columba's, Stornoway, visited St Kilda by Admiralty trawler last week to conduct a funeral service for ten airmen who lost their lives when a Sunderland flying boat crashed on St Kilda. The bodies were found at the summit of the second highest hill in the island, scattered round the wreckage of the flying boat. Bearer parties of RAF personnel who had gone to St Kilda for the purpose carried the bodies to the little jetty, whence they were transferred to the trawler and buried at sea. Several of the crew of the crashed plane were New Zealanders. The rest were English. [article ends]
There were three planes that crashed on St Kilda during the Second World War, and those lost are remembered on a memorial on St Kilda. The names of the crew of Sunderland ML858 which crashed on Gleann Mhor on 8 June 1944 were:
WO Cecil Osborne RNZAF
F/O Richard Dillicar Ferguson RNZAF
F/O William Alexander Thompson RNZAF
W/O John Raymond Lloyd RNZAF
F/Sgt Bryan Bowker RAF
Sgt Roy Lewis RAFVR
Sgt James Scoular Thomson RAFVR
Sgt Francis Matthew Robertson RNZAF
Sgt David John Chubbin Roulston RNZAF
F/Sgt Oliver George Reed RNZAF
Remembering today - 24 October
Private MALCOLM JOHN BUCHANAN, Cameron Highlanders, late of 11 Brenish, died today in 1914 at the age of 26
Private MALCOLM CROCKETT, Gordon Highlanders, late of 9 Bayhead Street, Stornoway, died today in 1914 at the age of 20
Private IAIN BUCHANAN, 5th Cameron Highlanders, late of 89 Newmarket, died today in 1942 at the age of 20.
Private JOHN MACDONALD, 5th Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, late of 23 South Galson, died today in 1942 at the age of 18
Private MALCOLM CROCKETT, Gordon Highlanders, late of 9 Bayhead Street, Stornoway, died today in 1914 at the age of 20
Private IAIN BUCHANAN, 5th Cameron Highlanders, late of 89 Newmarket, died today in 1942 at the age of 20.
Private JOHN MACDONALD, 5th Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, late of 23 South Galson, died today in 1942 at the age of 18
Sunday, 23 October 2011
The Broadbay drownings of January 1881 and December 1874
Glasgow Herald 24 January 1881
THE STORM
LOSS OF TWO FISHING BOATS AND TEN MEN
Our Stornoway correspondent writes:
A sad boat accident occurred on Friday week in Broadbay, resulting in the drowning of a boat's crew and the swamping of their boat.
Early that morning, a number of fishing boats left Portnaguran and other fishing villages in the Broadbay for cod and ling fishing, and remained out most of the day. In the afternoon the weather became very thick with snow showers, and very squally, and all the boats having drawn their lines set sail for home. In making Portnaguran, a fishing boat, which was prevented from entering Coll on the opposite side of Broadbay owing to the heavy surf, was caught in a squall and upset a few hundred yards from the shore. The sheet of the sail being tied the boat floated, and the crew clung to her until rescued in an exchausted condition by a boat which put off from the shore. One of the crew is still under medical treatment. At night it was found that an open fishing boat from Portnaguran, belonging to and fishing for Angus Macleod, fishcurer, Portvoller, had not arrived, and fears were entertained for her safety, as the boat was seen leaving the fishing ground between four and five o'clock, and had been lost sight of during a heavy snow shower. On Saturday the oars and two baskets with lines belonging to the missing boat having come ashore about 13 miles from here confirmed the worst forebodings, and on Monday nine boats were out with grappling lines searching for the bodies, without success. The boat was found floating full of water with the sheet of the sail tied, and the vest of one of the crew, and the long lines, with some fish, in the boat, which was allowed to drift away. There can thus be no doubt but that the boat was caught, with the sheet tied, in a sudden squall, and filled with water. The names of the unfortunate men, who all resided at Portnaguran, are as follows [highlighted in bold with annotations by the transcriber in italics]:
Donald Macdonald (Norman's son), married, aged 32, leaves a widow and four children. He was skipper of the boat. His mother's name was Catherine, and Donald was four years younger than his brother Colin and eight years old than his sister Catherine. He married Janet Ferguson in 1873. She was the eldest of five children, two of whom also died in this tragedy (see below). Janet's parents were called Peter and Chrissy.
Malcolm and Norman Ferguson, sons of Peter [and Chrissy, see above], both unmarried, aged 20 and 18. Donald Macdonald was married to their sister, Janet.
Donald Macdonald (Donald's son), married, aged 27, leaves a widow and three children.
Angus Graham (Donald's son), unmarried, aged 20.
John Smith, son of the widow of Donald Smith, unmarried, aged 20. He was the sole support of his mother, his father and a brother having been drowned six years ago by the swamping of a boat near the same place. Mrs Smith is left quite poor. The drowning which took Donald Smith occurred on 21 December 1874, when he was 50 years of age. His boat, the Thistle, was swamped by a heavy sea 500 yards off Tiumpan Head. There were at least five other deaths, namely Murdo Macdonald (50) and Murdo Graham (33), Donald Mackay (30), Murdo Macdonald (27), Angus Smith (22). None of their bodies were recovered. Their deaths were recorded for the information of the Procurator Fiscal on 12 January 1875 .
Norman Ferguson and Graham were in the Royal Naval Reserve.
The accident has caused quite a gloom over the fishing villages in the district, and has meantime put a stop to the prosecution of the cod and ling fishing which had just commenced. Every effort is being made for the recovery of the bodies of the deceased.
THE STORM
LOSS OF TWO FISHING BOATS AND TEN MEN
Our Stornoway correspondent writes:
A sad boat accident occurred on Friday week in Broadbay, resulting in the drowning of a boat's crew and the swamping of their boat.
Early that morning, a number of fishing boats left Portnaguran and other fishing villages in the Broadbay for cod and ling fishing, and remained out most of the day. In the afternoon the weather became very thick with snow showers, and very squally, and all the boats having drawn their lines set sail for home. In making Portnaguran, a fishing boat, which was prevented from entering Coll on the opposite side of Broadbay owing to the heavy surf, was caught in a squall and upset a few hundred yards from the shore. The sheet of the sail being tied the boat floated, and the crew clung to her until rescued in an exchausted condition by a boat which put off from the shore. One of the crew is still under medical treatment. At night it was found that an open fishing boat from Portnaguran, belonging to and fishing for Angus Macleod, fishcurer, Portvoller, had not arrived, and fears were entertained for her safety, as the boat was seen leaving the fishing ground between four and five o'clock, and had been lost sight of during a heavy snow shower. On Saturday the oars and two baskets with lines belonging to the missing boat having come ashore about 13 miles from here confirmed the worst forebodings, and on Monday nine boats were out with grappling lines searching for the bodies, without success. The boat was found floating full of water with the sheet of the sail tied, and the vest of one of the crew, and the long lines, with some fish, in the boat, which was allowed to drift away. There can thus be no doubt but that the boat was caught, with the sheet tied, in a sudden squall, and filled with water. The names of the unfortunate men, who all resided at Portnaguran, are as follows [highlighted in bold with annotations by the transcriber in italics]:
Donald Macdonald (Norman's son), married, aged 32, leaves a widow and four children. He was skipper of the boat. His mother's name was Catherine, and Donald was four years younger than his brother Colin and eight years old than his sister Catherine. He married Janet Ferguson in 1873. She was the eldest of five children, two of whom also died in this tragedy (see below). Janet's parents were called Peter and Chrissy.
Malcolm and Norman Ferguson, sons of Peter [and Chrissy, see above], both unmarried, aged 20 and 18. Donald Macdonald was married to their sister, Janet.
Donald Macdonald (Donald's son), married, aged 27, leaves a widow and three children.
Angus Graham (Donald's son), unmarried, aged 20.
John Smith, son of the widow of Donald Smith, unmarried, aged 20. He was the sole support of his mother, his father and a brother having been drowned six years ago by the swamping of a boat near the same place. Mrs Smith is left quite poor. The drowning which took Donald Smith occurred on 21 December 1874, when he was 50 years of age. His boat, the Thistle, was swamped by a heavy sea 500 yards off Tiumpan Head. There were at least five other deaths, namely Murdo Macdonald (50) and Murdo Graham (33), Donald Mackay (30), Murdo Macdonald (27), Angus Smith (22). None of their bodies were recovered. Their deaths were recorded for the information of the Procurator Fiscal on 12 January 1875 .
Norman Ferguson and Graham were in the Royal Naval Reserve.
The accident has caused quite a gloom over the fishing villages in the district, and has meantime put a stop to the prosecution of the cod and ling fishing which had just commenced. Every effort is being made for the recovery of the bodies of the deceased.
The January snowstorm of 1881
The Glasgow Herald, 24 January 1881, issue 20
THE STORM
SUFFERINGS IN THE OUTER HEBRIDES
Our Stornoway correspondent telegraphs as follows on Friday night regarding the effects of the snowstorm in the Lewis:
The storm which we are no experiencing is the most severe which has been felt here for upwards of twenty years. The fall of snow is very great, and in some places, the wreaths [drifts] are from eight to ten feet deep, and the roads are scarcely passable. The post runner between Tarbet, Harris, and Stornoway, a distance of 34 miles, left the former place early on Wednesday on horseback with the mails, and only arrived this evening, thus taking three days instead of one for the journey. The depth of snow in some places was 12 feet. Several houses were snowed up on the outskirts of Stornoway, and in some instances the inmates had to be cut out.
The cold is most intense, 23 degrees of frost [-5C] being registered today. The weather is clear, with the barometer registering as high as 31½ degrees [1065 mbar]. On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, it blew a perfect hurricane, with blinding showers of snow. The mail steamer was forced to put back on Wednesday, after proceeding about ten miles, and the steamer Princes Alice, from Liverpool to the East Coast, was detained here thirty hours by the storm. The barque Elizabeth, of Inverness, which left on the 15th, put back today, having encountered terrific weather. She got as far as Dunnet Head.
There is much destitution and great scarcity of fuel among the poor, and relief committees have been formed for the purpose of supplying coals among the poor and opening a soup kitchen for their benefit. On the mainland the mails are repeatedly detained by the snow, being carried between Garve and Ullapool by a sledge.
Malcolm Morison, Dalibragh, South Uist, while going to see his brother, residing at Kilphager, wander in the snow on to the ice on a freshwater loch and fell in. He was rescued by some people who heard his cries, but he died shortly afterwards. On Tuesday last a woman named Mackary, with her Donald, while crossing the moor from Knock Queen to Loch Eport, North Uist, got exhausted. The man went for assistance, but was too much exhausted to accompany the parties who went to aid his mother. On their going to the moor they could not find the woman, and her body was afterwards discovered buried in the snow, life being extinct. In the Uist, the weather is described as the most severe experienced there for many years, the snow on the roads in some places being six feet deep. Sheep are lying on the hills, and hand-feeding with fodder is quite common. Many sheep are found buried in the snow.
THE STORM
SUFFERINGS IN THE OUTER HEBRIDES
Our Stornoway correspondent telegraphs as follows on Friday night regarding the effects of the snowstorm in the Lewis:
The storm which we are no experiencing is the most severe which has been felt here for upwards of twenty years. The fall of snow is very great, and in some places, the wreaths [drifts] are from eight to ten feet deep, and the roads are scarcely passable. The post runner between Tarbet, Harris, and Stornoway, a distance of 34 miles, left the former place early on Wednesday on horseback with the mails, and only arrived this evening, thus taking three days instead of one for the journey. The depth of snow in some places was 12 feet. Several houses were snowed up on the outskirts of Stornoway, and in some instances the inmates had to be cut out.
The cold is most intense, 23 degrees of frost [-5C] being registered today. The weather is clear, with the barometer registering as high as 31½ degrees [1065 mbar]. On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, it blew a perfect hurricane, with blinding showers of snow. The mail steamer was forced to put back on Wednesday, after proceeding about ten miles, and the steamer Princes Alice, from Liverpool to the East Coast, was detained here thirty hours by the storm. The barque Elizabeth, of Inverness, which left on the 15th, put back today, having encountered terrific weather. She got as far as Dunnet Head.
There is much destitution and great scarcity of fuel among the poor, and relief committees have been formed for the purpose of supplying coals among the poor and opening a soup kitchen for their benefit. On the mainland the mails are repeatedly detained by the snow, being carried between Garve and Ullapool by a sledge.
Malcolm Morison, Dalibragh, South Uist, while going to see his brother, residing at Kilphager, wander in the snow on to the ice on a freshwater loch and fell in. He was rescued by some people who heard his cries, but he died shortly afterwards. On Tuesday last a woman named Mackary, with her Donald, while crossing the moor from Knock Queen to Loch Eport, North Uist, got exhausted. The man went for assistance, but was too much exhausted to accompany the parties who went to aid his mother. On their going to the moor they could not find the woman, and her body was afterwards discovered buried in the snow, life being extinct. In the Uist, the weather is described as the most severe experienced there for many years, the snow on the roads in some places being six feet deep. Sheep are lying on the hills, and hand-feeding with fodder is quite common. Many sheep are found buried in the snow.
Remembering today - 23 October
Private JOHN MORRISON, Gordon Highlanders, late of 12 Port of Ness, died today in 1914 at the age of 22
Seaman DONALD MACKAY, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 8 Portnaguran, died today in 1916 at the age of 38
Sergeant ALEX MARTIN, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 13 Portvoller, died today in 1916 at the age of 22
Company Quarter-master Serjeant NORMAN MACINNES, Cameron Highlanders, late of 6 Tong, died today in 1917 at the age of 39
Seaman JOHN MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 29 Vatisker, died today in 1918 at the age of 33
Private COLIN GUNN, Australian Infantry, 2/43 Batallion, late of 5 Knockaird, died today in 1942 at the age of 43.
Seaman JOHN CAMPBELL, Royal Navy, Patrol Service, late of 33 Arnol, died today in 1946
Seaman DONALD MACKAY, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 8 Portnaguran, died today in 1916 at the age of 38
Sergeant ALEX MARTIN, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 13 Portvoller, died today in 1916 at the age of 22
Company Quarter-master Serjeant NORMAN MACINNES, Cameron Highlanders, late of 6 Tong, died today in 1917 at the age of 39
Seaman JOHN MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 29 Vatisker, died today in 1918 at the age of 33
Private COLIN GUNN, Australian Infantry, 2/43 Batallion, late of 5 Knockaird, died today in 1942 at the age of 43.
Seaman JOHN CAMPBELL, Royal Navy, Patrol Service, late of 33 Arnol, died today in 1946
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Remembering today - 22 October
Sergeant ANGUS MACDONALD, Cameron Highlanders, late of 3 Carloway, died today in 1914 at the age of 29
Private DONALD MACDONALD, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 13 Habost, Ness, died today in 1914 at the age of 38
Gunner KENNETH MACKENZIE, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 7 Marvig, died today in 1918 at the age of 22
Leading Seaman MURDO NICOLSON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 8 Battery Park Road, Stornoway, died today in 1940 at the age of 28.
Able Seaman NEIL MACMILLAN, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, late of 33 Gravir, died today in 1941 at the age of 30.
Flying Officer MURDOCH CAMPBELL MURRAY, Royal Canadian Air Force, late of 5 Eorodale, died today in 1943 at the age of 33.
Able Seaman MURDO MACIVER, Royal Navy, late of 49 Coll, died today in 1944 at the age of 26.
Private DONALD MACDONALD, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 13 Habost, Ness, died today in 1914 at the age of 38
Gunner KENNETH MACKENZIE, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 7 Marvig, died today in 1918 at the age of 22
Leading Seaman MURDO NICOLSON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 8 Battery Park Road, Stornoway, died today in 1940 at the age of 28.
Able Seaman NEIL MACMILLAN, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, late of 33 Gravir, died today in 1941 at the age of 30.
Flying Officer MURDOCH CAMPBELL MURRAY, Royal Canadian Air Force, late of 5 Eorodale, died today in 1943 at the age of 33.
Able Seaman MURDO MACIVER, Royal Navy, late of 49 Coll, died today in 1944 at the age of 26.
Friday, 21 October 2011
Remembering today - 21 October
Private ANGUS FINLAYSON, Cameron Highlanders, late of 18 Skigersta, died today in 1914 at the age of 19
Seaman DONALD MACDONALD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 7 New Shawbost, died today in 1918
Seaman DONALD MACDONALD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 7 New Shawbost, died today in 1918
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Remembering today - 20 October
Sergeant NORMAN CAMPBELL, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 37 Gelir, died today in 1914 at the age of 35
Private AULAY MACAULAY, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 32 Breasclete, died today in 1914 at the age of 32
Seaman JOHN MORRISON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 4W Adabrock, died today in 1914 at the age of 41
Seaman JOHN SMITH, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 20 Aird Tong, died today in 1915
Private JOHN MACFARLANE, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 27 Kenneth Street, Stornoway, died today in 1916 at the age of 24
Trimmer / Cook WILLIAM SCAMBLER, Royal Naval Reserve, late of Branxton, Innerwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, died today in 1917 at the age of 30
Seaman DONALD MACARTHUR, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 6 Borrowston, died today in 1918 at the age of 41
Private JOHN MACMILLAN, Gordon Highlanders, late of 21 Aird Tong, died today in 1918
Seaman MURDO DONALD MACDONALD, Royal Naval Reserve, Patrol Service, late of 6 Portvoller, died today in 1940 at the age of 22.
Seaman DONALD MCLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of Stornoway, died today in 1945 at the age of 46.
Private AULAY MACAULAY, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 32 Breasclete, died today in 1914 at the age of 32
Seaman JOHN MORRISON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 4W Adabrock, died today in 1914 at the age of 41
Seaman JOHN SMITH, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 20 Aird Tong, died today in 1915
Private JOHN MACFARLANE, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 27 Kenneth Street, Stornoway, died today in 1916 at the age of 24
Trimmer / Cook WILLIAM SCAMBLER, Royal Naval Reserve, late of Branxton, Innerwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, died today in 1917 at the age of 30
Seaman DONALD MACARTHUR, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 6 Borrowston, died today in 1918 at the age of 41
Private JOHN MACMILLAN, Gordon Highlanders, late of 21 Aird Tong, died today in 1918
Seaman MURDO DONALD MACDONALD, Royal Naval Reserve, Patrol Service, late of 6 Portvoller, died today in 1940 at the age of 22.
Seaman DONALD MCLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of Stornoway, died today in 1945 at the age of 46.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Remembering today - 19 October
Private WILLIAM GRAHAM, Gordon Highlanders, late of 29 Borve, died today in 1914 at the age of 23
Private DONALD MACDONALD, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 2 Eorodale, died today in 1918 at the age of 22
Seaman JOHN MACMILLAN, Merchant Navy, late of 6 North Tolsta, died today in 1943 at the age of 21.
Private JOHN NEIL MACLEAN, 6th Gordon Highlanders, late of 20 North Beach, Stornoway, died today in 1944 at the age of 22
Private DONALD MACDONALD, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 2 Eorodale, died today in 1918 at the age of 22
Seaman JOHN MACMILLAN, Merchant Navy, late of 6 North Tolsta, died today in 1943 at the age of 21.
Private JOHN NEIL MACLEAN, 6th Gordon Highlanders, late of 20 North Beach, Stornoway, died today in 1944 at the age of 22
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Remembering today - 18 October
Seaman JOHN SMITH, Royal Naval Division, late of 6 Lower Bayble, died today in 1917 at the age of 39
Sailor ANGUS MACARTHUR, Merchant Navy, late of 45 Upper Carloway, died today in 1940 at the age of 25.
Sailor ANGUS MACARTHUR, Merchant Navy, late of 45 Upper Carloway, died today in 1940 at the age of 25.
Monday, 17 October 2011
Remembering today - 17 October
Private MURDO GRAHAM, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 24 North Tolsta, died today in 1914 at the age of 31
Private HUGH D DISHER, Scottish Rifles, late of 3 Stag Road, Stornoway, died today in 1917
Seaman MURDO MORRISON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 29 Lionel, died today in 1940 at the age of 20.
Private HUGH D DISHER, Scottish Rifles, late of 3 Stag Road, Stornoway, died today in 1917
Seaman MURDO MORRISON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 29 Lionel, died today in 1940 at the age of 20.
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Remembering today - 16 October
Private DONALD STEWART, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 10 Bells Road, Stornoway, died today in 1914 at the age of 25
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Hardship in Scarp - or was there?
Stornoway Gazette, 4 February 1944
The Island Of Scarp
Recently the Island of Scarp has suffered hardship, through the lack of communication with the mainland. The recent stormy weather has been the cause of this and only on one occasion between the 3rd and the 29th Januarv were the Island's inhabitants able to reach Hushinish, for the purpose of fetching mails and goods. This is the worst plight they have been in for years despite the fact that they are now provided with out-board motor boats. It has been said that some of the Islanders are anxious to leave the Island and settle On the mainland. Their recent experience may force a decision in the matter.
Stornoway Gazette, 11 February 1944
Letter to the Editor
Sir,
As I feel my face somewhat hot since I listened to the BBC announcement on January 31st, regarding distress in the island of Scarp, I write to inform the public that this was nothing less than a "tissue of lies". The announcement stated that this island was isolated from 3rd to 29th January, which I do deny, as a boatful of foodstuffs came here on the 4th and not less than five boats called at Hushinish before the 29th.
Then the propaganda went on to say that we were sending out distress signals, a thing which we never dreamt of. Even if the whole community of North Harris had happened to be on this island for the twenty-six days mentioned, they would not have starved, and I may say they would have been fed just as well as where they reside. Anyway, to whom were we going to signal? And why? There's no boat on the mainland opposite Scarp, or a crew to man one, and who could cross our channel, when we, the people who are used to it, couldn't?
Every household here, during the month of January, had plenty meal and we were getting our regular supply of rations thanks to our supplier, Mr Maclean. I have travelled in several parts of the world since this crisis commenced, but I never saw a place I loved so much as my dear native island, and, wherever I happen to die, my greatest desire on my death-bed will be to lay my remains in my native island's soil.
Before I conclude, let me guarantee to you that we are living a happy life, rising and sleeping when we like, getting a regular supply of foodstuffs, having plenty of clothes, plenty of tobacco, and our purses are not empty either, so I can assure you that Scarp is not one of "God's forgotten islands". Yours etc,
A SCARPACH AND PROUD OF IT.
The Island Of Scarp
Recently the Island of Scarp has suffered hardship, through the lack of communication with the mainland. The recent stormy weather has been the cause of this and only on one occasion between the 3rd and the 29th Januarv were the Island's inhabitants able to reach Hushinish, for the purpose of fetching mails and goods. This is the worst plight they have been in for years despite the fact that they are now provided with out-board motor boats. It has been said that some of the Islanders are anxious to leave the Island and settle On the mainland. Their recent experience may force a decision in the matter.
Stornoway Gazette, 11 February 1944
Letter to the Editor
Sir,
As I feel my face somewhat hot since I listened to the BBC announcement on January 31st, regarding distress in the island of Scarp, I write to inform the public that this was nothing less than a "tissue of lies". The announcement stated that this island was isolated from 3rd to 29th January, which I do deny, as a boatful of foodstuffs came here on the 4th and not less than five boats called at Hushinish before the 29th.
Then the propaganda went on to say that we were sending out distress signals, a thing which we never dreamt of. Even if the whole community of North Harris had happened to be on this island for the twenty-six days mentioned, they would not have starved, and I may say they would have been fed just as well as where they reside. Anyway, to whom were we going to signal? And why? There's no boat on the mainland opposite Scarp, or a crew to man one, and who could cross our channel, when we, the people who are used to it, couldn't?
Every household here, during the month of January, had plenty meal and we were getting our regular supply of rations thanks to our supplier, Mr Maclean. I have travelled in several parts of the world since this crisis commenced, but I never saw a place I loved so much as my dear native island, and, wherever I happen to die, my greatest desire on my death-bed will be to lay my remains in my native island's soil.
Before I conclude, let me guarantee to you that we are living a happy life, rising and sleeping when we like, getting a regular supply of foodstuffs, having plenty of clothes, plenty of tobacco, and our purses are not empty either, so I can assure you that Scarp is not one of "God's forgotten islands". Yours etc,
A SCARPACH AND PROUD OF IT.
Remembering today - 15 October
Seaman MALCOLM MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 39 Arnol, died today in 1916 at the age of 26
Private ALEX MORRISON, Canadians, late of 3 Cross, died today in 1916 at the age of 31
Stoker 2nd class WILLIAM MUNRO, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 21 Cross Street Coulregrein, died today in 1944 at the age of 21.
Seaman JOHN SMITH, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 75 North Tolsta, died today in 1947
Private ALEX MORRISON, Canadians, late of 3 Cross, died today in 1916 at the age of 31
Stoker 2nd class WILLIAM MUNRO, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 21 Cross Street Coulregrein, died today in 1944 at the age of 21.
Seaman JOHN SMITH, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 75 North Tolsta, died today in 1947
Friday, 14 October 2011
Remembering today - 14 October
Second Lieutenant DONALD JOHN MACIVER, Cameron Highlanders, late of 8 Callanish, died today in 1915 at the age of 24
Private JOHN MACLEOD, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, late of 39B Balallan, died today in 1916 at the age of 34
Casualties of the sinking of HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow
Seaman SAMUEL GRAHAM, Royal Naval Reserve, late of Vatisker, died today in 1939
Seaman JOHN MONTGOMERY, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 16 Ranish, died today in 1939 at the age of 35.
Private JOHN MACLEOD, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, late of 39B Balallan, died today in 1916 at the age of 34
Casualties of the sinking of HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow
Seaman SAMUEL GRAHAM, Royal Naval Reserve, late of Vatisker, died today in 1939
Seaman JOHN MONTGOMERY, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 16 Ranish, died today in 1939 at the age of 35.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Remembering today - 13 October
Private NEIL SMITH, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 2 Maciver's Buildings, Stornoway, died today in 1914 at the age of 22
Private KENNETH MACPHAIL, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 4 Arnol, died today in 1916 at the age of 19
Private DONALD MURRAY, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 5 South Dell, died today in 1916
Private MURDO MACLEOD, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 2 Geshader, died today in 1918 at the age of 35
Flight Sergeant JOHN NEIL MACIVER, Royal Canadian Air Force, late of Laxdale, died today in 1942 at the age of 21.
Private KENNETH MACPHAIL, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 4 Arnol, died today in 1916 at the age of 19
Private DONALD MURRAY, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 5 South Dell, died today in 1916
Private MURDO MACLEOD, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 2 Geshader, died today in 1918 at the age of 35
Flight Sergeant JOHN NEIL MACIVER, Royal Canadian Air Force, late of Laxdale, died today in 1942 at the age of 21.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Remembering today - 12 October
Private ROBERT PATERSON, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 17 Leurbost, died today in 1915 at the age of 20
Sergeant KENNETH CAMPBELL, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 35 Swainbost, died today in 1916 at the age of 23
Private DONALD MACKINNON, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 2 Balallan, died today in 1916 at the age of 35
Private DONALD ALEX MACRAE, Seaforth Highlanders, late of Post Office Callanish, died today in 1916
Private JAMES MACRAE, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 49 Benside, died today in 1916 at the age of 42
Sergeant MURDO MURRAY, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 2 North Tolsta, died today in 1916 at the age of 23
Sergeant MURDO MURRAY, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 8 Stag Road, Stornoway, died today in 1916 at the age of 28
Private NORMAN MACIVER, Cameron Highlanders, late of 27 Garenin, died today in 1917 at the age of 26
Corporal ALEX MACLEAY, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, late of 10 Ballantrushal, died today in 1917 at the age of 33
Sergeant DONALD MACLEOD, Cameron Highlanders, late of 5 Park Carloway, died today in 1917 at the age of 23
Private NORMAN MACLEOD, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 69 Keith Street, Stornoway, died today in 1917 at the age of 24
Private DONALD MORRISON, Cameron Highlanders, late of 32 Lower Barvas, died today in 1917 at the age of 34
Private ROBERT MURRAY, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, late of 20 Church Street, Stornoway, died today in 1917 at the age of 21
Seaman ANGUS MACLEOD, Merchant Navy, late of 42 Coll, died today in 1941
Sergeant KENNETH CAMPBELL, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 35 Swainbost, died today in 1916 at the age of 23
Private DONALD MACKINNON, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 2 Balallan, died today in 1916 at the age of 35
Private DONALD ALEX MACRAE, Seaforth Highlanders, late of Post Office Callanish, died today in 1916
Private JAMES MACRAE, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 49 Benside, died today in 1916 at the age of 42
Sergeant MURDO MURRAY, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 2 North Tolsta, died today in 1916 at the age of 23
Sergeant MURDO MURRAY, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 8 Stag Road, Stornoway, died today in 1916 at the age of 28
Private NORMAN MACIVER, Cameron Highlanders, late of 27 Garenin, died today in 1917 at the age of 26
Corporal ALEX MACLEAY, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, late of 10 Ballantrushal, died today in 1917 at the age of 33
Sergeant DONALD MACLEOD, Cameron Highlanders, late of 5 Park Carloway, died today in 1917 at the age of 23
Private NORMAN MACLEOD, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 69 Keith Street, Stornoway, died today in 1917 at the age of 24
Private DONALD MORRISON, Cameron Highlanders, late of 32 Lower Barvas, died today in 1917 at the age of 34
Private ROBERT MURRAY, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, late of 20 Church Street, Stornoway, died today in 1917 at the age of 21
Seaman ANGUS MACLEOD, Merchant Navy, late of 42 Coll, died today in 1941
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Remembering today - 11 October
Private DONALD MURRAY, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 22 North Tolsta, died today in 1915 at the age of 19
Private MALCOLM MURRAY, Canadians, late of 24 South Dell, died today in 1918 at the age of 27
Private MALCOLM MURRAY, Canadians, late of 24 South Dell, died today in 1918 at the age of 27
Monday, 10 October 2011
St Kilda - 1877
Aberdeen Weekly, 19 May 1877
THE DISTRESS IN ST KILDA
ARRIVAL OF HMS FLIRT IN ABERDEEN
Yesterday afternoon HM gunboat Flirt arrived in Aberdeen from Stornoway. She left Greenock on Tuesday 8 May for St Kilda, with provisions and seeds for the inhabitants. The island of St Kilda consists of three rocks, only one of which, however, is inhabited. It belongs to Macleod of Macleod. It is situated in the Atlantic 36 miles from the nearest island of the Hebrides - the Monach - and 70 miles from the mainland.
As we have reported from time to time, great privation existed on the island, and owing to the publicity given to the state of matters by the press, the Government took the matter up, and the result was the despatching of the Flirt with food. The Flirt arrived on the following Saturday night, and the captain got out the provisions, put them in the ship's boats for transference to the boats belonging to the islanders - the Flirt's boats being unable to reach the shore owing to the peculiar construction of the coast. It being Saturday night, however, the islanders refused to land them for fear of encroaching on the Sabbath. The anchorage at St Kilda being unsafe, Captain O'Rorke was very anxious to get the supplies ashore without unnecessary delay. He therefore went ashore and remonstrated with them, but acting on the instructions of the Free Church minister the islanders refused to land the goods. His remonstrances were unavailing and he was reluctantly obliged to reship the goods and remain till Monday. All the provisions were landed on Monday morning, between two o'clock and seven o'clock, and the vessel sailed for Stornoway at eight o'clock.
Staff-surgeon Scott went ashore and visited the sick, and sent all the medicines that were likely to be of any use on shore. There were no serious cases, the chief troubles being rheumatism and dyspepsia - the latter due to the nature of the food. The most of the inhabitants appeared healthy and well fed. The families live in 18 one-storey cottages, built of stone and roofed with zinc. The total number is 75 individuals. The officers of the Flirt attended the church on Sunday, the congregation of which numbered 40 women and 20 men. The service was conducted by the Rev Mr Mackay, who preached in Gaelic. The singing was of a most unusual description, and resembled the wailing of a pibroch. The men were dressed like Aberdeen fishermen. The women wore a Rob Roy tartan plaid folded over their heads, blue serge short petticoats reaching to their ankles. white stockings, and no shoes. The few that had shoes took them off immediately on entering the church, and put them on again when they retired.
Each house has about an acre of ground attached to it, in which are sown corn seed, potatoes &c. The occupation to which the inhabitants are most devoted is the catching of the fulma, a species of seagull. The capture of this bird is attended with great difficulty. The men are lowered down steep cliffs by means of ropes, and catch the birds in their nests. The egg of the fulma is larger than a turkey's. The flesh is eaten by the natives, and the oil and feathers are transported to Glasgow principally. There are about 600 sheep on the island, the pasture being very good. The turf is also used for fuel. It is collected, heaped up and covered over with stones until it dries. The inhabitants were very thankful for the stores brought to them by the Flirt. None of them speak English, with the exception of one woman - a Mrs Macdonald, from Skye - and she acted as interpreter to Dr Scott in his visits to the sick. Before the arrival of the Flirt, Macleod had sent a quantity of provisions, but the supply of weed was short. The islanders said they could make whisky from their barley, but that industry is discouraged by the clergyman.
THE DISTRESS IN ST KILDA
ARRIVAL OF HMS FLIRT IN ABERDEEN
Yesterday afternoon HM gunboat Flirt arrived in Aberdeen from Stornoway. She left Greenock on Tuesday 8 May for St Kilda, with provisions and seeds for the inhabitants. The island of St Kilda consists of three rocks, only one of which, however, is inhabited. It belongs to Macleod of Macleod. It is situated in the Atlantic 36 miles from the nearest island of the Hebrides - the Monach - and 70 miles from the mainland.
As we have reported from time to time, great privation existed on the island, and owing to the publicity given to the state of matters by the press, the Government took the matter up, and the result was the despatching of the Flirt with food. The Flirt arrived on the following Saturday night, and the captain got out the provisions, put them in the ship's boats for transference to the boats belonging to the islanders - the Flirt's boats being unable to reach the shore owing to the peculiar construction of the coast. It being Saturday night, however, the islanders refused to land them for fear of encroaching on the Sabbath. The anchorage at St Kilda being unsafe, Captain O'Rorke was very anxious to get the supplies ashore without unnecessary delay. He therefore went ashore and remonstrated with them, but acting on the instructions of the Free Church minister the islanders refused to land the goods. His remonstrances were unavailing and he was reluctantly obliged to reship the goods and remain till Monday. All the provisions were landed on Monday morning, between two o'clock and seven o'clock, and the vessel sailed for Stornoway at eight o'clock.
Staff-surgeon Scott went ashore and visited the sick, and sent all the medicines that were likely to be of any use on shore. There were no serious cases, the chief troubles being rheumatism and dyspepsia - the latter due to the nature of the food. The most of the inhabitants appeared healthy and well fed. The families live in 18 one-storey cottages, built of stone and roofed with zinc. The total number is 75 individuals. The officers of the Flirt attended the church on Sunday, the congregation of which numbered 40 women and 20 men. The service was conducted by the Rev Mr Mackay, who preached in Gaelic. The singing was of a most unusual description, and resembled the wailing of a pibroch. The men were dressed like Aberdeen fishermen. The women wore a Rob Roy tartan plaid folded over their heads, blue serge short petticoats reaching to their ankles. white stockings, and no shoes. The few that had shoes took them off immediately on entering the church, and put them on again when they retired.
Each house has about an acre of ground attached to it, in which are sown corn seed, potatoes &c. The occupation to which the inhabitants are most devoted is the catching of the fulma, a species of seagull. The capture of this bird is attended with great difficulty. The men are lowered down steep cliffs by means of ropes, and catch the birds in their nests. The egg of the fulma is larger than a turkey's. The flesh is eaten by the natives, and the oil and feathers are transported to Glasgow principally. There are about 600 sheep on the island, the pasture being very good. The turf is also used for fuel. It is collected, heaped up and covered over with stones until it dries. The inhabitants were very thankful for the stores brought to them by the Flirt. None of them speak English, with the exception of one woman - a Mrs Macdonald, from Skye - and she acted as interpreter to Dr Scott in his visits to the sick. Before the arrival of the Flirt, Macleod had sent a quantity of provisions, but the supply of weed was short. The islanders said they could make whisky from their barley, but that industry is discouraged by the clergyman.
Remembering today - 10 October
Private ANGUS GILLIES, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 15 Lionel, died today in 1916 at the age of 28
Sergeant DONALD MACLEOD, Cameron Highlanders, late of 14 Carloway, died today in 1918 at the age of 20
Sailor DONALD MACLEOD, Merchant Navy, late of New Shawbost, died today in 1946 at the age of 24.
Sergeant DONALD MACLEOD, Cameron Highlanders, late of 14 Carloway, died today in 1918 at the age of 20
Sailor DONALD MACLEOD, Merchant Navy, late of New Shawbost, died today in 1946 at the age of 24.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
137 years ago this month
Glasgow Herald, 24 October 1874
WRECKS IN THE HEBRIDES
TWENTY-FOUR SEAMEN DROWNED - SEVEN BODIES WASHED ASHORE
Telegraphing last night, our Stornoway correspondent says:
The effects of the gale have been more disastrous than at first expected, and it is feared several wrecks, involving great loss of life, have occurred along the Western Islands. After Wednesday's gale, a large three-masted vessel was seen in the Atlantic, a long distance off Barvas, about twelve miles west from Stornoway. She appeared to be quite helpless, and to be driving towards land. On Wednesday, the gale increased, with heavy showers of rain, and next morning no vessel was to be seen. In the afternoon large quantities of wreckage were found on the beach at Barvas, together with men's clothing and women's apparel. Later on in the day a man's body, dressed in sailor's clothes was found and the following among other articles discovered:
A seaman's cap with "forty-five" stitched into it; a piece of a boat's stern with "Maju, London", painted in black letters on a white ground; a brass plate on the binnacle with "P. A. Feathers & Son, Dundee", engraved upon it; and a brass plate fastened to a piece of teak, with "G. H. Wilson, Bank Hall, Liverpool". A dead pig and large quantities of ham, pork and other articles were also found. It is supposed the ill-fated vessel was on her first trip. Yesterday, three more men's bodies were cast ashore, one being quite naked. The others were dressed in seamen's clothes. A mate's certificate was found in a pocket-book; it was in favour of William J. Aitken, aged 25 years, belonging to Edinburgh. From the appearance of the bodies, it is supposed they were not long in the water. Three lower masts also came ashore, all bound together. From all appearance, the ship seems to have foundered on some rocks about 150 yards off Aird, Barvas, near the parish church of Barvas, and there went to pieces. No portion of her hull or cargo has come ashore. At Gallon (Galson), about 20 miles from Stornoway, a chest has come ashore. In the chest were found clothes, and a book with "Robert Anderson, Greenock" upon it; and on the West Coast of Uist several boxes, chests, pieces of boats, and other articles have also been discovered; "James McMaster" was upon one chest. While the Clydesdale steamer was crossing from Lochinver on Thursday, she met a large quantity of timber floating in the Minch, near the mainland side. Latest advices from Barvas report that two additional bodies and a man's leg have come ashore, and that another body has been seen in the surf. The captain and mate are supposed to be among those recovered. The head of the former is very much bruised.
A telegram has been received intimating the total loss of the smack Mary and Jane, of Stornoway, in Loch Eriboll, on Wednesday morning. The crew were saved. The vessel was bound from Thurso to Stornoway, was caught in Wednesday's gale and driven ashore. She was insured.
The following telegram from our Dundee correspondent supplements and explains the story of the wreck sent from Stornoway.
We understand that a telegram was received yesterday afternoon by Messrs Brown & Simpson, shipbuilders, Dundee, conveyin the intelligence that the Maju, of London, had been lost in the vicinity of Stornoway, where a mate's certificate and the ship's papers were picked up and a body had been washed ashore. The Maju left Dundee on Friday, with a crew of 24 in all, including the captain. The Maju and Lochee, the latter being the first of the Dundee line of clippers, left together, and were in company when the disaster to the Maju occurred. The Lochee, it appears, had time to run into some place for shelter before she had got into actual danger, but the Maju, being ahead and fully exposed to th estorm, was overtaken. The Maju was a splendid ship of 1000 tons register and belonged to Messrs Killeck, Martin & Co, shipowners, London. She was commanded by Captain John Smith, who previously commanded the Min and Lahloo and was built for the China trade. The following are the names of the crew:
John Smith, captain, native of Fife
Wm. Aitken, chief mate, Edinburgh
Chas. S. Scantleburgh, second mate, Cornwall
David Taylor, carpenter, Dundee
John Waters, sailmaker, Kirkcaldy
John Waterston, steward, Anstruther
Wm. Henderson. cook, St Andrews
Henry Smith, A.B., Hull
David Hosie, A.B., Carnoustie
J.S. Eleridge, A.B. Boston, England
George Caithess, A.B., Westhaven
George Drummond, A.B., Tayport
S. Haesbrook, A.B., Ostend
Charles Seven, A.B., Sweden
William Allen, A.B., Portsmouth
Thomas Guy, A.B., Dundee
Frank Langley, A.B. Jersey
Charles Wallace, A.B., Youghal
Thomas Murray, O.S., Dundee
John Milne, O.S., Aberdeen
Reuben Kerr, apprentice, Edinburgh
William Brown, apprentice, Edinburgh
Duncan Paul, apprentice, Edinburgh
Daniel Henessy, apprentice, Dundee
Postscript
The wreck of the Maju is recorded on the RCAMHS website as being a mile from Barvas Manse.
On the Wrecksite.eu, her cargo is quoted as coal and her destination Rangoon.
Maju was an iron barque, measuring 61,4 x 9,8 x 6,4 m [200 x 33 x 21 feet], 953 grt.
She was lost on 21 October 1874 with all hands, in the same year that she was built.
WRECKS IN THE HEBRIDES
TWENTY-FOUR SEAMEN DROWNED - SEVEN BODIES WASHED ASHORE
Telegraphing last night, our Stornoway correspondent says:
The effects of the gale have been more disastrous than at first expected, and it is feared several wrecks, involving great loss of life, have occurred along the Western Islands. After Wednesday's gale, a large three-masted vessel was seen in the Atlantic, a long distance off Barvas, about twelve miles west from Stornoway. She appeared to be quite helpless, and to be driving towards land. On Wednesday, the gale increased, with heavy showers of rain, and next morning no vessel was to be seen. In the afternoon large quantities of wreckage were found on the beach at Barvas, together with men's clothing and women's apparel. Later on in the day a man's body, dressed in sailor's clothes was found and the following among other articles discovered:
A seaman's cap with "forty-five" stitched into it; a piece of a boat's stern with "Maju, London", painted in black letters on a white ground; a brass plate on the binnacle with "P. A. Feathers & Son, Dundee", engraved upon it; and a brass plate fastened to a piece of teak, with "G. H. Wilson, Bank Hall, Liverpool". A dead pig and large quantities of ham, pork and other articles were also found. It is supposed the ill-fated vessel was on her first trip. Yesterday, three more men's bodies were cast ashore, one being quite naked. The others were dressed in seamen's clothes. A mate's certificate was found in a pocket-book; it was in favour of William J. Aitken, aged 25 years, belonging to Edinburgh. From the appearance of the bodies, it is supposed they were not long in the water. Three lower masts also came ashore, all bound together. From all appearance, the ship seems to have foundered on some rocks about 150 yards off Aird, Barvas, near the parish church of Barvas, and there went to pieces. No portion of her hull or cargo has come ashore. At Gallon (Galson), about 20 miles from Stornoway, a chest has come ashore. In the chest were found clothes, and a book with "Robert Anderson, Greenock" upon it; and on the West Coast of Uist several boxes, chests, pieces of boats, and other articles have also been discovered; "James McMaster" was upon one chest. While the Clydesdale steamer was crossing from Lochinver on Thursday, she met a large quantity of timber floating in the Minch, near the mainland side. Latest advices from Barvas report that two additional bodies and a man's leg have come ashore, and that another body has been seen in the surf. The captain and mate are supposed to be among those recovered. The head of the former is very much bruised.
A telegram has been received intimating the total loss of the smack Mary and Jane, of Stornoway, in Loch Eriboll, on Wednesday morning. The crew were saved. The vessel was bound from Thurso to Stornoway, was caught in Wednesday's gale and driven ashore. She was insured.
The following telegram from our Dundee correspondent supplements and explains the story of the wreck sent from Stornoway.
We understand that a telegram was received yesterday afternoon by Messrs Brown & Simpson, shipbuilders, Dundee, conveyin the intelligence that the Maju, of London, had been lost in the vicinity of Stornoway, where a mate's certificate and the ship's papers were picked up and a body had been washed ashore. The Maju left Dundee on Friday, with a crew of 24 in all, including the captain. The Maju and Lochee, the latter being the first of the Dundee line of clippers, left together, and were in company when the disaster to the Maju occurred. The Lochee, it appears, had time to run into some place for shelter before she had got into actual danger, but the Maju, being ahead and fully exposed to th estorm, was overtaken. The Maju was a splendid ship of 1000 tons register and belonged to Messrs Killeck, Martin & Co, shipowners, London. She was commanded by Captain John Smith, who previously commanded the Min and Lahloo and was built for the China trade. The following are the names of the crew:
John Smith, captain, native of Fife
Wm. Aitken, chief mate, Edinburgh
Chas. S. Scantleburgh, second mate, Cornwall
David Taylor, carpenter, Dundee
John Waters, sailmaker, Kirkcaldy
John Waterston, steward, Anstruther
Wm. Henderson. cook, St Andrews
Henry Smith, A.B., Hull
David Hosie, A.B., Carnoustie
J.S. Eleridge, A.B. Boston, England
George Caithess, A.B., Westhaven
George Drummond, A.B., Tayport
S. Haesbrook, A.B., Ostend
Charles Seven, A.B., Sweden
William Allen, A.B., Portsmouth
Thomas Guy, A.B., Dundee
Frank Langley, A.B. Jersey
Charles Wallace, A.B., Youghal
Thomas Murray, O.S., Dundee
John Milne, O.S., Aberdeen
Reuben Kerr, apprentice, Edinburgh
William Brown, apprentice, Edinburgh
Duncan Paul, apprentice, Edinburgh
Daniel Henessy, apprentice, Dundee
Postscript
The wreck of the Maju is recorded on the RCAMHS website as being a mile from Barvas Manse.
On the Wrecksite.eu, her cargo is quoted as coal and her destination Rangoon.
Maju was an iron barque, measuring 61,4 x 9,8 x 6,4 m [200 x 33 x 21 feet], 953 grt.
She was lost on 21 October 1874 with all hands, in the same year that she was built.
The trial of the Bernera rioters - 1874
The Glasgow Herald, 22 July 1874
THE BERNERA EVICTION RIOTS
ACQUITTAL OF THE FISHERMEN AND CONVICTION OF THE SHERIFF OFFICER
Angus Macdonald, Norman Macaulay, and John Macleod, fishermen, Bernera, have just been tried before Sheriff Spittal and a jury, at Stornoway, for assaulting Colin Maclennan, sheriff officer, in revenge for serving summonses of removings, in March last, upon 58 crofters in Bernera, "by surrounding him in a violent and excited manner, seizing hold of him by the breast or collar, or parts of his person, and pulling and jostling him, and also seizing hold of his topcoat, waterproof coat, and leggings, and maliciously tearing and rendering the same useless, thereby putting him into a state of great terror and alarm." Mr Ross, Procurator Fiscal, prosecuted, and Mr Charles Innes, solicitor, Inverness, defended. The accused pleaded not guilty. In the course of the trial, which lasted eleven hours, it came out that the present crofters in Bernera and their forefathers had held, in connection with their crofts in Bernera, shielings or summer grazings at Cualinhall for a long number of years. From these they wer removed three years ago to Earshader, and Cualinhall grazings were turned into a deer forest or shootings, on the apparent understanding that they were not to be removed from Earshader so long as they paid their rents and held their crofts in Bernera; and after, they say, a verbal promise was made them to that effect by the factor, they built, at much expense, a dyke extending from six to seven miles round the new grazings ground, so as to separate it from some shootings. But from Earshader grazings, as well as their crofts and houses in Bernera, the people were summoned to remove last March without any clear promise made them of remuneration for the dyke. The people, considering that faith had been broken with them, and although the new grazings offered them in exchange were more valuable or extensive, felt somewhat indignant at the way they had been used, and it was while serving these removings that this alleged assault was committed. It was further stated that after they had served most of the summonses, the officer and his assistant were attacked in the dark with stones and clubs, and the officer, getting exasperated at his treatment, vowed, if he had a revolver, he would have shot at his assailants. This threat he repeated several times next morning in Bernera; and further, that if he had a revolver, there would be lamenting in Bernera. His remarks, having become reported, the excitemeent of the islanders increased, and it was determined to demand an explanation from him. Accordingly, the accused and ten others followed after the officer and stopped him, and the alleged accused then took place. At the close of the evidence, Mr Innes made an able and eloquent address, in which he commented very severely upon the way matters were managed in Lewis, and the poor Bernera men were used by the proprietor or his factor. After a lucid summing up by the sheriff, the jury, without retiring, found all the accused not guilty. The verdict was received with much applause. Throughout the day, the Court House was crowded to suffocation, and the trial was watched with intense interest and keen excitement by all classes of the community.
THE BERNERA EVICTION RIOTS
ACQUITTAL OF THE FISHERMEN AND CONVICTION OF THE SHERIFF OFFICER
Angus Macdonald, Norman Macaulay, and John Macleod, fishermen, Bernera, have just been tried before Sheriff Spittal and a jury, at Stornoway, for assaulting Colin Maclennan, sheriff officer, in revenge for serving summonses of removings, in March last, upon 58 crofters in Bernera, "by surrounding him in a violent and excited manner, seizing hold of him by the breast or collar, or parts of his person, and pulling and jostling him, and also seizing hold of his topcoat, waterproof coat, and leggings, and maliciously tearing and rendering the same useless, thereby putting him into a state of great terror and alarm." Mr Ross, Procurator Fiscal, prosecuted, and Mr Charles Innes, solicitor, Inverness, defended. The accused pleaded not guilty. In the course of the trial, which lasted eleven hours, it came out that the present crofters in Bernera and their forefathers had held, in connection with their crofts in Bernera, shielings or summer grazings at Cualinhall for a long number of years. From these they wer removed three years ago to Earshader, and Cualinhall grazings were turned into a deer forest or shootings, on the apparent understanding that they were not to be removed from Earshader so long as they paid their rents and held their crofts in Bernera; and after, they say, a verbal promise was made them to that effect by the factor, they built, at much expense, a dyke extending from six to seven miles round the new grazings ground, so as to separate it from some shootings. But from Earshader grazings, as well as their crofts and houses in Bernera, the people were summoned to remove last March without any clear promise made them of remuneration for the dyke. The people, considering that faith had been broken with them, and although the new grazings offered them in exchange were more valuable or extensive, felt somewhat indignant at the way they had been used, and it was while serving these removings that this alleged assault was committed. It was further stated that after they had served most of the summonses, the officer and his assistant were attacked in the dark with stones and clubs, and the officer, getting exasperated at his treatment, vowed, if he had a revolver, he would have shot at his assailants. This threat he repeated several times next morning in Bernera; and further, that if he had a revolver, there would be lamenting in Bernera. His remarks, having become reported, the excitemeent of the islanders increased, and it was determined to demand an explanation from him. Accordingly, the accused and ten others followed after the officer and stopped him, and the alleged accused then took place. At the close of the evidence, Mr Innes made an able and eloquent address, in which he commented very severely upon the way matters were managed in Lewis, and the poor Bernera men were used by the proprietor or his factor. After a lucid summing up by the sheriff, the jury, without retiring, found all the accused not guilty. The verdict was received with much applause. Throughout the day, the Court House was crowded to suffocation, and the trial was watched with intense interest and keen excitement by all classes of the community.
The Hebrides - 1867
The below article from the Pall Mall Gazette of 15 July 1867 paints a reasonably dispassionate image of the Hebrides at the time. Particularly noteworthy is the reference to the disappearance of superstition under the influence of the minister, who (with other local worthies) appears to have taken over from the clan chiefs as heads of the community.
THE HEBRIDES.
THE isolation of the Hebrides sufficiently accounts for the comparative ignorance of most Englishmen in regard to them, as well as for the peculiar character and habits of the people. Skye, indeed, may be easily reached, but the traveller who seeks to penetrate its recesses or to explore the outer islands must prepare to encounter a formidable array of discomforts, hardships, and even perils. Mr. Alexander Nicolson, who has just written a very able and interesting report on this part of the kingdom for the Scottish Education Commissioners, gives us some idea of the difficulties of travelling. In going from Eigg to Coll, a voyage of some thirty-five miles, he was twelve hours at sea, landing at 4 A.M. in a storm of wind and rain, after beating about for some hours in a dark night off that rocky shore. From Tiree to Barray the only means of transit was in an open smack, across so wide and turbulent a bit of the Atlantic that the journey, which began at noon, termiuated about seven in the evening, after which there was a walk of four or five miles in darkness and rain, to the hospitable refuge of the manse. Again, the passage of the ferry from Barray to South Uist, which with a fair wind may be crossed in less than an hour, took five hours against wind and tide, in a boat of rather frail construction, with sails to match. When you quit one island for another it is hard to say how long it may be before you are able to return or to pursue your journey in any other direction; and there is a story of the minister of Harris being kept a prisoner for seven weeks by the winds and waves in an outlying part of his parish, whither he had gone to conduct some services. Under these circumstances it is scarcely surprising that the Hebrides should be so little visited. Of the host of tourists who annually resort to the Scotch Highlands, few are courageous enough to surrender themselves to the coarse fare and rude travelling of the Western Islands. The scenery is, no doubt, very grand, but a certain sense of comfort and security is essential to a proper appreciation of the picturesque. The tourist who is kept half his time tossing in an open smack at sea, and the other half jolting over terrible roads in a primitive car without springs, and who is constantly haunted by doubts as to where he will get his next meal, or lay his weary head and aching bones at night, may be excused if he misses some of the natural beauties of the country he is traversing. The total number of inhabited islands (including every rock with a lighthouse) on the west of Scotland outside the Firth of Clyde, is reckoned at 106, with a population of 80,587. Here the Gael is to be found in perhaps his purest and most unsophisticated form. The actual condition of the islanders differs equally from the conceptions of the sanitary economist who insists upon the necessary association of dirt and squalor with moral and mental degradation, and the fancies of romantic people who have exalted notions of the virtue of simple habits of life. In Harris, Sir J. Matheson has exerted himself to introduce a better class of dwellings; but the descriptions of the Old Statistical Account of seventy years ago still hold good as to the general character of the houses. The walls are built of stone, mixed with turf; Windows are a rare comfort, and chimneys are unknown. Through a porch, like a small cave in a hill-side, you stumble, eyes smarting with the pungent peat smoke, into the dark interior, with its family circle clustering round the fire in the centre of the floor, and the cows tranquilly ruminating in the further end. Furniture there is next to none. A board for a table, a bench, and perhaps a cutty stool or two, supply the modest requirements of the inmates. In one house the gude wife apologized to Mr. Nicolson for the absence of “the chair ;” it had been lent to a neighbour to do honour to a call from the minister, and was being passed on from house to house for the same purpose. The first impression produced on a stranger by the sight of one of these wretched hovels is that of wonder and pain; but Mr. Nicholson is with those who insist that there cannot be a greater error than to jump to the conclusion that life in a dirty and smoky hut must necessarily be a state of misery and degradation, if not of sin. The Registrar-General’s returns answer the conjecture of the sanitaryreforrner that chronic dirt, with spare diet and scanty clothing, must produce excessive sickness and mortality. The counteracting agencies of fresh bracing air, abundant water of good quality, and sufficient exercise, must be taken into account. Doctors in the Hebrides are as rare as windows and chairs; in the whole of Lewis there are only two medical men, both in Stornoway ; and this is no exception to the general rule in the other islands. The annual death rate is only 157 per 10,000; and the standard of longevity is unusually high. Nor do we find that the sorry circumstances of their domestic life deteriorate the moral qualities of the islanders. They are certainly averse from steady and sustained labour; but the climate is against continuous out-door work, and in many, indeed in most, parts any regular employment, apart from fishing, is not to be had, except bya very limited number of people. There is not much encouragement for steady agriculture with such a soil and atmosphere, where a fine spring and summer may give promise of luxuriant crops, which the autumn rains all but destroy, and where the rains wash away much of the very substance of the soil. There are some slate quarries and kelp factories, and along the coast there is every now and again a little wrecking to be done. Fishing, however, is the chief support of the Hebrideans, and nowhere are more expert or bolder boatmen to be met with than the fishermen of Lewis. Even in a high wind they venture out in open boats far beyond sight of land, and their daring is often rewarded by large takes of cod and ling. There is a certain stately courtesy peculiar to the Gael which is by no means rare in the Hebrideans. Sir ]ohn McNeill, who visited them in 1851 during the famine, owns that, though all he had to state was calculated to disappoint their expectations, he did not observe a tone, a look, a gesture, that expressed resentment or even irritation. "They frequently argued freely, sometimes with considerable ability and subtlety, never with rudeness, and often with a politeness and delicacy of deportment that would have been graceful in any society, and such as perhaps no men of their class in any other country I am acquainted with could have maintained in similar circumstances.” At the same time this politeness is apt, to pass into servility, and to be accompanied by an unfortunate disregard of truth. Mr. Nicolson tries to explain away their deference to superiors as a respect for authority—“ As the chief was of old, so now the minister, the laird, the sheriff, is to them, if he deserves 1t, an authority undoubtedly recognized and faithfully obeyed.” They are sometimes rather extortionate in their demands when they get hold of a helpless stranger; sheep now
and then disappear mysteriously from the fields, and_vegetables are dug up —not by their owners— after nightfall ; but Mr. Nicolson, on the other hand, has testimony to offer on behalf of the general honesty of the people,
I lost some money on the high road, near the village of Portree in Skye, which I never expected to see again; but before many hours it was restored to my possession by the finder; a poor little girl. I had been told of a cask of whisky driven ashore in Islay from a wreck being carefully returned to the distillery of which it bore the brand. I have even heard of an umbrealla found and restored in that island to its owner, an instance of scrupulosity almost unparalleled in modern society.
Mr. Nicolson allows that want of enterprise, self-reliance, and perseverance against difficulties is the great defect of their character, attributing it, as well as greed, cunning, and flattery, to tne miserably dependent condition which has so long been the lot of the population. Although usquebaugh is- almost a necessary corrective to the cold and moisture of the climate, the Hebrideans are, as a body, a sober people. The sight of a. drunken man, save at fairs or great occasions, is exceedingly rare ; and “ a drunken woman would be looked on as a monster.” The percentage of illegitimate births in the Registrar-General’s returns is very low as compared with the rest of Scotland.
Although the condition of the Hebrideans is by no means so wretched as might at first sight be supposed, it calls urgently for amelioration, if only to save them from the recurring famines which desolate the region. The only permanent remedy is to be sought in emigration, but at present the islanders aré, in a great degree, debarred from this by their ignorance of English. Education in the English language is therefore one of the great wants of this part of the kingdom, although the inhabitants themselves still cling fondly to their own old tongue, notwithstanding the disadvantage at which it places them, and lool: with little fayour on the invading dialect The exclusive use of Gaelic has a depressing effect on the mind of the people, for it cuts them off from modern literature ; and, on the other hand, they are ashamed of the old legendary lore, which “ the minister ” denounces as superstition. The fairies have vanished. Neither the water-kelpie nor the brownie has been seen by any one now living. Nor has the faculty of second sight survived in this sceptical generation. But dead lights are not quite gone out, though seldom mentioned; and the art of depriving cattle of their milk and cream of its capacity to make butter is in a good many places still understood to be cultivated by malevolent old women. The evil eye also, Mr. Nicolson says, is believed in to a greater extent than might be supposed, and even by people above the common both in position and intelligence. The pity is that with the superstitions, the extinction of which nobody need deplore, the oral literature of song and story is passing into oblivion.
THE HEBRIDES.
THE isolation of the Hebrides sufficiently accounts for the comparative ignorance of most Englishmen in regard to them, as well as for the peculiar character and habits of the people. Skye, indeed, may be easily reached, but the traveller who seeks to penetrate its recesses or to explore the outer islands must prepare to encounter a formidable array of discomforts, hardships, and even perils. Mr. Alexander Nicolson, who has just written a very able and interesting report on this part of the kingdom for the Scottish Education Commissioners, gives us some idea of the difficulties of travelling. In going from Eigg to Coll, a voyage of some thirty-five miles, he was twelve hours at sea, landing at 4 A.M. in a storm of wind and rain, after beating about for some hours in a dark night off that rocky shore. From Tiree to Barray the only means of transit was in an open smack, across so wide and turbulent a bit of the Atlantic that the journey, which began at noon, termiuated about seven in the evening, after which there was a walk of four or five miles in darkness and rain, to the hospitable refuge of the manse. Again, the passage of the ferry from Barray to South Uist, which with a fair wind may be crossed in less than an hour, took five hours against wind and tide, in a boat of rather frail construction, with sails to match. When you quit one island for another it is hard to say how long it may be before you are able to return or to pursue your journey in any other direction; and there is a story of the minister of Harris being kept a prisoner for seven weeks by the winds and waves in an outlying part of his parish, whither he had gone to conduct some services. Under these circumstances it is scarcely surprising that the Hebrides should be so little visited. Of the host of tourists who annually resort to the Scotch Highlands, few are courageous enough to surrender themselves to the coarse fare and rude travelling of the Western Islands. The scenery is, no doubt, very grand, but a certain sense of comfort and security is essential to a proper appreciation of the picturesque. The tourist who is kept half his time tossing in an open smack at sea, and the other half jolting over terrible roads in a primitive car without springs, and who is constantly haunted by doubts as to where he will get his next meal, or lay his weary head and aching bones at night, may be excused if he misses some of the natural beauties of the country he is traversing. The total number of inhabited islands (including every rock with a lighthouse) on the west of Scotland outside the Firth of Clyde, is reckoned at 106, with a population of 80,587. Here the Gael is to be found in perhaps his purest and most unsophisticated form. The actual condition of the islanders differs equally from the conceptions of the sanitary economist who insists upon the necessary association of dirt and squalor with moral and mental degradation, and the fancies of romantic people who have exalted notions of the virtue of simple habits of life. In Harris, Sir J. Matheson has exerted himself to introduce a better class of dwellings; but the descriptions of the Old Statistical Account of seventy years ago still hold good as to the general character of the houses. The walls are built of stone, mixed with turf; Windows are a rare comfort, and chimneys are unknown. Through a porch, like a small cave in a hill-side, you stumble, eyes smarting with the pungent peat smoke, into the dark interior, with its family circle clustering round the fire in the centre of the floor, and the cows tranquilly ruminating in the further end. Furniture there is next to none. A board for a table, a bench, and perhaps a cutty stool or two, supply the modest requirements of the inmates. In one house the gude wife apologized to Mr. Nicolson for the absence of “the chair ;” it had been lent to a neighbour to do honour to a call from the minister, and was being passed on from house to house for the same purpose. The first impression produced on a stranger by the sight of one of these wretched hovels is that of wonder and pain; but Mr. Nicholson is with those who insist that there cannot be a greater error than to jump to the conclusion that life in a dirty and smoky hut must necessarily be a state of misery and degradation, if not of sin. The Registrar-General’s returns answer the conjecture of the sanitaryreforrner that chronic dirt, with spare diet and scanty clothing, must produce excessive sickness and mortality. The counteracting agencies of fresh bracing air, abundant water of good quality, and sufficient exercise, must be taken into account. Doctors in the Hebrides are as rare as windows and chairs; in the whole of Lewis there are only two medical men, both in Stornoway ; and this is no exception to the general rule in the other islands. The annual death rate is only 157 per 10,000; and the standard of longevity is unusually high. Nor do we find that the sorry circumstances of their domestic life deteriorate the moral qualities of the islanders. They are certainly averse from steady and sustained labour; but the climate is against continuous out-door work, and in many, indeed in most, parts any regular employment, apart from fishing, is not to be had, except bya very limited number of people. There is not much encouragement for steady agriculture with such a soil and atmosphere, where a fine spring and summer may give promise of luxuriant crops, which the autumn rains all but destroy, and where the rains wash away much of the very substance of the soil. There are some slate quarries and kelp factories, and along the coast there is every now and again a little wrecking to be done. Fishing, however, is the chief support of the Hebrideans, and nowhere are more expert or bolder boatmen to be met with than the fishermen of Lewis. Even in a high wind they venture out in open boats far beyond sight of land, and their daring is often rewarded by large takes of cod and ling. There is a certain stately courtesy peculiar to the Gael which is by no means rare in the Hebrideans. Sir ]ohn McNeill, who visited them in 1851 during the famine, owns that, though all he had to state was calculated to disappoint their expectations, he did not observe a tone, a look, a gesture, that expressed resentment or even irritation. "They frequently argued freely, sometimes with considerable ability and subtlety, never with rudeness, and often with a politeness and delicacy of deportment that would have been graceful in any society, and such as perhaps no men of their class in any other country I am acquainted with could have maintained in similar circumstances.” At the same time this politeness is apt, to pass into servility, and to be accompanied by an unfortunate disregard of truth. Mr. Nicolson tries to explain away their deference to superiors as a respect for authority—“ As the chief was of old, so now the minister, the laird, the sheriff, is to them, if he deserves 1t, an authority undoubtedly recognized and faithfully obeyed.” They are sometimes rather extortionate in their demands when they get hold of a helpless stranger; sheep now
and then disappear mysteriously from the fields, and_vegetables are dug up —not by their owners— after nightfall ; but Mr. Nicolson, on the other hand, has testimony to offer on behalf of the general honesty of the people,
I lost some money on the high road, near the village of Portree in Skye, which I never expected to see again; but before many hours it was restored to my possession by the finder; a poor little girl. I had been told of a cask of whisky driven ashore in Islay from a wreck being carefully returned to the distillery of which it bore the brand. I have even heard of an umbrealla found and restored in that island to its owner, an instance of scrupulosity almost unparalleled in modern society.
Mr. Nicolson allows that want of enterprise, self-reliance, and perseverance against difficulties is the great defect of their character, attributing it, as well as greed, cunning, and flattery, to tne miserably dependent condition which has so long been the lot of the population. Although usquebaugh is- almost a necessary corrective to the cold and moisture of the climate, the Hebrideans are, as a body, a sober people. The sight of a. drunken man, save at fairs or great occasions, is exceedingly rare ; and “ a drunken woman would be looked on as a monster.” The percentage of illegitimate births in the Registrar-General’s returns is very low as compared with the rest of Scotland.
Although the condition of the Hebrideans is by no means so wretched as might at first sight be supposed, it calls urgently for amelioration, if only to save them from the recurring famines which desolate the region. The only permanent remedy is to be sought in emigration, but at present the islanders aré, in a great degree, debarred from this by their ignorance of English. Education in the English language is therefore one of the great wants of this part of the kingdom, although the inhabitants themselves still cling fondly to their own old tongue, notwithstanding the disadvantage at which it places them, and lool: with little fayour on the invading dialect The exclusive use of Gaelic has a depressing effect on the mind of the people, for it cuts them off from modern literature ; and, on the other hand, they are ashamed of the old legendary lore, which “ the minister ” denounces as superstition. The fairies have vanished. Neither the water-kelpie nor the brownie has been seen by any one now living. Nor has the faculty of second sight survived in this sceptical generation. But dead lights are not quite gone out, though seldom mentioned; and the art of depriving cattle of their milk and cream of its capacity to make butter is in a good many places still understood to be cultivated by malevolent old women. The evil eye also, Mr. Nicolson says, is believed in to a greater extent than might be supposed, and even by people above the common both in position and intelligence. The pity is that with the superstitions, the extinction of which nobody need deplore, the oral literature of song and story is passing into oblivion.
Remembering today - 9 October
Leading Seaman JOHN MACIVER, Merchant Navy, late of 15 Benside, died today in 1917 at the age of 32
Private MURDO MACLEOD, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 19 Eoropie, died today in 1917 at the age of 19
Colour Sergeant ALEX JOHN THOMSON, Gordon Highlanders, late of 20 Battery Park, Stornoway, died today in 1918
Captain DONALD GILLIES, Merchant Navy, late of 21 North Shawbost, died today in 1940 at the age of 39.
Private MURDO MACLEOD, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 19 Eoropie, died today in 1917 at the age of 19
Colour Sergeant ALEX JOHN THOMSON, Gordon Highlanders, late of 20 Battery Park, Stornoway, died today in 1918
Captain DONALD GILLIES, Merchant Navy, late of 21 North Shawbost, died today in 1940 at the age of 39.
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Remembering today - 8 October
Private MURDO MACIVER, Canadians, late of 25 Valtos, died today in 1916 at the age of 28
Private NEIL DONALD MACIVER, Cameron Highlanders, late of 45 North Shawbost, died today in 1916 at the age of 19
Private NEIL DONALD MACIVER, Cameron Highlanders, late of 45 North Shawbost, died today in 1916 at the age of 19
Friday, 7 October 2011
Remembering today - 7 October
Lance-Corporal JOHN MACIVER, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 32 Lionel, died today in 1916 at the age of 21
Sergeant DONALD GILLIES, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 31 South Dell, died today in 1917 at the age of 23
Seaman ANGUS MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 29 Brenish, died today in 1918 at the age of 26
Corporal JOHN MACLEOD, Machine Gun Corps, late of 13 Arnol, died today in 1918 at the age of 40
Seaman MALCOLM MATHESON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 13 Gravir, died today in 1918 at the age of 48
2nd Engineer ALEXANDER NEIL MACAULAY, Merchant Navy, late of 6 Guershader, died today in 1942 at the age of 35.
Sub-Lieutenant WILLIAM WHITFIELD WILE, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 8 Mackenzie Street, Stornoway, died today in 1942 at the age of 38.
Seaman DONALD JOHN MACDONALD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 9 Ballantrushal, died today in 1944 at the age of 21
Sergeant DONALD GILLIES, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 31 South Dell, died today in 1917 at the age of 23
Seaman ANGUS MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 29 Brenish, died today in 1918 at the age of 26
Corporal JOHN MACLEOD, Machine Gun Corps, late of 13 Arnol, died today in 1918 at the age of 40
Seaman MALCOLM MATHESON, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 13 Gravir, died today in 1918 at the age of 48
2nd Engineer ALEXANDER NEIL MACAULAY, Merchant Navy, late of 6 Guershader, died today in 1942 at the age of 35.
Sub-Lieutenant WILLIAM WHITFIELD WILE, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 8 Mackenzie Street, Stornoway, died today in 1942 at the age of 38.
Seaman DONALD JOHN MACDONALD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 9 Ballantrushal, died today in 1944 at the age of 21
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Remembering today - 6 October
Private RODERICK NICOLSON, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 25 Borve, died today in 1917 at the age of 20
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Remembering today - 5 October
Private JOHN MACRITCHIE, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 40 North Tolsta, died today in 1915 at the age of 21
Seaman DONALD MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 20 Dun Carloway, died today in 1916 at the age of 49
Lance Corporal WILLIAM FRASER, 5th Cameron Highlanders, late of 7 Bennadrove Road, Stornoway, died today in 1944 at the age of 22.
Seaman DONALD MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 20 Dun Carloway, died today in 1916 at the age of 49
Lance Corporal WILLIAM FRASER, 5th Cameron Highlanders, late of 7 Bennadrove Road, Stornoway, died today in 1944 at the age of 22.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Remembering today - 4 October
Private ANGUS MACKENZIE, Cameron Highlanders, late of 8 Laxay, died today in 1915 at the age of 21
Private DONALD MORRISON, Canadians, late of 63 South Bragar, died today in 1916 at the age of 33
Lance-Corporal MURDO MACKENZIE, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 49 Balallan, died today in 1917 at the age of 23
Sergeant MURDO SMITH, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 18 Ballantrushal, died today in 1917 at the age of 21
Seaman ANGUS MACDONALD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 30 Lower Shader, died today in 1941
Private DONALD MORRISON, Canadians, late of 63 South Bragar, died today in 1916 at the age of 33
Lance-Corporal MURDO MACKENZIE, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 49 Balallan, died today in 1917 at the age of 23
Sergeant MURDO SMITH, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 18 Ballantrushal, died today in 1917 at the age of 21
Seaman ANGUS MACDONALD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 30 Lower Shader, died today in 1941
Monday, 3 October 2011
Remembering today - 3 October
Private KENNETH MACLEAN, New Zealanders, late of 1 Brenish, died today in 1916 at the age of 33
Lieutenant JOHN MACKAY, Canadians, late of 48 Carloway, died today in 1918 at the age of 30
Corporal JOHN FERGUSON, 2nd Seaforth Highlanders, late of 30 Laxay, died today in 1944 at the age of 36.
Lieutenant JOHN MACKAY, Canadians, late of 48 Carloway, died today in 1918 at the age of 30
Corporal JOHN FERGUSON, 2nd Seaforth Highlanders, late of 30 Laxay, died today in 1944 at the age of 36.
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Remembering today - 2 October
Signaller DONALD BANNERMAN MACDONALD, Royal Naval Voluntary Reserve, late of 13 Tobson, Great Bernera, died today in 1917 at the age of 19
Private MURDO MACIVER, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 61 Coll, died today in 1918
Gunner KENNETH MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 4 Aird, died today in 1918 at the age of 33
Able Seaman DONALD MACIVER, Royal Navy, late of 2 Newvalley, died today in 1942 at the age of 26.
Trooper NORMAN MORRISON, 53rd Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C., late of 22 New Shawbost, died today in 1944 at the age of 20.
Private MURDO MACIVER, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 61 Coll, died today in 1918
Gunner KENNETH MACLEOD, Royal Naval Reserve, late of 4 Aird, died today in 1918 at the age of 33
Able Seaman DONALD MACIVER, Royal Navy, late of 2 Newvalley, died today in 1942 at the age of 26.
Trooper NORMAN MORRISON, 53rd Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C., late of 22 New Shawbost, died today in 1944 at the age of 20.
Saturday, 1 October 2011
Remembering today - 1 October
Private KENNETH MACLEAN, Canadians, late of 16 Lower Barvas, died today in 1916 at the age of 30
Seaman JOHN MATHESON, Merchant Navy, late of Stornoway, died today in 1916 at the age of 42
Quarter-master JOHN MACARTHUR, South Africans, late of 42 Park Carloway, died today in 1918
Company Sergeant-Major DONALD MACDONALD, Cameron Highlanders, late of 9 Kershader, died today in 1918 at the age of 41
Private NORMAN MACKAY, Canadians, late of 29 Arnol, died today in 1918 at the age of 27
Private DONALD JOHN MORRISON, Canadians, late of 17 Brenish, died today in 1918 at the age of 30
Private NORMAN MORRISON, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 22 North Dell, died today in 1918
Private KENNETH MURRAY, Gordon Highlanders, late of Catherine Hill, Back, died today in 1918 at the age of 26
Seaman JOHN MATHESON, Merchant Navy, late of Stornoway, died today in 1916 at the age of 42
Quarter-master JOHN MACARTHUR, South Africans, late of 42 Park Carloway, died today in 1918
Company Sergeant-Major DONALD MACDONALD, Cameron Highlanders, late of 9 Kershader, died today in 1918 at the age of 41
Private NORMAN MACKAY, Canadians, late of 29 Arnol, died today in 1918 at the age of 27
Private DONALD JOHN MORRISON, Canadians, late of 17 Brenish, died today in 1918 at the age of 30
Private NORMAN MORRISON, Seaforth Highlanders, late of 22 North Dell, died today in 1918
Private KENNETH MURRAY, Gordon Highlanders, late of Catherine Hill, Back, died today in 1918 at the age of 26
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