Pentland Road - 2

Six years ago this year, the community of Ness buried nearly five hundred old bibles in the St Peter's Cemetery in the Swainbost machair. The bibles came from the charity shop in Lionel, where it had been decided that the books were unfit for resale. Most of them were very old and falling apart. However, it was decided that the Holy Scriptures deserved a more respectful end than the shredder or the incinerator. Also, many of them were family bibles, that had been in use for generations, and were held to be treasured possessions. They were all placed in a box, and interred in the Old Cemetery. A proper burial service was conducted by the minister at Cross, on 30 June 2006. This memorial plaque was erected over the grave.

The previous two posts on this blog result from further research into the WW1 casualties from this island, as displayed on Faces from the Lewis War Memorial . The sources include Ancestry.co.uk , uboat.net , naval-history.net and quite a few others. Information will show a summary of the service record and of any census entries. Where applicable, Hebridean Connections , will be used as well. I am posting this on a blogsite which is currently hidden from public view; it is a copy of the Faces site, but is rather unnavigable at the moment. Any interesting finds will be posted on Pentland Road, while I work out a way to make it accessible to all.

Private MURDO MONTGOMERY Last address in Lewis: 31 Bayhead Street, Stornoway Only son of Catherine Montgomery, of 18, Mackenzie St., Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, and the late Robert Montgomery. Service unit: 11th Royal Scots Fusiliers Service number: 38627 Date of death: 3 May 1917 at the age of 22 Killed in action in France Interred: Sunken Road Cemetery, Fampoux, grave I. B. 23 Local memorial: Lewis War Memorial; Nicolson WW1 memorial, right panel Murdo is shown in the 1901 census with his mother Catherine (32), and siblings Barbara (14), Johan (4), Peggy and Robert Rory (aged 1). Catherine is a fisherman's widow; she lost her husband Robert on 7 May 1900 at the age of 40, as a result of consumption of the lungs, which had affected him for 6 months. Robert Montgomery was known as Ruadh and lived at 17 Cromore.Catherine (nee Macleod) originated from 28 Cromore. It is worth noting that another WW1 victim has connections to 28 Cromore: William Bruce . He was a schoolm...

Private MALCOLM CROCKETT Last address in Lewis: 9 Bayhead Street, Stornoway Son of James and Annie Crockett, of 14, Point St., Stornoway. Service unit: 1st Gordon Highlanders Service number: 3/6013 Date of death: 24 October 1914 at the age of 20 Killed in action Memorial: Le Touret Memorial, Panel 39 to 41 Local memorial: Lewis War Memorial; Nicolson WW1 memorial, left panel Was at the front for only 3 weeks Joined the Army Reserve, Gordon Highlanders on 20 March 1912, aged 18 Height: 5 ft 4½ ins Weight 130 lbs Eyes: grey Hair: red Occupation: Fisherman Was mobilised on 8 August 1914 Was sent to the front on 7 October 1914 The 1901 census shows Malcolm, aged 6, at home at 5 Keith Street, Stornoway, with his father James (34) and mother Annie (33), as well as his older siblings Helen Ann (13), James (10), Jessie (8) and younger brother William [Wm], aged 2. James Crockett was a fisherman, originally from Lossiemouth. His wife Annie was born in Stornoway.

During my recent perusal of personnel records of the Australian Imperial Forces in the First World War, I happened across several servicemen who are not mentioned in Loyal Lewis Roll of Honour 1914-1918. They were: Archibald Matheson Mccallum was born on 30 August 1896 to Archibald Mccallum and Elizabeth Matheson. Archibald Sr was schoolmaster at Balallan, but moved away from Lewis in 1898. Archibald Jr joined the Australian Imperial Forces in 1915, and served in France until 1917, when he was discharged due to severe thyroid problems. Archibald Jr returned to Australia, where he lived until his death in 1959 (or thereabouts). Archibald Sr is quoted as having two children (DJ and Christina), but it would appear that Archibald Jr is in fact a third child. William Arthur Bawden was born on 10 February 1895,  a son of Samuel and Sarah Ann of Cromwell Street, Stornoway. Samuel Bawden was a Coastguard. His son emigrated to Australia, and signed up for the AIF on 3 April 1...

This engraved stone caught my eye last Sunday afternoon during a walk through the Newton area of Stornoway. After putting the question on Twitter, I got a reply through the kind intervention of Donald Macsween, from Malcolm Macdonald of the Stornoway Historical Society and local historian Sandy Matheson. This refers to the Admiralty feus for the houses on Seaview Terrace. These included Caberfeidh Buildings as well as the RNR houses. The feu charters are dated 1888 and included what we knew as the Coast Guard houses as well as 2 and 4 on the corner with Seaview Terrace and Battery Road where Colin Ossian [ Colin Macaskill, ADB ] and his parents lived as tenants of the Stornoway Trust. These two houses were of a better design and quality than the ones further east and were presumably for senior ranks. They were demolished circa 1969 by Stornoway Town Council and new houses erected on the site. The semi-detached houses on Battery Road where Robin Mackenzie’s family lived and...

Archibald Matheson Mccallum was born on 30 August 1896 to Archibald Mccallum and Elizabeth Matheson. Archibald Sr was schoolmaster at Balallan, but moved away from Lewis in 1898. Archibald Jr joined the Australian Imperial Forces in 1915, and served in France until 1917, when he was discharged due to severe thyroid problems. Archibald Jr returned to Australia, where he lived until his death in 1959 (or thereabouts). Archibald Sr is quoted as having two children (DJ and Christina), but it would appear that Archibald Jr is in fact a third child.

William Arthur Bawden, referred to in the previous post , does not qualify for a CWGC war grave. He died on 5 September 1920 at the age of 25, having hanged himself. The magisterial inquiry showed that no indication of his state of mind was evident beforehand. We shall never know what did prompt William to take his own life. His death was not attributable to his war service, but that does not mean we will forget his valiant contribution. RIP.

On 10 February 1895, William Arthur Bawden was born to Samuel and Sarah Ann of Cromwell Street, Stornoway. Samuel Bawden was a Coastguard. His son emigrated to Australia, and signed up for the AIF on 3 April 1915 at Rainbow in the state of Victoria. He was a farm labourer, later munitions worker. William saw active service, but developed pneumonia during the autumn of 1917. This left him permanently incapacitated, and he was repatriated to Australia in February 1918. In spite of his poor physical condition, William tried to sign up again in August 1918, but was turned down. He died in 1920 - presumably (but not confirmed) of his illness. If I manage to trace his death record, it will give me confirmation of the cause of death and thereby whether this was service related. If this turns out to be the case, William Bawden may be entered on the CWGC records. For now, I remember him for his service to King and Country between 1915 and 1918. 

Marion Macleod, aged 97, has passed away at the Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway. Mor, born in 1914, would recall the scenes when news of her father's death reached her native village of Earshader, just south of the present-day bridge to Great Bernera. I leave it to the article in Hebrides News for a proper appreciation of her long life. The Iolaire was the ship which foundered just outside Stornoway Harbour on 1 January 1919, carrying 300 passengers and crew. The passengers were all naval ratings from Lewis and Harris, returning home following the Armistice six weeks before. Of these, 205 drowned, in spite of being just a few dozen yards from shore. The strong swell and winds prevented many from reaching safety. Of those lost, more than 60 were never found. The Iolaire Disaster is one of the worst peace-time maritime disasters in British waters - but is very little known outside Lewis. The grief that this tragedy caused was a private grief, and not readily discussed to this...

A chance search turned up another serviceman from Lewis, who had seen action during the First World War. His name is not on the Roll of Honour for his village, Eoropie. Murdoch Mackenzie, a 34-year old sailor, joined up at Claremont, Tasmania, Australia, on 15 June 1916. He was sent to Europe two months later and saw action with the 15th battalion Australian Imperial Forces. He was wounded in action on 23 August 1918. After peace was declared, he returned to Australia and was discharged, medically unfit, on 23 July 1919. Murdoch was the brother of Donald and Dugald; the latter was killed in action in 1915. His father was John Mackenzie of 36 Eoropie.

I am currently researching those men from Lewis who served in the First World War from Australia. One of them survived the ordeal and returned to Australia after being discharged as medically unfit. After the end of the war, he received his King's certificate to say he had served in the Great War. The man involved subsequently moved house, and in the usual clear-up at such a time burned some papers. One of those (gulp) was his King's Certificate. He promptly applied for a replacement - which was sent out to him. Can you imagine what that must have been like for him? I couldn't.