Pentland Road - 2

John Macleay of Lower Shader was interned in Holland from October 1914. After his death in August 1915, the Groningen newspaper Nieuwsblad van het Noorden gave a full account of the ceremony surrounding his burial in the Zuiderbegraafplaats cemetery in the city. The translation is given below the summary of John's personal and military information. Seaman JOHN MACLEAY Last address in Lewis: 38 Lower Shader, Son of John and Annie MacLeay. Born at Shader Barvas, Lewis. Service unit: Royal Naval Division, Collingwood Battallion Service number: CH/2588/B Date of death: 26 August 1915 at the age of 31 Died in Groningen during internment in Holland Interred: Groningen Southern cemetery, Holland North-West part, Class 4, row 37 Local memorial: North Lewis, Borve Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, Groningen, Holland, 30 August 1915 "On Saturday morning at 10 o'clock, the funeral took place of the English internee John MacLeay, who succumbed to tuberculosis in the Academic Hosp...

Norman Martin, 30 Upper Shader , was a regular soldier in the Scots Guards.  For some reason he left the regiment and rejoined later under another name.  John Macdonald (he may or may not have used the same address). He was wounded and died the following day in 1916.  I have found a John Macdonald, (11333) Scots Guards, who died 19 June 1916 but place of birth quoted as Glasgow. Maybe; but the connection is not strong enough.

The Roll of Honour mentions a family of Macivers, living at Carnan House in North Shawbost. Nowadays, Carnan House is the big house to the west end of Loch na Muilne, off the main road between Shawbost and Bragar. The Macivers had come from Lochcarron, where the 1901 census shows them with 11 children, ranging in age from 1 to 16. I summarise the census return for the Police Station at Lochcarron. John (who originates from Uig, Lewis) is aged 53, and a police sergeant. He is married to Isabella (42, from Barvas, Lewis) and has 11 children at the time. Apart from Iver (or Evander), the census shows Helen (16), John (14), Donald (13), Mary (11), Kenneth (9), Isaac (8), Isabella Margaret (4), Roderick (3), Angus (2) and Kate Jane (1). The boys, as listed in the 1901 census, all joined up for the First World War. Two lost their lives, Evander in 1916, serving with the Canadians and Kenneth in the same year,whilst serving in the Ross Mountain Battery. The other five brothers survi...