Pentland Road - 2

I trawled the New Cemetery at Sandwick this afternoon, and came across this lone Norwegian's wargrave, which I had not previously noted. Seaman Eivind Müller's grave was marked in January 2024 by the [Norwegian] War Graves Service in conjunction with its partners in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It was not previously marked. Eivind Müller served on M/S Eli and died in hospital at Stornoway after being attacked by German aircraft near Skerryvore. The grave is marked with an official Norwegian war gravestone for the fallen of the Merchant Navy. The stone is made of Norwegian granite and has a bronze emblem. Eivind was the son of Lars Engelstad Müller and Karoline Mathilde Danielsen. He came from Fjære, a small town some 40 miles south of Oslo (information courtesy Lokalhistoriewiki.no May he rest in peace.

Mol Thagaraidh, a remote shingle bay on the eastern coast of the district of Eishken in Lewis. Three miles, as the sea-eagle flies, from Lemreway; thirty miles overland. The hill of Fiar Chreag towers over the location, and is the final resting place of a Lockheed Hudson III plane, which crashed there on July 31st, 1942. The three crew all perished. It is thought the plane came down in fog, and had it flown but 10 feet higher, it would have cleared the hill. It took a while for the remains of Flying Officer John Derek Brearly Rigby, Flying Officer Frank Richard Hancock and Sergeant Bernard Frederick Charles Rixon to be removed from Mulhagery. Rigby and Hancock are buried at Sandwick; Rixon is at rest at Hoddesdon near Hertford, north of London.  

It was reported over the weekend that a 3 metres (10 feet) tall statue, depicting a bunch of opium poppies, is to be put up at Lews Castle. This to signify the Castle's historical link to the 19th century opium trade, through which its builder, Sir James Matheson, made his fortune. I find the idea faintly odious, because the opium trade that Matheson worked was actually designed to get the Chinese people hooked on the addictive substance that opium is. Made from the sap of Papaver somniferum , opium contains nearly two dozen different substances, all related to morphine - which is highly addictive. When the Chinese government tried to ban the import of opium from India (on British ships), Matheson got the British government to wage a war on China to counteract their prohibition.  This Sunday, I visited Sandwick Cemetery, about a mile east of Stornoway, to photograph a tombstone. One of the names on it was Capt D Mcdonald, who was lost in the China Sea. Upon adding the picture to th...

On June 12, 2020, it will be 80 years since the 51st Highland Division's last stance at St Valery en Caux, northern France. I refer to other sources for a full account of events around that time. This page lists those from the Isle of Lewis who made the supreme sacrifice at or following that action. Company Sergeant-Major JOHN MACLEOD Noidh Mor Last address in Lewis: Hill Street, North Tolsta Son of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth MacLeod; husband of Jessie MacLeod, of North Tolsta Service: 4th Seaforth Highlanders Service number: 2814275 Date of death: 4 June 1940 at the age of 36 Killed in action at St Valery Memorial: Dunkirk, column 124 Mentioned on family gravestone in North Tolsta Cemetery, Lewis Local memorial: North Tolsta View tribute here Private MALCOLM MACKENZIE Last address in Lewis: 14 Aird, Point Son of Norman and Margaret Mackenzie, of Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. Service: 2nd Seaforth Highlanders Service number: 2813466 Date of death: 11 September 1944 a...

Today is the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, which heralded the beginning of the end of the Second World War. Men from the Isle of Lewis were involved in those engagements, and two were lost in Normandy. They gave their today for our tomorrow. RIP. Chief Petty Officer ALEXANDER MORRISON Alec Mhurchie Last address in Lewis: 8 North Tolsta Husband of Mary Morrison, of Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. Service: Naval Auxiliary Personnel (Merchant Navy), HM Rescue Tug Sesame Service number: 1080031 Date of death: 11 June 1944 at the age of 41 Lost off Normandy on ship Memorial: Liverpool Naval, Panel 22, Column 1 Local memorial: North Tolsta View tribute here Fusilier ALEXANDER ROBB Last address in Lewis: 15 Cross Street, Coulregrein Son of Flora Robb, of Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. Service unit: 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers Service number: 2824896 Date of death: 29 June 1944 at the age of 30 Lost in German counter attack at Manvieu Interred: St Manvieu War Cemetery,...

This is the full story, as told on this blog in five parts between 6pm on December 31st and 9am on January 1st. It is Hogmanay 1918, and the war has been over for seven weeks. Survivors from the Western Front and the war at sea are flocking home. As are hundreds of sailors from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Three trains pull into the harbourside station at Kyle of Lochalsh, and hundreds pour onto the platform and adjoining quayside to join a ferry home. The Skye men can take the short hop to Kyleakin, or join the steamer north to Portree. The sailors and soldiers from the Outer Hebrides have a longer journey ahead of them. The mailsteamer for Stornoway, the Sheila is alongside at Kyle, but it very rapidly becomes clear that she has nowhere near enough space to accommodate the hundreds that want to go home to Lewis and Harris. So, a cable is sent to the naval base at Stornoway, and Rear Admiral Boyle sends HMY Iolaire to Kyle to relieve th...

It is just after 9 o'clock, and the sun rises over the mountains of mainland Scotland. Its light sweeps west, and shows up a ship's mast protruding from the sea, only a few dozen yards from the shore of Holm Point. The figure of a man can be made out, as he holds on for dear life. As he has done for nigh upon seven hours. Others had been with him, but their strength had given out, and had fallen into the sea below. The man is saved from his precarious position. He had been one of about three hundred on board Iolaire who had left Kyle the evening before, expecting to arrive in Stornoway at 2 am. Instead, two hundred would never return home, and some sixty would never be retrieved. A gruesome sight presented itself on the shores, beaches and rocky outcrops of eastern Lewis, around the bay of Stornoway. East to Knock, north to Sandwick and Stornoway, south to Grimshader. One hundred and forty bobbed on the tide, lost in the Iolaire . Those that could ...

Iolaire was mortally damaged by her grounding, and would eventually slip from the rocks and sink into the depths beside the Beasts of Holm. Only her mast would be left showing above the waves. Flares were let off, which were spotted by the fishing boat and the Sheila , which were running into Stornoway behind Iolaire. Conditions, however, were too severe for any direct help to be offered by any vessel, as they would place themselves into severe danger. One intrepid man managed to bring a hawser ashore, which was to become a literal lifeline for nearly four dozen souls. Others attempted to use the lifeboats, which were almost immediately swamped by the heavy swell, or smashed on the rocks nearby. For Iolaire only grounded about 50 yards from shore. Those who jumped into the sea drowned almost at once, or were smashed onto the rocks, left lifeless. A life-saving apparatus, a breeches' buoy, which had been brought from Stornoway, came way too late to be usefu...

Conditions in the Minch are now poor, and all on board Iolaire are glad that the journey is nearly over. The passengers, most of them familiar with the passage to Stornoway, are snoozing their way, lulled to slumber by the steady if roughish motion of the waves that Iolaire rides. The captain goes down below to rest, his second-in-command takes over on the bridge. A fishing boat is also on its way home to Stornoway, and is running a broadly parallel course to Iolaire . The passengers can now see the lights of Stornoway ahead, as well as the familiar signal of the Arnish Lighthouse and its secondary beacon. All begin to stir and start to prepare for disembarkation, which is now only about a quarter of or half an hour away. But all is not well. The sound of waves striking shore becomes audible over the noise of wind and swell. The next noise is a far greater one. Iolaire changes course abruptly, as the crew realise they have overshot the harbour entrance. B...

The year 1918 is drawing to a close and Big Ben in London is about to start striking the midnight hour. Six hundred miles to the north, HMY Iolaire is ploughing her way north through the Minch, passing between Raasay, Rona and the Scottish mainland. The weather, which had been reasonable upon departure from Kyle, is turning increasingly windy. A heavy swell is beginning to rise in response to the strong southerly wind. The lighthouses, which serve as reference points for mariners in the Minch, blink their messages to Iolaire . Milaid, on the rocky cliffs near Kebock Head; Rona; Tiumpan Head on the eastern extremity of the Point Peninsula; and Arnish, near the entrance to Stornoway Harbour. In dozens of houses in Lewis, glasses are charged to the New Year. The last year of war is ending. Dry clothes are draped over beds, a stew is heating over the fire. In the blackhouses in Ness, and the town houses of Stornoway. A kettle is at the ready on the stove. A plate, ...

It is Hogmanay 1918, and the war has been over for seven weeks. Survivors from the Western Front and the war at sea are flocking home. As are hundreds of sailors from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Three trains pull into the harbourside station at Kyle of Lochalsh, and hundreds pour onto the platform and adjoining quayside to join a ferry home. The Skye men can take the short hop to Kyleakin, or join the steamer north to Portree. The sailors and soldiers from the Outer Hebrides have a longer journey ahead of them. The mailsteamer for Stornoway, the Sheila is alongside at Kyle, but it very rapidly becomes clear that she has nowhere near enough space to accommodate the hundreds that want to go home to Lewis and Harris. So, a cable is sent to the naval base at Stornoway, and Rear Admiral Boyle sends HMY Iolaire to Kyle to relieve the congestion. Iolaire, the former private steamyacht Amalthea, arrives in the early evening, bumping into the pier as she dock...

In 1607, Stornoway was made a Burgh of Barony , a title the town held until 1975, when all burghs were abolished. In 1629, the Privy Council of Scotland met to consider a complaint from the Commissioners of Burghs against Colin, the Earl of Seaforth - who was the landowner behind the Burgh of Barony that Stornoway was at the time. After the introductory paragraphs lauding the late King James (1566-1625) the record of the Privy Council states that: In the Parliament held at Edinburgh in August 1621 it was ordained, conform to many Acts of preceding Parliaments "that no strangers nor others inhabitants within this kingdome sould packe or peill in anie place of the Yles outwith free burrowes nor transport anie forbiddin goods furth of the same," and they had hoped to have enjoyed the comfort and benefit of this Act. But "to their great greefe", Colin, Earl of Seafort, "who by his birth and place quhilk he halds in teh States sould have contributed his best help...

On 20 April 1917, the converted trawler HMT Ruthin Castle was torpedoed east of Middlesbrough. The 275 ton vessel went down with the loss of 9 hands. Her wreck was dived in 2003 by the late Carl Racey, and her bell was retrieved. One of the casualties came from Barra (James Galbraith), I give details: Leading Deckhand JAMES GALBRAITH Seumas Iain Néill Iain Mhóir Son of Neil Galbraith, of Allasdale, Isle of Barra. Last known address in Barra: Cleat Service unit: Royal Naval Reserve, HMT Ruthin Castle Service number: 882/SD Date of death: 21 April 1917 Ship sunk by mine laid by UC-50 off Skinningrove, east of Middlesbrough Interred: Tynemouth (Preston) Cemetery, C. C. 9583 Local memorial: Barra & Vatersay The Castle Bell shop in Ruthin (North Wales) was in touch to say that they have the bell on display in their shop. They have very kindly shared these images of the display. The below image shows the bell being retrieved from the sea in 2003

The following information was submitted by a reader of the Lewismen in Canadian Service website, regarding Donald Smith, of 11 Aird Tong.  The Roll of Honour says he was wounded twice, but that must have been a mistake. Donald enlisted with the 94th Battalion, Fort William, Ontario (Canada) on 10 Jan 1916. Arriving in England he was transferred to the 43rd (Cameron Highlanders of Winnipeg) Battalion in France. He was decorated twice. Distinguished Conduct Medal Deed of Action 198766 Sergeant Donald Smith 43rd Battalion For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty throughout forty hour's continuous fighting on 27th and 28 August 1918 near Vis-en-Artois, involving two attacks and repeated enemy counter-attacks. He was in the thick of the fighting, accounting for five of the enemy and setting a fine aggressive example to his men. (Authority: London Gazette number 31726, dated 10 January, 1920) Bar to Distinguished Conduct Medal Deed of Action ...

On 9 June 1888, Annie Macleod, living in the village of Knock, Point (in Lewis), gave birth to another child, Donald. He was the sixth, and not the last child. Two more followed, and by the start of 1894, eight children, varying in ages from 1 to 15 years, crowded into the dwelling. It drove the father, Hector, to distraction, to such an extent that he ended his life in September that year. Three months later, Annie also passed away. The eight youngsters were taken into the care of the Quarrier Homes in Glasgow, and emigrated to Canada two years later. Donald signed up for the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Calgary in October 1914, and was injured during the Battle of the Somme. He was transferred to War Hospital at Napsbury, where he passed away on 4 August 1916, at 9.45pm. Due to an error in the paperwork, his remains were transferred to Benbecula, rather than Lewis, and the next-of-kin notified. The next of kin was thought to be Alex Macleod of Gramsdale, but when Alex came t...

This year, 2016, will see the centenary of two major battles during the First World War. The first is the Battle of Jutland, 31st May, the second is the start of the Battle of the Somme. Jutland took place at sea, and led to victory for the Royal Navy, confining the German Hochseeflotte to port, apart from their U-boats. Although the Somme started on July 1st, 1916, it ground on for months, leading to a paltry gaining of territory against terrible, terrible loss of life. The sister blog to Pentland Road, Centenary of Sacrifice , has been running for nearly two years now, and will mention the names of the losses from the islands in both battles on May 31st and July 1st - and beyond. Lest we forget

This is an amended repost of an original entry, which I made on 16 October 2013 . Gallipoli, known in Turkish as Çanakkale, which lies at the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait, west of Istanbul. In 1915, this was the site of a nine-month battle between Allied and Turkish forces. The Allies, including a large contingent of Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) forces, were trying to capture the fortresses and thereby the Dardanelles Strait, opening up a way to Constantinople (as Istanbul was known then) and a way to take Turkey out of the First World War. Poor intelligence is quoted as one of the reasons for the catastrophic failure of the Allies to achieve their aims. Both sides lost a quarter of a million lives. The names Gallipoli and Dardanelles now live on with a shadow over them. Among the Allied casualties were (at least) twelve men from the Isle of Lewis. This post is a salute to the Fallen of Gallipoli, particularly to the twelve men from Lewis, whom I list below. ...

Photographed in September 2006 at Cuddy Point, the plaque dates from 1869, commemorating the silver wedding anniversary of Sir James Matheson and Mary Jane Perceval, held at Lews Castle. Anny Mary Perceval was the mother of Mary Jane, and widow of Michael Henry Perceval. After Sir James Matheson died in 1878, Lady Mary erected a commemorative cupola on the hill above, which was restored in 2005, and pictured in February the following year. The Lewis climate is not kind. Neither is history universally kind on Sir James and Lady Mary. Sir James employed a number of managers who regarded some of the people in the island as so much lumber (read: 1851). Others took advantage of Sir James's absence to abuse their position and wear 32 official hats at the same time, some of which were incompatible with being worn by the same person at the same time (see A Shilling for your Scowl). On the other hand, Sir James can be credited with pushing for some economic developments in Lewis. One of La...

The plaque can be found in the Stornoway ferry terminal, and tells the story of the SS ‪Norge‬. The gravestone is located in the Old Sandwick Cemetery, and is dedicated to the memory of the nine who were landed in ‪#Stornoway‬ but did not survive. Did you know there is a link with RMS ‪‎Titanic‬, which sank on 14 April 1912, with the loss of about 1500 lives? The inquiry that followed the sinking of the Norge concluded that insufficient life-saving apparatus had been on the ship for all on board - 700 drowned for lack of lifeboats etc. It was recommended that all ships should carry sufficient liferafts, lifeboats etc for all on board. But these recommendations were never acted upon at the time. Had they been made compulsory (as they were after the Titanic, in the ‪SOLAS‬ regulations), Titanic's sinking would not have led to the catastrophic loss of life. We remember the victims of both tragedies.

Bonnie Prince Charlie's cairn at Arnish, south of Stornoway.  Kildun, where he stayed the night, is no more. The farmhouse was demolished in 1974 to make way for the Fabrication Yard. Were it to return, it would be floating in thin air - the hill it stood on was bulldozed away. The below image of the house was taken in the 1950s, BPC is not a figure in Scottish history I have much time for. He was badly advised, or else he did not take heed of military advice. The consequences of his failure, after being defeated at Culloden in 1746, are well documented. Changes in Scottish society were speeded up, not caused by Culloden. However, Charles Edward gave men like Cumberland the pretext to commit the atrocities that were visited upon the Highlands and Islands in subsequent years. The burghers of Stornoway could not, or would not, give succour to BPC - but neither did they want to betray him. He was allowed to slip away across moor and loch, back to Eilean Iubhair in ...