Pentland Road - 2

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.

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" sti...