Yesterday, I mentioned the correspondence in Scottish newspapers surrounding the sinking of HMY [His Majesty's Yacht] Iolaire in 1919. The image above shows the immediate aftermath of the disaster. At daybreak, at 9 am on New Year's Day 1919, one man was found hanging in the rigging of the mast. Seven others had been with him, but were unable to hang on and had fallen down, and had drowned. It is impossible to imagine the depth of grief that the loss of 200 young men brought to Lewis. Today, I was sent a transcript of an article from the Glasgow Herald of January 4th, 1919:
An old man sobbing into his handkerchief with a stalwart son in khaki sitting on the cart beside him, the remains of another son in the coffin behind --- that was one of the sights seen today as one of the funeral parties emerged from the barrack gate. Another, an elderly woman, well dressed, comes staggering down the roadway and bursts into a paralysis of grief as she tells the sympathisers at the gate that her boy is in the mortuary. Strong men weeping and women wailing or wandering around with blanched, tear stained faces are to be seen in almost every street and there are groups of them at the improvised mortuary
The islanders found it impossible to speak about the disaster. It was locked away in a cupboard. The last survivor died in 1992. A list of names, of survivors and casualties, was compiled by the Stornoway Historical Society, and can be accessed from this link. The following was the resulting feedback:
(1) A gentleman emailed me from southwest Scotland, saying: "I knew nothing of the Iolaire Disaster [...]. Very moving but tragic that more people don't know more about a large group of young men taken in such tragic circumstances. To have survived a war and then die within sight of home is beyond belief." Others expressed similar sadness.
(2) One lady contacted me from Ontario, Canada. Her ancestors came from Marvig (South Lochs). She gave me permission to reproduce their story.
"My grampa's younger brother, Donald MacLeod (7 Marbhig, then Stornoway),
died coming into harbour on the Iolaire. From the memorial in South Lochs I think two of my greatgrandparents' brothers were killed in the war, as well as losing Donald. My grandfather Alasdair was forbidden from fishing anymore for fear he'd drown too, after his family's losses. A torment for him, as he loved the sea and fishing. He drove for Lord Leverhulme then went to the shipyards in Glasgow to make some money. Her returned to Stornoway for a short time then came to Canada on one of the two ships
for which there were no passenger lists. Settled in our praries for a time (no water at all) then went west to Vancouver Island for the remainder of his lifetime... built himself a little boat and enjoyed it to the end in 1980. So fortunate I visited Stornoway last summer and saw for myself why Alaisdair chose Nanaimo...it looked so like Stornoway...
His mother I think suffered too much heartbreak for it all and was a lost soul in the sanatorium for the rest of her life. And oddly, when I've written lyrics all through my life they have been laden with images of water, and the sea...long before I knew of this event in my family's history. Funny how these things can follow you. I'd not be at all if it weren't for the Iolaire disaster...a ponderous thought, that."
(3) One correspondent mentioned that her ancestors came from Harris, but wondered whether any had been on the Iolaire.
(4) Another reaction bears out the extreme distress that the Iolaire Disaster caused within the islands: "I only found that my grandfather's first cousin [...] was lost on the Iolaire when I looked up his death certificate. The family had never mentioned or talked of him. I go to Harris and will post a photo of his headstone after my next visit. I only learned of how he died after my last trip to the island."
I very recently received this link, which carries more stories.
The Iolaire Disaster is little known outside the Hebrides, although its death toll exceeds that of the disaster with the Herald of Free Enterprise outside Zeebrugge in 1986. Another shipwreck, dating back to 1904, took place at Rockall. The Norge, on its way from Norway to America, foundered on this island, 225 miles west of Scotland. Hundreds perished; 9 are buried at Stornoway.
As long standing readers know, during my stay in Lewis, I have taken on board some aspects of the island's history. In the early hours of New Year's Day 1919, a boat, carrying 300 islanders returning from the First World War, was on its way from Kyle of Lochalsh to Stornoway. On the approach to Stornoway, it struck rocks on the Beasts of Holm, a small reef. 205 drowned, 75 survived. The exact circumstances of the grounding have never been cleared up. The naval reservists on board could, to a man, have taken the boat, called the Iolaire into port. An inquiry was launched, but no conclusions were drawn.
Earlier this year, I was given a list of names, and I gathered pictures of the men who died and of the survivors. One of my sources, a man from Aberdeen, is scathing (putting it mildly) about the attitude of the British authorities towards their conscripts, and towards those who perished on the Iolaire. I think it is understandable, if I give you these two quotes.
Prior to the inquiry, a number of national papers had an accusation to the effect that "the men drowned because they were Gaelic speakers who could not understand orders given in English". This false allegation was quickly dropped before the inquiry proper started. It was pointed out that many had been at sea for years, and non-commissioned officers &c during the war. The allegation infuriated many of the islanders and their shipmates who had served at sea. This letter was printed in the Glasgow Herald, a major Scottish newspaper, on 11 January 1919,
Sir, I should like to take exception to a remark made in the account given by a correspondent, of the above sad disaster in the "Herald" of the 6 inst. He says that probably a great deal of confusion was caused by the fact that orders were given in English at the critical moment instead of in Gaelic, which the men would have understood better. I am well acquainted with the people of Lewis in general, and have sailed with their seamen for a long number of years, and never yet met a Lewisman that could not speak and understand English equally as well as Gaelic. In the majority of cases, when away for long periods, as sailors are, they never speak anything but English. So I do not think it would make any difference at all whether orders were given in Gaelic or English. It seems apparent that the ship's boats could not withstand the storm and heavy sea which was raging at the time, and it was a case of "every man for himself." By the accounts given the Arnish Light was quite visible for a long distance out at sea, which was a sufficient guide for bringing the vessel into Stornoway Harbour, combined with the Beacon Light. If, on the other hand, the lights were obscured for any length of time, why was the vessel not slowed or stopped and navigated with caution when such a number of precious lives were involved? I am almost certain that the majority of these poor seamen, who were natives of Lewis, were quite capable of taking the vessel into the harbour had they been in a position to do so., and I am pleased that the Lewis people are demanding a public inquiry which I hope, will help to clear up the mist. - ---- I am, etc.. ONE WELL ACQUAINTED WITH THE COAST.
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