Isle of Lewis (4): The Beasts of Holm and the Iolaire, January 1, 2019

On a sunny July day in 2017, Cousin Don and his wife Pat took me to see The Beasts of Holm, and Don told me of the tragedy that struck His Majesty's Yacht Iolaire on the night of 1 January 1919. 
It was late afternoon as we approached the spot, and the light on sky, sea and tussock was glorious:

 Looking in another direction, toward the wind turbines, the clouds had created a wide pathway in the sky:

and the sea was benign:

Late on the evening of 31 December 1918, the Iolaire left the port of Kyle of Lochalsh to carry sailors who had fought in the First World War back to the Isle of Lewis. At 2:30 am the following morning, New Year's Day, as the ship approached the port of Stornoway, a few yards offshore and a mile away from the safety of Stornoway Harbour, she hit the infamous rocks, The Beasts of Holm, and sank. Those on board would have been able to see the lights of Stornoway. 
The death toll was officially put at 205, of whom 181 men were islanders but as the ship was overcrowded and there was a lack of proper records, the toll could have been higher. The impact of the disaster was devastating to the Islands; they had lost almost a generation of young men from the Islands. The sailors were wearing their uniforms including heavy boots, which made swimming from the wreck difficult, if indeed they knew how to swim. 

The Beasts of Holm, Isle of Lewis   Photo: Ann Barrie

The Beasts of Holm, Isle of Lewis   Photo: Ann Barrie

Monument to the Iolaire, Isle of Lewis  Photo: Ann Barrie

Monument to the Iolaire, Isle of Lewis   Photo: Ann Barrie

Monument to the Iolaire, Isle of Lewis  Photo: Ann Barrie

The tragedy of the Iolaire is why for the people of of the Isle of Lewis, World War I did not end on 11 November 2018, and why they will remember the Iolaire on 1 January 2019.

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Postscript 20 December 2018: My cousin Rory and his wife Rita, who live in Ness on the Isle of Lewis, sent me a commemorative pin which was produced to mark the 100^th anniversary of the Iolaire tragedy. The inscription reads: IOLAIRE 1^st January 2019.

Commemorative pin & newspaper article on the Iolaire  Photo: Ann Barrie

Rory and Rita also sent a comprehensive article, which appeared in the local newspaper, and describes the public launch of a new book Darkest dawn: the story of the Iolaire tragedy, by Malcolm Macdonald and Donald John MacLeod. The book runs to nearly 500 pages, and tells the story of every man on board – those who were lost and the survivors – as well as the stories of their families and the community they left behind. At the launch, Malcolm said that the mystery of the Iolaire and why she hit the Beasts will never be properly known, but he personally believes she made an error in sailing too far up the Minch before turning to port for the final approach into Stornoway. The e-version of the newspaper article is on the www.events.com website, Events _53 08/11/18 – 06/12/18.

Blog by Ann Barrie