Iolaire disaster recalled on isle

The disaster followed the end of World War I

The 90th anniversary of the wrecking of a ship carrying hundreds of sailors home following the end of World War I has been marked on the Western Isles.

About 300 people gathered at a memorial on Lewis dedicated to the Iolaire disaster in which 205 of the 280 passengers died.

The yacht was wrecked on a reef called the Beasts of Holm off Lewis in the early hours of 1 January 1919.

Most of those killed were from Lewis and Harris.

The crowd at the memorial included a 94-year-old woman whose father died in the disaster.

Six wreaths were laid at sea at the spot where the tragedy occurred while others were laid at the memorial.

The service was rounded off with a flypast by a Coastguard helicopter.

The last survivor of the Iolaire - which means "eagle" in Gaelic - died in 1992.

The whole community went silent. Women wore black for two generations Malcolm Macdonald

Leader of Western Isles Council Angus Campbell, said: "Although this is a painful remembrance for many island families, the fact that the event is being marked in this way is a testament to the strong community ethos which is still deeply etched in island life."

The disaster devastated the small island community of Lewis, which had already lost about 1,000 young men to World War I.

The Iolaire set sail from Kyle of Lochalsh on New Year's Eve 1918.

Making its final approach into Stornoway harbour on a dark night and in a strong gale, it changed course at the wrong point.

With the lights of the harbour in sight, the ship struck the rocks t full speed and immediately began to tilt, filling up with water.

Although the stern of the boat was at one point just 20ft from land, many were weighed down by their heavy uniforms and were unable to swim ashore.

The next morning the bodies that had been recovered or washed up were laid on the rocks for families to identify.

Malcolm Macdonald, who lost his grandfather on the Iolaire and is writing a book about the disaster, said: "People were waiting at Stornoway harbour for the families to arrive.

"Apart from the bodies washed up on the shore, there were children's toys that the men had brought home for Christmas.

"It sent a shudder through the island. One family from Portnaguran, who had already lost three sons in the war, lost a fourth son on the Iolaire."

Close-knit community

The cause of the disaster was never conclusively determined. A public inquiry was unable to establish the reasons for the accident.

Mr Macdonald said: "There was no contact with the harbour and no flare before she went onto the rocks, so it was almost certainly a navigational error by the officers."

The tragedy cast a shadow over the island for decades, with the close-knit community drawing a veil of silence over the incident.

"It wasn't until the 1950s that people started talking about it," Mr Macdonald said.

"It was 40 years before they decided to build a memorial and before survivors started to talk about it at all.

"It's almost as if they felt guilty that they had survived.

"My father couldn't talk about it. My sister didn't know our grandfather had been lost on the Iolaire until she was 13.

"The whole community went silent. Women wore black for two generations."