Iolaire Disaster

THE "IOLAIRE" DISASTER.
(1st JANUARY, 1919,)
CROWNING SORROW OF THE WAR.

"Toll for the Brave—
The Brave ! that are no more :
All Sunk beneath the Wave,
Fast by their native Shore."

THE overwhelming catastrophe of 1st January, 1919, which plunged Lewis into bitterest sorrow, sent a thrill of horror and a wave of sympathy throughout the English-speaking world. Apart from the great loss of life, the whole surrounding circumstances —the place, the time, the season, the mystery as to the cause of the disaster—were calculated to touch a responsive chord in every feeling heart, as was shown by the generous contributions which poured into the Relief Fund from all parts of the home country and from the most distant colonies and dependency of the Empire. Among the first messages of sympathy received were those from their Majesties the King and Queen, and Queen Alexandra.

As the foregoing pages of this memorial volume amply testify, the Island of Lewis had a record for war service excelled by no part of the King's Dominions, and—in proportion to population—equalled by few. For the four and a half years of war, Death's messenger had been no stranger in the homes of Lewis, for hundreds of our gallant Islesmen had fallen on battlefields m foreign lands or found their last resting place in the silent depths of war-swept seas. But the Armistice was signed and the perils of war were past when the crowning sorrow fell on Lewis. It was New Year's Eve, too, and the whole ship's company, in festive mood, were homeward bound for the glad re-union so long and so lovingly anticipated, and well they knew how eagerly their homecoming was awaited and what preparations were even then being made to welcome them. All this, only to be shipwrecked at the very entrance to Stornoway Harbour with appalling loss of life. What a tragedy!

The following account of the great disaster is taken from the columns of the Stornoway Gazette: —
No one now alive in Lewis can ever forget the 1st of January, 1919, and future generations will speak of it as the blackest day in the history of the island, for on it 200 of our bravest and best perished on the very threshold of their homes under the most tragic circumstances.

The terrible disaster at Holm on New Year's morning has plunged every home and every heart in Lewis into grief unutterable. Language cannot express the anguish, the desolation, the despair which this awful catastrophe has inflicted. One thinks of the wide circle of blood relations affected by the loss of even one of the gallant lads, and imagination sees these circles multiplied by the number of the dead, overlapping and overlapping each other till the whole island—every hearth and home in it—is shrouded in deepest gloom.

All the island's war losses of the past four cruel years—although these number fully four times the death roll of New Year's Day morning —are not comparable to this unspeakable calamity.

The black tragedy has not a redeeming feature. The surrounding circumstances but add to the horror of it. Some of these circumstances will form the subject of the searching and impartial inquiry which is being called for, and give Lewis back her dead.

Other circumstances having no relation to the cause of the disaster add poignancy to it. For over four years, on all the seven seas, many of the men so suddenly hurled to their doom had braved the elements in defence of Liberty and Right. And not only the old perils of the deep, but all the new infernal inventions of man for the destruction of human life — the floating mine, the cowardly submarine, the deadly torpedo.

Not a few of them had suffered shipwreck time and again during the war, but always they escaped. And now with all these perils past, and the peace and comfort and liberty so well earned in prospect, they come home only to be cruelly done to death within twenty yards of shore and at the very entrance to Stornoway harbour!

Lewis, God knows, had already had more than her fair share of the losses of the war, but hard as these were to bear, there was alleviation for the heart pain in the thought that the men died fighting in a just and glorious cause, and that they lost their lives consciously facing death. Our boys had fought on every battle front, as well as on their natural element, the sea. Eight hundred of them, it is estimated, made the supreme sacrifice. To this huge toll New Year's morning at one fell stroke added 200 more—two hundred men hurled into eternity through no fault of their own and with scarce a chance to save themselves.

And what is the story ? Briefly, it is this : —
Hundreds of our boys were getting home on New Year leave, and they were being rushed down to Kyle of Lochalsh where no adequate provision was made for their conveyance across the Minch by the Admiralty or the War Office, whom they had served so well. Between forty or fifty of those who reached Kyle on the Monday failed to get a passage to Stornoway and were stranded overnight at Kvle. Some 500 came on by train on Tuesday, so that altogether over 500 persons—soldiers, sailors, and civilians—en route for Stornoway were at Kyle on the last day of the year. This was beyond the capacity of the mail steamer Sheila, and H.M. Yacht Iolaire—parent ship of the Stornoway base—was sent to Kyle to assist. The soldiers and civilians and a few of the sailors were put on board the Sheila, and some 260 (all naval ratings) were assigned to the Iolaire, which in addition carried a crew of 23. The company included many boys in their 'teens coming home on their first leave since enlistment. There were also there many veterans who had been mobilised in August, 1914, and were coming home from the ends of the earth on their first leave since the outbreak of hostilities. On the deck of the Iolaire men met with schoolmates whom they had not seen since together they rushed to the Colours four and a-half years ago. The older men were glad to meet with relatives whom they had left behind as pupils in the village school, now striplings in naval uniform. Two hours' steaming from Stornoway the New Year was welcomed in in timehonoured fashion. All were in high spirits. Gaelic song and sentiment called up to the mind visions of the warm welcome that awaited them round the blazing peat fires. Nothing was further from their thoughts than death, and as the light on Arnish point, which marks the entrance to Stornoway harbour, drew near, many began getting their kit together, expecting in a very short time to be safely moored at the well-known wharf.

Suddenly there was a crash, and the ship heeled over to starboard. When she listed huge waves came breaking over her and 50 or 60 men jumped into the sea. All of them perished. Survivors state that they heard no orders given from the bridge, and the greatest confusion prevailed. It is also stated that the rockets to summon assistance were fired by one of the passengers—Alexander Maciver, Shader, Point, who himself perished in the wreck.

It was impossible in the pitch blackness to see the land, which, as it transpired,was less than 20 yards distant. When rocket lights were fired the landscape was lit up, and it was found that the stern of the vessel was only half a dozen yards from a ledge of rocks connecting with the shore. There was a tremendous rush of water between the stern and the rocks, but many men were tempted to try to reach the shore there, and scores of them were drowned or killed by being dashed on the rocks. As the ship settled down she turned broadside on to the shore, thus breaking the force of the seas amidships, and it was at this point all who were saved got off. Several swam ashore, and one man, John F. Macleod, Port cf Ness, took with him a life-line by means of which a hawser was pulled ashore and made fast between the beach and the ship.

About 30 or 40 men got ashore by hanging on to the rope, and altogether 75 men were saved from the wreck. The loss of life is therefore over 200, but the exact figures are not yet known, as, of course, there was no list of the passengers taken at Kyle. In many cases the relatives were not advised by the men to expect them, and there are instances where people who had gone to express sympathy with neighbours afterwards learning that their own sons or brothers were on board and had perished in the great catastrophe.

About 3 o'clock in the morning one of the survivors, in a dazed condition, made his way, he cannot tell how, to Stoneyfield farmhouse, where after rousing the inmates, he was hospitably received by Mr and Mrs Anderson Young. Mrs Young and her maids worked eagerly to prepare comforts for the shipwrecked men, who commenced to arrive in little groups, attracted by the lights now showing from the farmhouse windows. Everything possible was done for them, and the worst cases were put to bed, and were afterwards conveyed to the Sick Bay at the Battery. Those able to walk set out on foot for Stornoway, between two and three miles distant, where they roused relatives and obtained a change of clothes. Soon the town was ringing with news of the frightful disaster, and many made their way to the scene. Taking the shorter way by the Sandwick Beach, evidence of the terrible happening was soon found, for along the shore portions of the wreckage were strewn, and here and there the body of a drowned man which had been cast up on the tide was found and carried beyond the reach of the sea.

It was still dark when the first of the townsfolk reached Holm, and there was a high sea running. The wreck was found lying between the Beasts of Holm and the shore. She had disappeared all but her masts, one of which was broken. Perched on the top of the remaining mast was one of the survivors, clinging in a most precarious position. Other two men had been on the mast with him, but they had become numb, fell off, and were drowned. Help for the plucky lad was impossible from the sea owing to the storm and the position of the wreck. From the land, help, too, was impracticable. Onlookers suffered intensely at their own helplessness to rescue the man, who was within speaking distance and threatened momentarily with death. As daylight came the storm abated and the sea grew calmer. Between 9 and 10 o'clock one of the patrol boats, by pouring oil on the sea, was able to get a small boat to the rescue, and the brave boy was taken off to the great relief of the crowds that watched his sufferings and admired his endurance. He was found to be Donald Morrison, 7 Knockard. He was, as can well be imagined, completely exhausted, but taken to the Lewis Hospital , he made a quick recovery.

A visit to the scene of the disaster on Thursday revealed a heartrending sight. After leaving the road as it turns into Holm Farm a walk of a few hundred yards brought one to the green sward overlooking the wreck. Here were gathered no idle sightseers, for all had come in quest of the remains of near relatives. On the grass were laid out the bodies that had been recovered from the sea, and below the crews of eight row-boats proceeded in silence with their work of dragging round the wreck. At very short intervals the grappling irons brought another and another of the bodies to the surface, and the crews proceeded with them to the ledge where they were being landed. Here they were placed on stretchers and slowly and laboriously the bearers clambered up with them to be laid out reverently on the grass lands above. Scarce a word was spoken, and the eyes of strong men filled with tears as the wan faces were scrutinised with mingled hope and fear of identification.

The remains as they were recovered were brought to a temporary mortuary at the Naval Barracks, where relatives of the missing men from all parts of the island gathered. As the bodies were identified they wore handed over to the friends, and the little processions of carts in groups of two and three, each with its coffin, passed through the Barrack gates on their way to some mourning village for interment.

Each day this week several unidentified bodies were buried at Sandwick Cemetery—on Tuesday there were seven of these. The exact number of men on board was 284, of whom 79 survived, leaving 205 men missing. Of these 138 bodies have been recovered, 8 of whom have not been identified. All the officers of ths ship were lost. From the mournful lists given elsewhere in these columns it will be seen that the ascertained Lewis loss is 174, of which Stornoway Parish lost 66, Barvas Parish 51, Uig Parish 24, and Lochs Parish 33. The remainder of the unfortunate victims were natives of Harris or members of the crew.