HMY Iolaire
![]() As Amalthaea in 1908
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History | |
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Name | Iolaire |
Namesake | Eagle (in Scottish Gaelic) |
Owner | Royal Navy |
Launched | 1881 |
Fate | Wrecked, 1 January 1919 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Yacht |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Het_Engelse_stoomjacht_met_350_opvarenden_lijdt_schipbreuk_bij_%27Beast_of_Holm%27%2C_riffen_voor_de%2C_SFA022806671.jpg/220px-Het_Engelse_stoomjacht_met_350_opvarenden_lijdt_schipbreuk_bij_%27Beast_of_Holm%27%2C_riffen_voor_de%2C_SFA022806671.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/Een_van_de_reddingsboten_van_de_vergane_%27Iolaire%27_is_tegen_de_rotsen_geslagen%2C_SFA022806673.jpg/220px-Een_van_de_reddingsboten_van_de_vergane_%27Iolaire%27_is_tegen_de_rotsen_geslagen%2C_SFA022806673.jpg)
HMY Iolaire was an Admiralty Yacht that sank at the entrance to Stornoway harbour on 1 January 1919, with the loss of at least 201 men out of the 283 on board. The overcrowded vessel was trying to negotiate a difficult route under exceptionally bad weather conditions. The disaster cost the Isle of Lewis almost the whole of its young male population.
Sinking
His Majesty's Yacht Iolaire (
John F. Macleod from
The sailors were wearing their uniforms including heavy boots, which made swimming from the wreck difficult; many men of that time had never had the opportunity to learn. Many songs and poems, such as An Iolaire, describe the women of these men finding their men washed up on the shore the next day. The sinking is the worst maritime disaster (for loss of life) in United Kingdom waters in peacetime, since the wreck of the SS Norge off Rockall in 1904 and the worst peacetime disaster involving a British ship since Titanic on 15 April 1912.[1]
An Admiralty enquiry found no satisfactory explanation for the disaster. Its inconclusive findings generated much ill feeling amongst the Lewis population, amidst accusations of a "whitewash". While drunkenness among the crew was discounted at the enquiry, the vessel was sailing at night, in poor visibility and in deteriorating weather. The entrance to Stornoway harbour is not the most straightforward of navigations and it is possible that navigational error was to blame.[citation needed] This hypothesis appears to be supported by the crew of a fishing vessel who noted that Iolaire was not navigating the correct course for entering the harbour.
Memorial
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Iolaire_Memorial.jpg/220px-Iolaire_Memorial.jpg)
The sinking was one of the worst maritime disasters in British waters during the 20th century. A memorial was erected in 1958 at Holm, outside Stornoway.[2] A stone pillar sticks out of the water at the site of the wreck, which can be seen to starboard as the car ferry approaches the harbour entrance. The community-led commemoration of the centenary was marked in a number of ways including by musicians such as Julie Fowlis and Duncan Chisholm, as well as local artists such as Malcolm Maclean.[3] The disaster has been included in the Arts and Humanities Research Council "Living Legacies (1914-18)" project, led by Abertay University and The Centre for History, University of the Highlands and Islands and the resulting app highlights the nature and extent of the loss felt by families and communities.[4]
A national commemorative service was held at the memorial on 1 January 2019 to mark the centenary of the disaster, attended by First Minister of Scotland
See also
- List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll
Notes
- ^ Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [ˈjul̪ˠɪɾə] or [ˈjul̪ˠɪðə], varying slightly according to the dialect; the English-speaking crew used a spelling pronunciation of /ˈaɪ.əlɛər/ and this was also adopted by Gaelic speakers.
Footnotes
- ^ a b "Sinking of HMY Iolaire - list of all on board at time of grounding". Across Two Seas. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- ^ "Iolaire Memorial". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
- ^ "Isle of Lewis prepares mass commemoration for people of Iolaire". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ "Visualising the lolaire". Living Legacies 1914-18. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ "Commemorative service for Iolaire disaster". BBC News. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ "Iolaire Commemorative Sculpture Unveiled". Gael Force Group. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
References
- Dòmhnallach, Tormod Calum (1978). Call na h-Iolaire (in Scottish Gaelic and English). Stornoway: Acair. ISBN 978-0-86152-000-8.
- MacLeod, John (2009). When I Heard The Bell. Edinburgh: Birlinn Press. ISBN 978-1-84158-858-2.
- Sea Sorrow: The Story of the Iolaire Disaster (The Loss of the Admiralty Yacht "Iolaire" on New Year's Morning, 1919). Stornoway: Stornoway Gazette. 1972 [1959]. ISBN 978-0-903960-01-4.
External links
- Ness Historical Society Article (via Archive.org)
- Across Two Seas: The sinking of H.M.Y. Iolaire - 1 January 1919
- The Independent: New Year's Day 1919: A private tragedy at Lewis
- National Library of Scotland: Iolaire: Echoes of a Peacetime Disaster
- National Library of Scotland: The Stornoway disaster of 1919
- The Scotsman: The Iolaire disaster, where 200 men died yards from shore
- Stornoway Historical Society: Iolaire Disaster
- Virtual Hebrides: Iolaire Disaster
- Visualising the Iolaire