The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Children in Norway find St Kilda mailboat letters
Vessel launched in 2010 to mark 80 years since evacuation of island
Letters posted in a small handcrafted mailboat to mark 80 years since the evacuation of the remote islands of St Kilda have been found 10 years later by children in Norway.
The last 36 people living on the archipelago, 40 miles west of the Outer Hebrides, were evacuated on August 29 1930 after they voted to leave as their way of life was no longer sustainable.
To mark the 80th anniversary of the evacuation, National Trust for Scotland (NTS) archaeologist Ian Mchardy built a small waterproof boat based on the traditional St Kilda mailboats which islanders launched into the sea in the hope they would be picked up by passing ships or reach more populated places.
The boat, which contained postcards to seven people including NTS patron the Prince of Wales, and Norman John Gillies who left St Kilda aged five and died in 2013, was launched into the sea from St Kilda on August 29 2010.
Almost a decade later, four children found the boat more than 1,000 miles away near their grandfather Geir Soreng’s boathouse at the beach on Andoya, the northernmost island in the Vesteralen archipelago off northern Norway in April.
As they carried the boat home, one of the children dropped it and the vessel burst open revealing the seven postcards, still in perfect condition, one of which asked the finder to send the cards on.
Mr Soreng posted the cards to NTS in July
In his letter to NTS, Mr Soreng said: “My four grandkids found a treasure at the beach on Andoya, north of Norway.
It was a postboat in wood, sent from St Kilda in 2010.
“Emil, nine, Ask, nine, Tiril, six, and Erling, four, were excited when they found a secret room in the boat, with seven cards. We had never heard of this fabulous island and are fascinated by the story.”
The card for Mr Gillies was sent to his son John Gillies.
Mr Gillies, who lives in Aldham, Suffolk, said: “My dad died in 2013 but he would have been really chuffed to have received it. For me to get it all these years later, it’s quite touching really.”
The uninhabited archipelago, home to nearly one million seabirds, has been in the care of the NTS since 1957.
Mr Mchardy made the boat out of kiln-dried pine and the postcards were placed in a plastic bag in the hold which was sealed with silicon and painted shut.
He said: “I always suspected and hoped it would turn up eventually but I had no idea where and it was so long that I had kind of given up hope of it being found.”