Trees create ‘living’ Iolaire memorial
A special memorial tree planting event was due to take place in Stornoway yesterday (Wednesday) when 201 trees were being planted along the avenue leading to the town’s war memorial, in remembrance of the men who died in the Iolaire tragedy.
Members of the community were invited to come along to help put the trees in the ground at the site just above Memorial Avenue, where a wide path leads to the war memorial.
The project to commemorate the Iolaire with trees was organised by the Woodland Trust Scotland in partnership with two Lewis community trusts – Point and Sandwick Trust and Stornoway Trust.
It will be the last official planting event in the woodland trust’s four-year centenary woods programme, which has run across the UK from 2014 to 2018 to commemorate all those involved in the First World War.
Similarly, the formal civic event on the anniversary of the disaster, when HMY Iolaire went down on the Beasts of Holm just outside Stornoway as she carried sailors home on leave after the end of the war, will be the final official event in the national four-year programme commemorating the centenary of The Great War.
During the last four years, the Woodland Trust has planted around 150 centenary woods, ranging in size from the flagship 23-hectare plantation at Dreghorn Woods, outside Edinburgh, to much smaller plantations including Bruichladdich on Islay.
A mix of hardy native trees were planted: downy birch, wych elm, bird cherry, rowan and hazel.
The trees were chosen by Viv Halcrow, project officer with the Croft Woodlands project, which runs throughout the Outer Hebrides as a partnership between Point and Sandwick Trust, the Woodland Trust and other agencies.
The types of trees chosen for the Iolaire memorial have been specially chosen for their hardiness but also their loveliness, and Viv believes it will be a beautiful and fitting memorial.
‘The trees we’ll be planting are all native species and they’re very hardy species, so they should grow well in our climate. It’s quite a challenging place to get trees to grow,’ she said.
Angus McCormack, honorary president of Point and Sandwick Trust, added: ‘The tree planting will serve, for many years to come, as a growing memorial for those lost on the Iolaire. Point and Sandwick Trust is proud to be associated with the commemoration.
‘Our trees will be a symbol of hope for the future.’