Prince Charles and First Minister join hundreds for Iolaire service
Prince Charles, in his role as Lord of the Isles, together with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, joined hundreds of people, some from as far afield as Canada, in Stornoway on New Year’s Day to remember those involved in the tragic sinking of HMY Iolaire exactly 100 years after the disaster.
The ship hit the Beasts of Holm rocks, around 20 yards from Stornoway’s coastline as it brought men home from the First World War.
Of around 300 on board, more than 200 men from Lewis and Harris perished along with the crew.
Organised by WW100 Scotland in conjunction with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), the national commemorative service, which was held at midday at the Iolaire memorial, was also attended by local people, Iolaire descendants, Scotland’s most senior naval officer Rear Admiral John Weale and the Convener of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Norman A Macdonald, each of whom laid a wreath.
Conducted by the Very Reverend Dr Angus Morrison, the service included a reading of Isaiah 43 1-7 by Prince Charles, The Iolaire Lament played by Stornoway piper Finlay Macleod and The Iolaire Centenary Prayer, which was composed and led by the minister. The end of the two-minute silence was marked with reveille by Royal Marine bugler James Trowbridge.
A new sculpture to commemorate the Iolaire, adjacent to the memorial, was unveiled by Prince Charles.
Prince Charles and Ms Sturgeon met Iolaire victims’ descendants and the 29-strong Royal Naval Guard. Descendants included Anne Frater, whose great-grandfather perished, and Malcolm Macdonald, whose grandfather also died in the disaster.
As the service took place on land, a similar event, led by the Reverend James Maciver of Stornoway Free Church, was held on board Caledonian MacBrayne’s MV Loch Seaforth ferry near where the Iolaire hit the rocks.
More than 500 people were on board, including schoolchildren from the Western Isles who threw 201 red carnations into the sea.
Ms Sturgeon said: ‘As we welcome in the New Year, today in Stornoway we rightly look back 100 years and remember those lost on the Iolaire – a tragedy that involved so many, so close to shore and, for most of the men, so close to home.
‘We reflect on those who
perished and how survivors, family, friends and the wider communities on Lewis, Harris and Berneray must have felt.
‘It may have been a century ago, but the legacy of the Iolaire will never be forgotten.
‘I was honoured to be part of the commemorations and meet descendants.’
Convener of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and chairman of the Iolaire Working Group, Norman A Macdonald, commented: ‘This was a very poignant service that chimes very much with the events that have already taken place and will continue to take place into the future, throughout the communities from the Butt to Barra, in memory of the men who lost their lives so close to shore.’
In the early hours of the morning of January 1, the comhairle’s convener also led a small vigil at the memorial to the minute the Iolaire hit the rocks.
And at 3pm on December 31, at Kyle Railway Station where the sailors disembarked before heading for the Iolaire 100 years ago, a special commemoration was held by Legion Scotland.
Lord Lieutenant of Ross and Cromarty and Skye and Lochalsh, Mrs Janet Bowen CVO, unveiled a plaque and both she and Sir Alistair Irwin, president of the Royal British Legion Scotland, laid wreaths.