KYLE

A large crowd gathered at Kyle Pier on December 31 exactly 100 years to the day to mark the commemoration of the HMY Iolaire disaster.

The doomed vessel had left from Kyle carrying more than 200 men back from the war to their homes in the Western Isles. Tragically, the boat hit rocks and 201 men were drowned.

Lord Lieutenant for Ross, Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh Janet Bowen unveiled a plaque on the railway station during a short service of remembrance, conducted by Free Church minister Rev Roddie Rankin.

There were speeches by Royal Navy commander GA Mills, Chief of Staff/ Naval Commander for Scotland and Northern Ireland and by the president of Royal British Legion Scotland, Lieutenant General Sir Alistair Irwin.

Piper Niall Stewart played the piobaireachd, The Iolaire, and Lochalsh branch president Lieutenant Commander Andy Will organised and chaired the event.

Wreaths were laid and a reception followed in the Lochalsh Hotel.

Niall Stewart plays the pipes after the plaque was unveiled.