ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO Saturday March 24, 1923
Margaret Shelawell, a 21-year-old student of St Andrews University, was rescued on Friday night after spending 27 hours on a ledge about 3,000 feet up in the mountains south of Ben Nevis, only to die of her injuries in the Belford Hospital.
She had gone out from the youth hostel in Glen Nevis on a climbing expedition with a party of 40 members of Saint Andrews Mountaineering Club. At about 3,000 feet up she slipped and fell 40 feet down a deep declivity.
When news of the accident reached Fort William, a rescue party set out, led by Mr DG Duff, surgeon superintendent of the Belford Hospital, and experienced mountaineer.
Owing to the flooding of the River Nevis it was impossible to affect a rescue, but with the aid of steel wires and a rope Mr Duff was able to cross, render first aid to the student, and leave her comfortable for the night.
The rescue was resumed on Saturday, when the floods had subsided and the injured girl was conveyed to the Belford Hospital, where she was found to be suffering from extensive head injuries from which she has since died.
And, in a second tragedy, as he was being carried in a dying condition down a Glencoe gully, 24-year-old student Anthony Sherrard exonerated from all blame another climber who fell and dragged him down. Sherrard’s home was at Lyme Regis.
He was leading the climb and when about
A division of the Scottish Land Court consisting of Mr Norman Reid and Mr Donald Mackay, with Mr GR Lamb, legal assessor, and Mr Ronald Brown, clerk of court, held sittings in South Uist last week for the purpose of hearing applications for compensation for permanent improvements on renunciation of the holdings by a number of hand holders on the estate of Lady Cathcart, who are emigrating to Canada.
The proprietrix was represented by Mr John Macdonald, factor, Askirnish.
Over 30 families from South Uist are emigrating in the course of next month and the court dealt with 16 cases, the others having been adjusted between the claimants and the estate.
In every case the proprietrix waived her right to the full statutory notice of renunciation of one year and consented to the claims being immediately dealt with in order to enable the parties involved to have the claims decided before they emigrate.
In cases where the Board of Agriculture for Scotland were interested in respect of outstanding balances of loans to the renouncing landholders the proprietrix had arranged for obtaining the board’s consent to the claims being dealt with. It is understood that in almost every case the renounced holdings have already been let.
In these cases the court heard evidence and will inspect the holdings in the course of this week. The awards, it is expected, will be ready for issue before the court leaves the island at the end of this week.