AN IOLAIRE
The Iolaire
After the horrors of the First World War, sailors were returning home to celebrate peacetime with their families in the Western Isles.
HMY Iolaire set sail from Kyle of Lochalsh on the 31st December 1918.
1.55am, 1st January 1919:
As they approached Stornoway - within a mile of the pier, where their families were waiting - the Iolaire struck the rocks known as the Beasts of Holm.
HMY Iolaire set sail from Kyle of Lochalsh on the 31st December 1918.
1.55am, 1st January 1919:
As they approached Stornoway - within a mile of the pier, where their families were waiting - the Iolaire struck the rocks known as the Beasts of Holm.
The yacht was overcrowded, and the stormy weather made it almost impossible to reach the shore only 50 yards away. 201 of the 280 onboard men died within sight of home. Apart from the Titanic, the Iolaire disaster is the second greatest loss of life at sea in the UK during peacetime.
100 years later, the islands have been commemorating the men and families affected by the events of that night. |