Processions of carts were seen travelling through the villages for days after the Iolaire disaster, carrying loved ones back home. The 201 names of those lost on the Iolaire are hand-painted onto stones from each of the men's districts.
The bodies of one third of those who died were never recovered. Stones bearing the names of men who were never found have been placed in the cart, to bring them home at last. The cart is covered in driftwood collected from the beaches of Lewis and Harris, and from the Castle Grounds in Stornoway. Kenneth Mackenzie Harris Tweed Mill produced the commemorative Iolaire tweed. |
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All over the island, families were preparing for the arrival of men who would never come home.
"I remember sitting beside this blazing peat fire sometime after two o'clock in the morning. There were the two pots on the hearth, one with broth, the other with stew ... Close to the fire, there was a clothes-horse, airing a shift for the Boyken - a heavy-duty vest, long-johns and a nightshirt." - Children of the Blackhouse, Calum Ferguson Pictured on either side of the hearth in the exhibition are the Boyken and his widow, Marion. |