Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Western Isles campaign launched to build cairn paying tribute to 114-year-old fishing tragedy

Tolsta Chaolais where the crew sailed from before the tragic event. Supplied by Angus Mcleod
Tolsta Chaolais where the crew sailed from before the tragic event. Supplied by Angus Mcleod

A fundraising appeal has been launched to erect a memorial in Tolsta Chaolais on Lewis to three men who died in a fishing incident 114 years ago.

The online appeal is to raise funds to construct a memorial cairn – a rounded stone mound to commemorate the dead – using local stones from the area.

The community voiced their support for a memorial to the incident so that the men will always be remembered.

The project has already received generous donations but still needs £2,000 from the public to complete the work.

The funds will also go towards maintaining the memorial cairn in the future.

Angus Macleod, the driving force behind the memorial project, said: “Growing up in Tolsta Chaolais I often heard stories about Am Bathadh, (the drowning).

“Although it took place 34 years before I was born, the memory of those events in January 1908 was still very vivid in the minds of the older members of the community.

“As that memory of the tragedy fades, I think it is important that we have a memorial in the village to ensure that the loss of these three men is never forgotten.”

Tragic tale of fishing disaster

In January 1908, a 48ft fishing boat named the Boy’s Delight left Tolsta Chaolais on the Isle of Lewis to fish for herring in Loch Hamnaway.

Three fishermen onboard drowned after their small boat, used to catch herring, became swamped.

The bodies of John Macleod and Angus Morrison were recovered, however, Kenneth Macaulay’s remains were never found.

The memorial cairn will be built near the port where the crew sailed from, paying tribute to their memory. Supplied by Angus Mcleod.

A fourth man, Malcolm Macarthur, managed to cling to the boat and was rescued.

While an inquiry into the incident found no one to blame, the tragedy had a long-lasting effect on the community.

The work is due to begin shortly according to Mr Mcleod, with an engraved plaque built into the cairn to commemorate the tragic event.