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.

Heroic rescue remembered 60 years on

Jim MacDougall
Jim MacDougall

Rita Campbell

A WOMAN has made a pilgrimage from Australia to Scotland to pay tribute to the two men who saved her dad’s life more than six decades ago.

Jim MacDougall and the late Jimmy MacLean were working by the shores of Loch Eil when they spotted young John McCallum and Frank Sweeney being swept out to sea in a sinking raft.

Despite the fact Mr MacLean could not swim, the pair commandeered a boat and went to the aid of the youngsters, who were aged just eight and nine.

As they raced to reach the boys, their own boat started sinking and they had to row and bail simultaneously.

The drama unfolded in 1953 when the temporary wartime pre-fab village of Annat was being demolished.

John McCallum, now aged 73 and a minister, moved to Australia in 1985 – but always told the story of the time his life was saved.

His daughter, Dr Ann Marie McCallum, 36, is currently visiting her family in the Highlands and had the chance to meet Mr MacDougall, now aged 86, and Mr MacLean’s sons Thomas and Allan to say thank you.

She said: “My father and Frank Sweeney were playing together in a handmade raft.

“They put it out in the loch and they got caught up in currents at The Narrows. They were getting swept out into the middle of the loch, they couldn’t swim and the raft started to sink.

“Two local men who were working along the shore line heard them screaming for help.

“They jumped in a boat and rowed out to save the boys. Because the boat wasn’t sealed it started sinking, so they had to row and bail at the same time.

“They managed to rescue the boys at risk to themselves and brought them back to shore. Mr MacLean couldn’t swim.”

Dr McCallum’s uncle, Lindsay MacCallum, of Easter Ross, and her aunt Angela MacDonald, of the Black Isle, discovered Mr MacDougall still lives in Fort William and organised an afternoon tea to allow her to thank him.

She said: “My father was really excited and pleased. He sent his best wishes and thanks to Mr MacDougall and the MacLean family.

“It was really special because it was part of my childhood folklore. I always heard the story and I didn’t expect to meet the man who helped save him. I’m just delighted to thank him.

“He didn’t want any fuss but I think secretly he was quite pleased.”