Copies of the Royal Navy service record, death certificate and list of medals awarded to John Barnard Norton (Bunty) Whyte (1909-1942), son of Balephuil/Oban artists Duncan MacGregor Whyte and Mary Barnard Whyte, who was killed during an air raid on Southampton during WW2. The material includes correspondence from Navy Command to the donor.
Click here to view 2019.68.1
Transcriptions of personal letters from Wilfred Lancaster (1909-1988) to his wife Elizabeth (Betty) when he was stationed at Kilkenneth, RAF Tiree during WW2. They provide an interesting insight into life at the airbase during that time. Includes photographs of Wildfred and two other airmen, Reggie Burton and George Parker.
Click here to view 2019.64.1
Copy of a page from An Tirisdeach 679 about a visit to Tiree by the Free Czechoslovak Air Force Associates, an organisation dedicated to remembering the Czech men and women who served in the RAF during WW2. Includes a detailed biography of Flying Officer Leonard Revilliod (1922-1944) who died in a mid-air collision over Island House in 1944.
Click here to view 2019.63.1
Scanned copy of a telegram sent by Captain John Brown (1902-1986), Balevullin, to his parents in Cornaig, after being shipwrecked on Tuskar Rock off the east coast of Ireland in 1927. Includes a page of background information. John Brown was 25 years old at the time and could not swim.
He met his future wife when his ship, the Baron Belhaven, was being repaired in Barry Docks (west of Cardiff) in 1941. A bomb had dropped down the funnel when sailing in convoy out of Liverpool during WW2.
Black & white photograph of HMS Sturdy broken in two on rocks at Sandaig during WW2.
Hardback book ‘Forecast for Overlord’, by J M Stagg, 1971. A first-hand account of the weather forecasting that allowed the D-Day operations to be carried out on June 6, 1944. Written by General Eisenhower’s chief weatherman. Airmen at RAF Tiree collected the weather data that was used to forecast D-Day.
Lapel or cap badge of RAF 518 Squadron found on a sports field in South Island, New Zealand, in 2019 (32 x 20 mm). Made in Birmingham by HW Miller – medal, badge and button manufacturers since the 1930s. 518 Squadron – Meteorological Observers was stationed on Tiree during WWII. Only a handful of New Zealand men served at RAF Tiree, and it is presumed that the badge belonged to one of them and was dropped on his returned to New Zealand. The badge depicts a hand holding a key with the inscription ‘Tha an Iuchair againn-ne / We hold the key’.
Newsletter `An Tirisdeach`, No. 451, 25/09/2009
Local news: Skerryvore perform in China and win A&B’s Young Entrepeneur of the Year; Alan Reid MP visits Tiree; An Iodhlann’s ‘Sheaves from the Stackyard’ – Tiree at war; Lunch Club remembers 1930s Tiree; new social worker for Tigh a’ Rudha; report of Strathclyde fire chief’s visit; policing Tiree Wave Classic; Tiree-Islay exchange; report of SWRI meeting; forthcoming visit by Tobermory lifeboat; school news – fundraising for Mod trip, healthy eating week, new rugby club; letters to the editor – damage to machair at Caoles; volunteers needed for Meals on Wheels; community Powerdown project – solar hot water; poem about wind power by Nik Rawson; sheep sale results; forthcoming boat restoration course.
Black & white photograph of RAF personnel watching competitions on Tiree in 1943. A senior officer and his wife are scrutenising the Events scoreboard.
Black & white photograph of RAF personnel milling around the score board during competitions on Tiree in 1943. Team names include Cadets, SHQ, 518 Squadron, 281 Squadron, 8518 SE, 8281 SE, Works Flight, Kilkenneth, Sgts Mess, Messing, Signals, M&E.
