Tiree Roll of Honour for 1939-1945.
Roll of Honour for those who lost their lives during World War II.
1998.163.1
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Dates: 1940s
1999.113.26
Black and white photograph of puffer discharging coal into horse-drawn carts.
Puffer discharging coal into horse-drawn carts, probably in the 1930s or 1940s.
1999.113.29
Black and white photograph of the funeral held at Soroby on 20/8/1944.
The funeral at Soroby graveyard of the airmen who died in a mid-air collision on 16th August 1944. The funeral was held on the 20th August. One of the dead was Flt. Lt. Leonard Revilliod whose grandfather, Tomas Masaryk, was the first President of Czechoslovakia. Attending the funeral were Leonard`s mother, Olga Masaryk (daughter of Tomas Masaryk) and Jan Masaryk (Olga`s brother), who was the Czech Ambassador to the UK. Olga Masaryk married Dr Henri Revilliod.
1999.113.30
Black and white photograph of the funeral held at Soroby on 20/8/1944.
The funeral at Soroby graveyard of the airmen who died in a mid-air collision on 16th August 1944.
1999.113.2
Carting marram grass
Photograph of two crofters carting marram grass from behind Ben Hough in the 1930s.
Courtesy of Mrs Grace Campbell
The two men are transporting marram grass, known locally as bent or muran, from behind Ben Hough at the west end of Tiree. The dried grass is used for thatching roofs while the roots were used as a scourer for cleaning tables and floors.
The grass is cut by sickle or scythe between September and March, outwith its growing season, and is much harder work than cutting corn or hay. The longer the stem the better, as a more waterproof roof is ensured and less work required.
Muran thrives best in shifting sand and grows stronger after cutting. There is less on Tiree today than there used to be. This may be due to the use of fertilisers which encourage the growth of other grasses and the out-wintering of cattle which shelter in the dunes and trample and eat it.
Black and white photograph of piper Hugh MacArthur in 1944.
Piper Hugh MacArthur in 1944.
1999.113.5
Black and white photograph of Duncan MacPhee of Balephetrish in 1943.
Duncan MacPhee of Balephetrish with a horse and cart in 1943.
1999.113.9
Photocopied photograph of a funeral cortege at Soroby graveyard in 1944.
Funeral cortege at Soroby graveyard in 1944.
1999.113.14
Black and white photograph of war graves at Soroby graveyard.
World War II graves at Soroby.
1999.113.15
Black & white photograph of Mrs Revilliod and Grace Campbell of Tullymet, Gott, at the graveside of Flt. Lt. Leonard Revilliod who was killed in a mid-air collision over Island House in August 1944.
Courtesy of Mrs Grace Campbell
On the 16th August 1944, two Halifax aircraft from 518 Squadron took off for air tests before their usual nightly weather reconnaissance flights. They lost sight of each other in patchy cloud and collided, killing all on board.
An eyewitness on the top of Ben Hynish reported seeing one plane taking off while the other was coming in. ‘They appeared to come so close to each other that they tipped wings…and the next thing the two of them went up in flames and you could see the wheels with the tyres burning and falling right to the ground…’
One of those killed was Flight Lieutenant Leonard Revilliod, a grandson of the Czechoslovakian Prime Minister, Jan Masyrak, who flew with his daughter-in-law to Tiree for the funeral. The photograph shows Grace Campbell and Mrs Revilliod at her son’s graveside at Soroby in Balemartine.
1999.113.17
Black and white photograph of Soroby graveyard in 1944.
Soroby graveyard in 1944 with a line of war graves on the right.
