Black and white photograph of an RAF Concert Party in 1944.
RAF Concert Party in 1944. L-R: Fred MacKeown, Fred Parratt, Jessie MacQueen, Denis Guest, unknown, Bryn Lewis, Nan Hogarth, Frank Murphy, Dodo Leslie, Jack May, Jean Hind, Jim Worthington, Nettie MacFarlane, Harry Smith, Harry Barr, Paul Blomley. (Photograph from Mike Hughes in Filing Cabinet 2 drawer 1)
Black and white photograph of an RAF truck at Balephuil.
RAF truck at Balephuil during World War II. (Photograph from Mike Hughes in Filing Cabinet 2 drawer 1)
Black and white photograph of an RAF airman at Gott Bay pier.
RAF airman at Gott Bay pier with the `Clydesdale` tied up alongside during World War II. (Photograph from Mike Hughes in Filing Cabinet 2 drawer 1)
Archibald MacLeod of Balevullin
Photograph of Archibald MacLeod thatching an outhouse in Balevullin in the 1940s
Courtesy of Ms Linda M. Gowans
George Holleyman, an archaeologist posted to Tiree during World War II, photographed Archibald MacLeod thatching an outhouse in Balevullin in the early 1940s. Thatching is started down at the tobhta, the ledge at the top of the wall, with the first row of sheaves being put on tips upwards.
After the first row, the sheaves are placed tips downwards until the ridge is reached when they are laid across the top with the tips on alternate sides. The thatch is put on thicker at the back, the windward side, and slightly halfway up the roof to give a more rounded shape.
As new thatch is laid on top of old, the ridge becomes almost flat. At this stage, the thatch has to be partially stripped off before the next layer is applied. Re-thatching is required every two to three years.
Black and white photograph of Archibald MacLeod, Balevullin.
Tiree has the greatest concentration of surviving thatched houses in the Scottish islands. In the photograph, Archibald MacLeod is shown thatching an outhouse in Balevullin. The rafters are first overlain with a layer of thin turf slices carefully cut from the moorland and tapered at the sides so that they lie flush on the roof. The thatching material, usually marram grass, is cut with a scythe between September and March and tied into small sheaves which are then positioned on top of the turf. The completed thatch is secured with wire netting weighted down with heavy beach pebbles. Re-thatching is required every 2-3 years.
Black and white photograph Murdoch and Peggy Cameron and Ian Atkins taken in 1948.
The shop in Balevullin in 1948 where Murdoch Cameron did his butchering. L-R: Peggy and Murdoch Cameron, Ian Atkins.
Black and white photograph of six Tiree craggans.
Six Tiree craggans photographed by George Holleyman between 1941 and 1943, and published in the paper ‘Tiree Craggans’, by G. A. Holleyman, in Antiquity 21, December 1947, pp 205-211. On the original slide, the craggans are captioned individually: 1 from Sandaig, 2 from Balevullin, 3-6 made by Hugh MacNeil in 1942.
Black and white photograph of a horn spoon, a serving mallet and a butter pat.
Horn spoon from Balevullin (left); serving mallet made of whalebone found in a ruined cottage in Caoles (middle); wooden butter pat (right), all photographed by George Holleyman.
Black and white photograph of Hugh MacNeill, Balevullin.
Hugh MacNeill of Balevullin, Tiree demonstrates how his mother, Flora MacNeill, would make small clay pots known as craggans which were believed to have special healing properties. Photographed by George Holleyman.
Black and white photograph of SS Laristan in 1942.
The SS Laristan on the rocks at Craignish in 1942 photographed by George Holleyman.
The wreck of the ‘Ocean Tide’
Photograph of the wreck of the ‘Ocean Tide’ off Mannal in 1942.
Courtesy of Ms Linda Gowans
George Holleyman, an archaeologist in the RAF police posted to Tiree during World War II, photographed the wreck of the ‘Ocean Tide’ in January 1942. A trawler from Leith, the ‘Ocean Tide’ had run aground off Mannal in poor weather.
Repeated attempts were made by RAF personnel and three local volunteer coastguards to shoot a line to the stricken vessel without success. Buffeted by the wind and the incoming tide, the trawler was listing so badly it was in danger of turning over.
The crew made a last desperate attempt to save themselves and launched a small boat. Within minutes they lost control and were driven on to a rocky promontory. By luck, two of the lines had caught on the rocks and the six crew members, one of them injured, were able to struggle ashore.
Black and white photograph of SS Ocean Tide in 1942.
The SS Ocean Tide on the rocks at Mannal in January 1942 photographed by George Holleyman.
