Photograph of Ernest Richardson and Mary MacLean beachcombing at Balevullin.
Courtesy of Mrs Flora MacKinnon
Ernest Richardson and his sister-in-law Mary MacLean are pictured here beachcombing at Balevullin in the 1960s. Mary is carrying a basket used for measuring herring. Four of these baskets made one cran.
The unwritten local rules allow everything below the high water mark on the beach to be taken. On an island with no trees, the most valuable find was wood. It was common for skippers to carry an extra deck load of timber to sell on the west coast and this was often lost in storms or gales.
During World War II, goods washed up on Tiree’s shores included boxes of lard from the USA, fruit such as bananas and grapefruit, export cigarettes in tins, bales of coarse crepe rubber and, after the ‘Empress of Britain’ sank off Ireland, five gallon drums of turpentine.
Black and white photograph of Ernest Richardson and Mary MacLean in the 1960s.
Beachcombers on Balevullin beach in the 1960s. L-R: Ernest Richardson and his sister-in-law Mary MacLean.
Audio cassette recording of Margaret MacIntyre of Gott talking to Maggie Campbell in June 2001.
Margaret MacIntyre of Gott talks to Maggie Campbell in June 2001 about teaching in Balemartine School in 1963 then in Scarinish School in the 1970s before moving to the new Primary Department at Cornaigmore; Margaret also talks about the differences between single teacher schools and larger primary schools.
Audio cassette recording of Margaret MacDonald of Cornaigmore talking to Maggie Campbell in 2000.
Margaret MacDonald talks to Maggie Campbell in 2000 about buying ‘An Airigh’ in Cornaigmore in 1962 and using it as a holiday house until they took up permanent residence in 1981, the changes she’s seen in the shops, self-sufficiency, and crofting practices; Margaret also talks about how children today have less love of nature, how Mrs Campbell of Garaphail kept the Sabbath, the neighbouring croft that once belonged to novelist Alistair Maclean’s family and how milk was retailed in lemonade bottles.
Audio cassette recording of a ceilidh with Angus and Nella Munn, Neil and Vivienne Johnston and Dr John Holliday in 2000.
Angus Munn and Neil Johnston talk about electrician and builder Angus MacRae who was the first man to install TVs in Tiree and had a shop in Baugh, the inebriate MacEwan who was a professional golfer, the 18-hole golf course in Scarinish, the crofts in Heanish, Angus’s relations in Heanish, Captain MacKinnon’s relationship to the Nisbets, John Munn and his shop and horse-drawn van, the puffer Mary & Effie unloading at Port a’ Mhuilinn and the fishing boats that used to sail from this harbour.
Audio cassette recording of Vivienne Johnston talking to Dr John Holliday in March 2000.
Vivienne Johnston of Heanish talks to Dr John Holliday in March 2000 about her relations in Balemartine, coming on holiday every year as a child then as an evacuee in 1939, her stay at Taylor’s Cottage, her experiences at Balemartine School where Gaelic was the language of the playground, the kindness of the MacDonalds at Catrim, going to the pictures, the wartime plane crashes, experiences of her later life and how living on Tiree has affected her.
Audio cassette recording of Charlie MacLeish talking to Maggie Campbell on 19/9/2001 at his home in Sandaig .
Charlie MacLeish of Sandaig talks to Maggie Campbell in September 2001 about his childhood memories of Tiree in the 1940s, the people and the houses in Sandaig and how the place has changed since he was a boy; Charlie also talks the plane and ferries services and how they have changed.
Audio cassette recording of Carol and Mrs Stoker of Scainish talking to Maggie Campbell in August 2001.
Carol and Mrs Stoker of Scarinish talk to Maggie Campbell in August 2001 about their holidays in Tiree and the changes they’ve seen since the 1960s in the shops, old people’s home, holiday houses, dances, the fencing of common grazing, ferries, the telephone exchange, golf course, farming and the increase in caravans on the island.
