Minesweepers off Tiree during World War I
Photograph of minesweepers off the coast of Tiree during World War I.
Courtesy of Mrs Jean Lindsay
World War I had a devastating impact on Tiree. The Roll of Honour lists two hundred and ninety men who served in the conflict and the Scarinish War Memorial records the names of sixty-six who died.
Apart from the occasional fighting ship seen on the skyline, and the attack by a U-boat on the ‘Plover’ north of Coll, the Great War was predominantly a distant conflict, fought in the trenches of Europe and the oceans of the world.
The war was foretold by Tiree’s most famous seer, John MacLean (Iain MacEachainn Bhàin), who said, ‘There is a great war coming soon… On sea and land the losses will be heavy and in a land which is unknown to me, the ground will be soaked in blood. Millions will go to their eternal rest in the soil of this land and beautiful red flowers will grow over them.’
Black and white photograph of minesweepers off the coast of Tiree during WW1.
Five minesweepers off the coast of Tiree during WW1.