Transporting lobster creels at Caoles in 1936
Photograph of Calum MacDonald and Alex MacIntosh transporting lobster creels at Caoles in 1936.
Courtesy of Mrs Janet MacIntosh
Calum MacDonald and Alex MacIntosh are shown in this photograph of 1936 transporting lobster creels by horse and cart at Caoles. In the 1930s the men would go out lobster fishing every day rowing or sailing their skiffs around the island to their preferred fishing sites.
The creels were baited with salted fish. A line, around 9 fathoms long, was tied to the bottom frame of the creel and at the other end a number of small herring net corks attached every six feet to keep the rope on the surface at low tide. The top cork was marked to identify the owner.
The lobsters were packed with seaweed in wooden boxes and sent by ferry and rail to Billingsgate market in London. If they survived the journey, the fisherman would eventually receive a postal order, paying one shilling and sixpence per lobster.
Black and white photograph of Calum MacDonald and Alex MacIntosh in 1936.
Collecting creels by horse and cart at Caoles in August 1936. L-R: Calum MacDonald and Alex MacIntosh.
Funeral procession at Soroby graveyard in the 1920s
Photograph of a funeral procession on its way to Soroby graveyard in the 1920s
Courtesy of Ms Rachel Wylie
Before World War II, coffins were made locally from lengths of sarking. MacArthurs’ shop in Scarinish supplied bundles containing black cloth, white cloth, a stack of embossed lead strips, eight handles and cords, and a black plaque, which were taken to the coffin-makers to complete the job.
On the day of the funeral, the mourners would gather outside the house where the coffin would be placed on two dining room chairs. After a short service the procession, traditionally composed only of men, would set off for the graveyard.
The coffin was carried on a bier by relays of men. They were accompanied by a basket containing cheese, oatcakes and whiskey to refresh the mourners on their journey which could be several miles long.
Laser print of a black and white photograph of a funeral procession on its way to Soroby in the 1920s.
Funeral procession on its way to Sorobaidh graveyard. (From Myra Lamont’s photograph album of the 1920s.)
Mrs Ludlow demonstrates how to make butter in 1922
Photograph of Mrs Ludlow demonstrating how to make butter at the Tiree Agricultural Show in Scarinish in 1922.
Courtesy of Mrs Rachel Wylie
Butter was made on Tiree by first skimming the cream off fresh milk that had stood for twenty-four hours. The cream was usually collected over several days, by which time it had fermented. This produced a fuller flavour. The cream was then churned until it separated into butter and buttermilk.
Plunge churns were popular on Tiree in the 19th century. These are tall barrels with a plunger, at the end of which is a wooden disk with holes drilled in it. Towards the end of the century they were superseded by patent barrel churns, which were turned round with a handle.
Butter was usually preserved with salt and was known in Gaelic as ‘ìm saillte’. It was stored in an earthenware jar called a ‘pige’. Homemade butter, patted into shape, was exhibited at Tiree Agricultural Shows until the 1950s.
Laser print of a black and white photograph of Mrs Ludlow at the Tiree Show in Scarinish in 1922.
Mrs Ludlow demonstrating how to make butter at the Tiree Show in Scarinish in 1922. (From Myra Lamont’s photograph album of the 1920s.)
Laser print of a black and white photograph of Balevullin in 1922.
Balevullin in the early 1920s. (From Myra Lamont’s photograph album of the 1920s.)
At the Co-op Egg Depot, Tiree
Photograph of two women taking their eggs to a co-operative depot at Cornaigmore in the 1920s.
Courtesy of Mrs Rachel Wylie
In his ‘Crofts and Farms in the Hebrides’ published in 1883, the 8th Duke of Argyll wrote that ‘the island is admirably suited to poultry, and there is annually a very large export of eggs, amounting …to not less than 50,000 dozen.’
The Agricultural Statistics for Tiree show that in 1885 there were two thousand hens and one thousand ducks on the island. Between the wars, crofters on Tiree kept around eight thousand hens and ducks. The numbers fell to six thousand in 1955 and a decade later there were fewer than three thousand.
This photograph, titled ‘At the Co-op Egg Depot, Tiree’, was taken in Cornaigmore the 1920s. The depot was at the croft in the background, which belonged to Archie MacLean (Èairdsidh Tuairneir). A number of co-operatives were formed on the island for the purpose of collecting eggs for onward shipment to Glasgow.
Laser print of a black and white photograph of two women with baskets of eggs in the 1920s.
`At the Co-op Egg Depot, Tiree.` (From Myra Lamont’s photograph album of the 1920s.)
The Tiree Home Guard
Photograph of the Tiree Home Guard during World War II.
The Home Guard, initially known as the Local Defence Volunteers, was created in 1940 to defend Britain against a possible German invasion. At first they were very poorly armed; it was not until 1943 they were a properly trained and equipped force.
The Tiree Home Guard was organised under the factor MacLaren and the gamekeeper Graham. There were weekly drills with parade ground work, sentry duty and shooting practice. Lookouts were posted at various vantage points around the island: Ben Hough, the Signalling Tower at Hynish, Tur Mhic Chaluim in Kilkenneth, Cnoc Ibrig at Baugh and the broch at Caoles.
Following the successful Allied offensive in France and the drive towards Germany, the Home Guard were formally stood down in December 1944 and finally disbanded a year later
Black and white photograph of Tiree Home Guard.
The Tiree Home Guard during World War II.
Black and white group photograph taken outside Taigh a` Chiobair in wesy Hynish.
Unknown group of people outside Taigh a` Chiobair in West Hynish.
The old mill at Cornaig
Photograph of the old mill at Cornaig.
In the second half of the 18th century landlords started investing in mills with vertical water wheels which were more efficient than horizontal mills and generated a greater income. The Cornaig mill was built by the 5th Duke of Argyll in 1803.
Although the water wheel was vertical, gears inside the mill turned the upper horizontal ‘runner’ stone over the stationary lower or ‘nether stone. These were held together by a wooden spindle which was greased with beef suet.
The grinding surfaces of the stones were ‘dressed’ by the miller every year into an elaborate pattern of channels. Grain was fed in the centre of the upper stone with the miller controlling the distance between the stones, and consequently the fineness of the meal, with a number of small wedges.
Black and white postcard of the old mill at Cornaig.
The old mill at Cornaig in the 1920s when it was still operating.
Black and white photograph of John Maclean of the Brae, Cornaigbeg.
John Maclean of the Brae, Cornaigbeg (Alec Mor`s father) with a Clydesdale stallion in the 1930s or 1940s.
Robert Beck at the 1967 Pipe Band World Championships
Photograph of Robert Beck at the Pipe Band World Championships in 1967.
Courtesy of Mr Robert Beck
The Tiree Pipe Band competed at the World Championships in Oban in 1967 and won second prize in Grade 4. In this photograph Robert Beck is seen receiving the prize from Lady MacLean.
Robert was Tiree’s vet from 1959 to 1974. As chairman of the agricultural sub-committee of the Tiree Council of Social Services he spearheaded a very successful community effort that resulted in Tiree being the first brucellosis-free area in the world. Brucellosis is an infectious disease with no cure that causes abortion in cattle and fevers, anxiety and depression in humans.
Robert went on to work on the staff of the Dick Vet School in Edinburgh. He retired in 1994 and settled in Ruaig with his wife Sheena. He still plays the pipes and tutors children at the local school.
Black and white photograph of Robert Beck of the Tiree Pipe Band at the World Championships in 1966.
Vet Robert Beck of the Tiree Pipe Band at the World Championships in 1966.
