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.
Black and white photograph of the Tiree Pipe Band arriving at the World Championships in Oban in 1967.
Oban Times photograph of the Tiree Pipe Band arriving at the World Championships in Oban in 1967. Apart from the Pipe Band, the other Tiree people in the picture are William Sloan (secretary of RSPBA), Seumas MacNeill, Professor Donald Meek, Iain Lamont, Mrs Sheena Beck and her sons Drew and Robin.
Photograph of Christina MacNeill with her son Malcolm MacLean.
Courtesy of Mr Iain MacKinnon
Christina MacNeill is pictured here sitting at her spinning wheel. Standing behind her is her son Malcolm MacLean. Known as ‘Calum Salum’, he was a keen piper all his life and would play for dances in Salum and from the rocks at the shore to the seals.
Among his many activities, Calum ran a shop and a boarding house in Salum, the latter with help of his step-father Lachie MacNeill. He also ran two cars in what became a very busy taxi service for the east end of the island.
For many years he served as the District Councillor for Tiree. He was well-known for his beautiful handwriting and his stories which entertained visitors and locals alike.
Black and white photograph of Calum Salum and his mother, Christina MacNeill.
Malcolm MacLean (Calum Salum) with his bagpipes and his mother Christina MacNeill (Ciorstaidh Mhunn) with carding combs and a spinning wheel.
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.
Township history for Cornaigbeg researched and written by Hector MacPhail.
Information about prominent people in Cornaigbeg – Rev Archibald Farquharson, Charles MacGregor Whyte, the MacLeans, MacEacherns, MacCallums and Campbells.
