Evacuation Day

Latha an Fhalmhachaidh | Evacuation Day

An t-Iarrtas | The Petition

‘We the undersigned, the natives of St. Kilda, hereby respectfully pray and petition H.M. Government to assist us all to leave this island this year and to find homes and occupation on the mainland. For some years the manpower has been decreasing, now the total population of the island is reduced to thirty-six. Several men out of this number have definitely made up our minds to go away this year to seek employment on the mainland. This will really cause a crisis as the present number are hardly sufficient to carry on the necessary work of the place. These men are the mainstay of the island at present as they tend the sheep, do the weaving and look after the general welfare of the widows. Should they leave, the condition of the rest of the community would be such that it would be impossible for us to remain on the island another winter.’

Latha an Fhalmhachaidh

Chuir na Hiortaich an t-iarrtas chun an Riaghtais air 10 Cèitean 1930. Goirid an dèidh sin, ghabh Tom Johnston, iar-rùnaire na stàite aig an àm, cuairt do Hiort gus a’ chùis a rannsachadh. Air 17 Òg-mhios, bhruidhinn e ma dheidhinn sa phàrlamaid, ‘s e a’ moladh gun gabhadh an Riaghaltas ris an iarrtas.

Tha e soilleir bhon iarrtas fhèin gun robh cuid mhath de na gillean òga airson an t-eilean fhàgail, ach gun robh iad ag aithneachadh nach shoirbheachadh leis a’ chòrr nan dèanadh iad sin. Ann an Hiort, dhèanadh co-dhùnaidhean mar-aon: fuirichidh sinn uile, air neo fàgaidh sinn uile.

Eadar cur an iarrtais sa Chèitean agus am falmhachadh san Lùnastal, bhàsaich dithis bhoireannach òg Hiortach: Màiri NicIllÌosa, a bha 35 bliadhna dh’aois is clann òg aice, agus Màiri NicIllÌosa eile a bha 22, ’s i an Hiortach mu dheireadh a chaidh a thìolacadh ann. ‘S math dh’fhaodte gun do dh’fhàg sin a’ choimhearsnachd na bu chinntiche gun robh iad air a’ cho-dhùnadh cheart a dhèanamh.

Dh’fhàg an 36 Hiortaich mu dheireadh air an HMS Harebell air 29 Lùnastal 1930, s’ iad a’ ruigsinn Loch Àlainn feasgar agus an uair sin an Òban aig dol fodha na grèine. Bha sluagh mòr a’ feitheamh gus fàilte a chur orra anns an dà àite, ged nach cuireadh na Hiort fàilte orrasan, ’s dòcha.

An Làrach Bheag, Loch Àlainn, far an robh cuid de na Hiortaich a’ fuireach, Lùnastal 2020. / Larachbeg, where some of the St. Kildans lived, August 2020. Rhona NicDhùghaill

Chaidh a’ mhòr-chuid de na Hiortaich a dh’fhuireach ann an sgìre Loch Àlainn, ’s iad ag obair aig coilltearachd. Dh’fhaobh cuid eile do diofar pàirtean de dh’Alba. An-diugh, cho fad ’s as aithne dhuinn, chan eil teaghlaichean Hiortach air fhàgail sa sgìre.

Ach tha na sgeulachdan rin cluinntinn fhathast: gun robh iad cho comasach air sreap; gum biodh iad ag èigheach fad na h-ùine mar gun robh a’ ghaoth gam bòdhradh, fiù ‘s taobh a-staigh. Gu fòrtanach, tha clàraidhean againn de na Hiortaich fhèin cuideachd, sna facail aca fhèin, air Tobar an Dualchais. Bidh sinn a’ sgaoileadh cuid dhiubh sna beagan seachdainean a tha romhainn.

Ann an 2020, tha gu leòr dhaoine fhathast a’ fàgail nan dachaighean, leis nach eil e comasach dhaibh fuireach ann tuilleadh. Anns a’ Ghàidhealtachd agus sna h-Eileanan thathar a’ bruidhinn air ‘fuadach eaconamach’ co-cheangailte prìsean thaigheadais agus gainnead obraichean. Tha an cunnart ann fhathast gur e samhla a th’ ann an sgeulachd Hiort de na dh’fhaodadh a thachairt anns na h-eileanan eile, agus nach mair an t-sluagh agus an cànan. An e sin as adhbhar gu bheil i fhathast gar glacadh?

Ann an 2020, a h-uile latha, tha daoine a’ call am beatha anns a’ Mhuir Mheadhanach. A h-uile latha, tha ùghdarasan a’ cur stad air daoine a tha a’ feuchainn ri tighinn tarsainn air Caolas na Frainge. Tha na daoine sin a’ sireadh sàbhailteachd agus saorsa, agus dòigh-beatha nach biodh cho cruaidh orra. ‘S e an aon mhiann a bh’ aig na Hiortaich; an-diugh, tha e nas doirbhe buileach a lorg.

The St. Kildans sent their petition to the government on the 10th of May 1930. Shortly after that, Tom Johnston, then under-secretary of state, took a trip to St. Kilda to investigate the situation. On the 17th of June he spoke about it in parliament, recommending that the government agree to the requests in the petition.

It’s clear for the petition itself that several of the younger men wanted to leave, but that they knew that the rest wouldn’t be able to survive if they did. On St. Kilda, decisions were made collectively: we all stay or we all leave.

Between the petition being sent in May and the evacuation in August, two young St. Kildan women died: Mary Gillies, who was 35 years old with a young family, and another Mary Gillies who was only 22, and the last person to be buried on St. Kilda. Perhaps that left the community ever more sure that they were doing the right thing.

The last 36 St. Kildans left on the HMS Harebell on 29th August 1930, arriving at Lochaline and then at Oban that night. There were crowds waiting to welcome them in both places, though they probably wouldn’t have been so welcome to the St. Kildans.

An cidhe san Òban, Lùnastal 2020 / The pier in Oban, August 2020. Rhona NicDhùghaill

Most of the St. Kildans went to live in the Lochaline area, working at the forestry. A few others went to different parts of Scotland. Today, as far as we are aware, there are no St. Kildan families left in the area.

But the stories are still told: that they were such great climbers; that they would shout all the time as if the wind was deafening them, even indoors. Luckily, we also have recordings of the St. Kildans themselves, in their own words, on Tobar an Dualchais. We’ll be sharing some of them in the coming weeks.

In 2020, there are still many people leaving their homes because it’s become impossible for them to stay there. In the Highlands and Islands we are talking of ‘economic clearance’ linked to house prices and lack of jobs. There is still a danger that the St. Kilda story is an sign of what could happen in the other islands, and that the people and the language won’t survive. Is that the reason why it still fascinates us?

In 2020, every day, people are losing their lives in the Mediterranean. Every day, authorities are stopping people who are trying to cross the English Channel. These people are seeking safety and freedom, and a way of life that isn’t so hard on them. It’s the same desire that the St. Kildans had; today it’s even harder to find.