Iolaire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Admiralty yacht HMS Iolaire (named as Amalthaea in 1908 photo).

The Iolaire (Scottish Gaelic for Eagle) was an Admiralty yacht whose sinking on the 1 January 1919 in the Minch strait was one of the worst maritime disasters in United Kingdom waters during the 20th century. At least 205 men perished of the 280 aboard.

1 History
2 See also
3 Notes
4 External links

[edit] History

The Iolaire was carrying soldiers who had fought in the First World War back to the Scottish island of Lewis. She left the port of Kyle of Lochalsh on the mainland late on the evening of the 31 December 1918. But, at 2:30am on New Year's Day, as the ship approached the port of Stornoway, a few yards offshore and a mile away from the safety of Stornaway Harbour, she hit the infamous rocks "The Beasts of Holm", and eventually sank. The final death toll was officially put at 205, of whom 181 were islanders, but as the ship was badly overcrowded and as there was a lack of proper records the death toll could have been slightly higher. Only 75 of the 280 (officially known) passengers survived the disaster, 73% perished in the incident.

The soldiers were wearing their full uniforms including heavy boots, so swimming from the wreck was by no means easy. Those who jumped overboard were lucky if they escaped. Many songs and poems, such as "An Iolaire (The Eagle)", describe the women of these men finding their men washed up on the shore the next day.

This was, and is, the worst maritime disaster in United Kingdom waters in peacetime since the wreck of the SS Norge off Rockall in 1904, and the worst peacetime disaster involving a British ship since the Titanic on April 15, 1912.

An Admiralty enquiry shortly after did not find a satisfactory explanation for the disaster. There is a recently erected (in 2005) memorial at Holm, outside Stornoway, to those who lost their lives in the tragedy.