View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Sunday 22 February 2009

Organising

Been organising a few things today, the weather being grey and boring.

Regular readers may be familiar with my rather large collection of digital pictures, now numbering in excess of 18,000. Of which 1,000 are scanned images of prints, taken from film. Flickr offers the facility to put them all in so-called sets and collections. However, I have several hundred sets and the site tends to freeze when I have the temerity to create yet another one. A large number of sets is named after one of the villages in the island of Lewis. My latest foray to Callanish added to that particular set. I have this idea to put the pictures for each village in some sort of publication, either on-line (and) or in paper.

The (almost) daily Remembering Today entries on this blog are an offshoot of my local history project Faces from the War Memorial. When I compiled the information for the 1,300-odd names on the roll, I forgot that the many Mac's also have their surname spelled Mc - something which I now have to chase up. Bearing in mind that I have also printed the list (through Lulu.com), I not only have to update the on-line version, but also the wordprocessing file. My screen is a wee bit crammed when I do this. At the moment I'm about one-third of the way through this task. In other words, I'll be at this for some time to come.

Remembering Today - 22 February

On this day in 1917, these four men from the Isle of Lewis fell in action in the Second Battle at Kut-al-Amara in Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. RIP.

Sergeant NEIL MORRISON

Last address in Lewis: 4 Dun Carloway,
Son of Angus and Annie Morrison, of 4, Doune Carloway, Stornoway.
Regiment or division: 1st Seaforth Highlanders
Service number: 130
Date of death: 22 February 1917 at the age of 36
Killed in action in Kut
Memorial: Basra Memorial, Iraq
Memorial reference: Panel 37 and 64
Lewis Memorial: Carloway

Lance Corporal DONALD MACLEOD
Last address in Lewis: 12 Garenin,
Regiment or division: 1st Seaforth Highlanders
Service number: 3/6965
Date of death: 22 February 1917
Killed in action in Mesopotamia
Memorial: Basra
Memorial reference: Panel 37 and 64

Private DONALD GUNN
Last address in Lewis: 5 Knockaird,
Regiment or division: 1st Seaforth Highlanders
Service number: S/7070
Date of death: 22 February 1917 at the age of 23
Memorial: Basra
Memorial reference: Panel 37 and 64
Local memorial: North Lewis, Cross

Private JOHN M MACKINNON
Last address in Lewis: 8B Ranish,
Son of Mrs. Christy MacKinnon, of 8, Ranish Lochs, Stornoway.
Regiment or division: 1st Seaforth Highlanders
Service number: 317256
Date of death: 22 February 1917 at the age of 21
Killed in action in Mesopotamia
Memorial: Basra
Memorial reference: panel 37 and 64
Local memorial: North Lochs, Crossbost

Remembering Today - 21 February

On this date in the First World War, these two men lost their lives in the service of King and Country. RIP


Private DONALD MACLEOD

Last address in Lewis: 20 Fivepenny,
Regiment or division: 1st Seaforth Highlanders
Date of death: 21 February 1915 at the age of 34
Killed in action in Givenchy, France
Had previously served in Egypt
Local memorial: North Lewis, Cross

Seaman COLIN MACKINNON
Last address in Lewis: 15 Ranish,
Regiment or division: Royal Naval Reserve, HMT Carlton
Date of death: 21 February 1916 at the age of 23
Ship sunk by mine
Local memorial: North Lochs, Crossbost

Sunday 22 February

Overcast, grey but reasonably mild. Temperature of 9C this afternoon, not too bad for late February. Looking at the longer range forecast, it appears that the worst of the winter is over.

Over in Australia, a day of mourning has been held for the 209 known (and more unknown) victims of the deadly bushfires that raged in the south of the country two weeks ago. The risk of more bushfires is increasing as conducive weatherconditions look set to move in.