Memorial details

Memorial type
Other structure
District
Western Islands
Town
Stornoway (Isle Of Lewis)
County
Western Isles
Country
Scotland
Commemoration
First World War (1914-1918)
Maker
Torcuil Crichton and Malcolm Maclean (Designer)
Ceremony
  • Opened
    Date: 29 December 2018
    Attended by:
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
81218

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Current location

Stornoway Harbour
between Piers 1 and 2
Stornoway (Isle Of Lewis)
Western Islands
Western Isles
HS1 2AE
Scotland

OS Grid Ref: NB 42221 32704
Denomination: Undefined

View location on Google Maps
Description
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of HMY Iolaire, with the loss of 201 sailors on 1st January 1919, an art installation has been built in the centre of Stornoway. It sits on the beach between piers 1 and 2 and is lit up at night - and as it gets flooded at high tide. The memorial will be only temporary, although there is currently (January 2019) some discussion to make it permanent. The memorial consists of 280 wooden poles, driven into the sand of the beach. They depict each of the 280 men on board Iolaire when she sank. Each pole is lit up in blue at night, except for 79 which are illuminated in red, depicting a survivor.
Inscription
[none]
Inscription legible?
yes
Commemorations
  • First World War (1914-1918)
    Total names on memorial: 0
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 0
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Undefined
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Memorial
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Wood
  • Electricial systems
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Undefined
Condition
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Reference
  • warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=10236&mforum=warmemscot
  • (includes an aerial video of the installation)-www.facebook.com/Iolaire100/
  • www.facebook.com/events/543126772829454/
  • www.hebrides-news.com/iolaire-memorial-24119.html- Move for Iolaire memorial to stay longer in Stornoway harbour 24 January 2019 Stornoway Port Authority is to seek permission to extend the lifespan of a powerful art installation commemorating the Iolaire disaster in response to public demand. Thousands of people have visited the Sheòl an Iolaire / The Iolaire Sailed memorial on South Beach since it opened in December, ahead of the centenary commemorations. The port authority, which commissioned the work, is now to apply to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar for planning consent to allow the full-scale representation of the ship’s hull be left in place on the shoreline. The installation is the harbour board’s dramatic, visual tribute to the Iolaire, whose sinking on 1 January 1919 just out side the harbour was one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in UK waters. Some 201 men perished of the 280 aboard the ship taking Royal Navy WWI veterans back to Lewis when the Iolaire struck rocks off Holm. The 189-foot-long installation, which features one wooden post for each of the men aboard on the fateful voyage, became a central part of the Iolaire centenary commemorations. It has become a hugely popular site as both residents and visitors view the illuminated hull at various states of the tide and online images have attracted thousands more to the Iolaire legacy. The sculpture, designed by Torcuil Crichton and Malcolm Maclean, was envisaged as a temporary installation. But in response to the enormous public demand, the port authority has decided it should remain lit until Easter, which is the expected lifespan of the waterproof lights which illuminate the vessel at night. The effect of the lights will also reduce when daylight increases at the end of March. However, it is hoped the wooden structure of deerposts, 79 tipped white to represent the Iolaire survivors and 201 left plain for those lost, can be kept in place on South Beach throughout the summer months and disassembled towards the end of the centenary year. The posts were donated by Stornoway Trust and cut from trees felled in the Lews Castle Grounds. Malcolm Maclean, who supervised the construction with engineers from the Stornoway Port Authority, said: “The installation was not designed as a permanent structure but has stood up to the tides and weather to a much higher degree than expected. “There has been a tremendous public response to Sheòl an Iolaire and people have pressed for it to become a permanent memorial. “It is worth keeping so long as its dignity is intact. A final deadline for removal is to be set but the deciding factor will be the extent to which the sea works on the installation.” Should permission be granted, the harbour board will monitor the lights and the posts carefully over the next few months before making a final decision on removing the installation. Murdo Murray, chairman of the Stornoway Port Authority, said: “Sheòl an Iolaire is a poignant and sensitive commemoration of a tragedy that affects so many people. “Both residents and visitors have been attracted to it and been moved by it, and we are very keen for it to feature on the South Beach for a little longer.”

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

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