tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317492743212811246.post6778307904088301330..comments2023-03-25T01:09:55.566-07:00Comments on brownlie: The Iolaire Tragedybrownliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09690872114535168567noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317492743212811246.post-65927173246975019742009-02-21T06:38:00.000-08:002009-02-21T06:38:00.000-08:00ex-apprenticeNo problem to me, mate, I'm well awar...ex-apprentice<BR/><BR/>No problem to me, mate, I'm well aware that the "rant" is, in no way, typical of the English attitude to us "Jocks". Some of my best friends... etc etc.brownliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690872114535168567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317492743212811246.post-33321176151437142352009-02-21T02:19:00.000-08:002009-02-21T02:19:00.000-08:00Dear Mr Brownlie,As you say. My apologies, for the...Dear Mr Brownlie,<BR/><BR/>As you say. My apologies, for the rant at M&M's. You caught me at the wrong time.an ex-apprenticehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04967821802512064291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317492743212811246.post-28560051162435516192009-02-21T01:12:00.000-08:002009-02-21T01:12:00.000-08:00ex-apprenticeSadly, us Jocks do not have the monop...ex-apprentice<BR/><BR/>Sadly, us Jocks do not have the monopoly on melancholy after the loss of loved ones.<BR/><BR/>I was trying to capture the mood of the islands at that time and if you stand on the cliff and look down it is difficult to suppress a feeling of melancholy.<BR/><BR/>The number of people saved and, indeed, the number of people lost is still in dispute as there may have been individuals on board who had no connection with the islands. As in any incident of this nature, different individuals tell different stories. <BR/><BR/>There are stories of individuals who had lost their families in the blitz on the mainland who were coming up with servicemen friends to celebrate the New year so the death toll may have been considerably higher.brownliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690872114535168567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317492743212811246.post-84510220098604232222009-02-20T21:22:00.000-08:002009-02-20T21:22:00.000-08:00Dear Mr Browneyes,A tragic tale, well told; until ...Dear Mr Browneyes,<BR/><BR/>A tragic tale, well told; until the last three paras where you got carried away with typical jock melancholy.<BR/><BR/>The Wiki, incidentally, that cornucopia of totally reliable lies and unreliable libel, has it that John Macleod rescued 40 souls, and was thus even more the hero.an ex-apprenticehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04967821802512064291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317492743212811246.post-2250211648532245102009-02-16T14:54:00.000-08:002009-02-16T14:54:00.000-08:00AMWI could not comment on that as it would be ille...AMW<BR/><BR/>I could not comment on that as it would be illegal but I understand that, elsewhere, wealthy tourists, usually Americans, buy expensive drams of the "real" Polly whisky cunningly disguised as a Johnny Walker bottle.!!brownliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690872114535168567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317492743212811246.post-72687708230076875142009-02-16T09:46:00.000-08:002009-02-16T09:46:00.000-08:00brownlie, That is so typical, serve your country a...brownlie, That is so typical, serve your country and have a wee nip from a washed up bottle of whisky and get imprisoned for it.<BR/><BR/>Is it true a pub on Benbecula still serves up some of the Whisky from the Poly ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317492743212811246.post-59863650477686260542009-02-15T15:33:00.000-08:002009-02-15T15:33:00.000-08:00Conan,I was reading a school magazine at Christmas...Conan,<BR/><BR/>I was reading a school magazine at Christmas time when I was in the Hebrides and kids had been asked what they'd do if they had £1 million. Most kids said they'd buy a big house, car etc except for one kid who said "I'd buy a big bomb and drop it over Germany"!! - I think your step-dad would have approved.brownliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690872114535168567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317492743212811246.post-52575367784626096472009-02-15T15:00:00.000-08:002009-02-15T15:00:00.000-08:00My stepfather lost his entire extended family in t...My stepfather lost his entire extended family in the Clydeside Blitz. Only he and his brother survived out of thirteen people, ironically because they were on active service.<BR/><BR/>C'est la vie en temps du guerre.Conan the Librarian™https://www.blogger.com/profile/01904339261121451779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317492743212811246.post-72150232197618435382009-02-15T14:24:00.000-08:002009-02-15T14:24:00.000-08:00Spooks,When I was a wee boy in Harris and my dad's...Spooks,<BR/><BR/>When I was a wee boy in Harris and my dad's pals would come round they'd switch of the TV and tell stories of the sea which was the first I'd heard of the Iolaire.<BR/><BR/>Talking of the Polly, a guy from the Hebrides was taken prisoner by the Germans just after D-day. Himself and a pal escaped, stole a boat in France and made it back to England. He served in the army for the rest of the war and was decorated for bravery. Shortly after being demobbed he was found with a bottle of the Polly Whisky. He was arrested and imprisoned in Inverness. Typical of the gratitude with which the Government rewards you for fighting for your country. Some things never change.brownliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690872114535168567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317492743212811246.post-64504287983675378152009-02-15T13:52:00.000-08:002009-02-15T13:52:00.000-08:00brownlie what a sad and horrific story, to think ...brownlie what a sad and horrific story, to think they went all through the war fighting in the worse imaginable conditions and survived only to have the life snuffed out of them moments before stepping onto home soil.<BR/><BR/>The loss of 205 people even for a city like Edinburgh would be horrific but for the small communities of Lewis and Harris to loose so many loved ones and in such tragic circumstances, words cant even begin to describe it.<BR/><BR/>Some communities may have lost a full generation of young men and possibly never recovered, how would any community recover ?<BR/><BR/>When it comes to seafaring tragedies in Scotland, the Gaels have many a storey to tell. I always remember my Grandpa telling me about the Cathrine which sank in the upper Clyde with scores of Gaels drowning when embarking for a new life in North America.<BR/><BR/>Like subrosa, i did not know about this tragedy but i do hope the many lives that perished are remembered, for far to often our heroes are forgotten.<BR/><BR/>Well at least the HMS Politician brought a smile and a song or 2 to the Islanders brownlie..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6317492743212811246.post-88787076605580353802009-02-15T13:03:00.000-08:002009-02-15T13:03:00.000-08:00Thank you brownlie. During a short stay in Storno...Thank you brownlie. During a short stay in Stornoway many years ago I didn't hear about this.subrosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00151702590329788260noreply@blogger.com