Reproduced by kind permission of the trustees of the
National Galleries of Scotland
December 1900 Flannan Islands
Lighthouse
In December 1900, three lighthouse
keepers of the Flannan Islands Lighthouse, to the
west of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, disappeared in
mysterious circumstances; what is commonly known as
the 'Flannan Isle Disaster'. On 15 December 1900 the
captain of a vessel passing the Flannan Islands noticed
that no light was visible. On the 26 December 1900,
the ship Hesperus reached Flannan. The ship
was a 'lighthouse tender' sent by the Northern Lighthouse
Board on a routine visit to the lighthouse. There
was no sign of life on the island and no response
was made to a rocket fired from the tender. Crew members
were put ashore and discovered no trace of the lighthouse
keepers and no obvious explanation for their absence.
The last
written entries in the lighthouse log were for the
13th December but particulars for the 14th December
and for the time of extinguishing the light on the
15th December were noted on slate for transfer later
to the log. The official report on the case concluded
that the lighthouse keepers had been the victim of
extreme weather conditions and had probably been swept
into the sea by an exceptionally large and unexpected
wave.
27 December
1900, Telegram from the Northern Lighthouse Commissioners
to the keeper of the lighthouse at Tiumpan Head, on
the island of Lewis, to take temporary charge of the
lighthouse on Flannan.
(National Archives of Scotland reference NLC3/1/1)
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26
December 1900,
Telegram from the master of the Hesperus
to the Secretary of the Northern Lighthouse Commissioners,
Mr Murdoch, outlining the incident at Flannan Island
Lighthouse.
(National Archives of Scotland reference NLC3/1/1)
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9 January
1901, Official Report by the Superintendent
on the disaster at Flannan Islands Lighthouse
(8 pages)
(National Archives of Scotland reference NLC3/1/1)
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Transcript>>
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