Flannan light, built by the Stevensons, became active in December of 1899. Three keepers were stationed on the island, and in December of 1900 they all vanished. When the relief crew arrived at the east landing no one was there to meet them. They went up to the lighthouse and found the outside doors closed, but an interior kitchen door ajar. When they searched the island they found signs of severe storm damage at the west landing, but no sign of the keepers. The final lines of Wilfrid Wilson Gibson’s poem The Flannan Isles describe the moment when the relief keeper, and two boatmen, finally gave up the search for the missing men.
Three men alive on Flannan Isle,
Who thought on three men dead.
If you want to read the full text of the poem you can find it here. Other deaths have occurred on the island. One man fell or jumped from the tower, and several drowned at one of the landings: sinister events for such a small island. Tomorrow we will head down to the storm battered West Landing.
 |
| Charing Cross - where the tram tracks from the east and west landings meet |
No comments:
Post a Comment