A Poignant Look Back at the Evacuation of St. Kilda Island

ALMA LEE and British Consul General Martin Cronin.

LIZ BIRNIE and Don McTavish.

AT THE ST. KILDA TAPES screening in Vancouver (L-R) Dick Mungin, Chief Executive of the Scotland Funds with Maureen Baird and David Lunny.

SINGER Alyth McCormack accompanied by Jonny Hardie of Old Blind Dogs, Ewan Vernal of Capercaillie and Brian McAlpine of Session A9 entertained after the film St. Kilda Tapes.

MARGARET and Steve Edge of the Rogue Folk Club.

WILMA and and Donald Paton, the Ptarmigan Duo.

MUSICIAN David Allison.

By CATHOLINE BUTLER

VANCOUVER - On April 24, the Scotland Funds, the St. Andrew's Society of Vancouver, and Alma Lee, presented a special screening of The St. Kilda Tapes at the Caprice on Granville Street.

The St. Kilda Tapes is deeply moving footage of the evacuation on August 29, 1930, of the last 36 inhabitants of Scotland's St. Kilda Island. This was one of the world's remote human settlements and residents were evacuated at their own request to Morvern on the Scottish mainland.

The Gaelic-speaking population probably never exceeded 180 and was never more than 100 after 1850. With their re-settlement, they left behind a home and life that their ancestors had known for centuries.

The Scottish Screen Archives has preserved the footage that was shot during this memorable departure. The St. Kilda Tapes uses this material and the voice of Norman Gillies who participated in the evacuation as a five-year-old boy.

One very sad and poignant scene was when the inhabitants were aboard the boat that would take them from St. Kilda Island forever. It was heart rendering to see them standing on the deck waving their final goodbyes and looking back at the island until it finally disappeared out of view.

Film makers Ewan and Alastair Meldrum have created a unique archive and the presentation at the Caprice was extremely well organized. Dick Mungin, Chief Executive of the Scotland Funds opened with the introduction. This was followed by comments from Alma Lee, and British Consul General, Martin Cronin.

The showing of the tapes was accompanied by the excellent music of David Allison, whose music really set the tone for life on the island and the sad and poignant evacuation of the island.

Following the tapes, guests were treated to the beautiful and ethereal lyrics of Alyth McCormack and her band. She held the audience captivated when she sang in both Gaelic and English.

Viewing the St. Kilda Tapes, I was reminded of the time that I spent in the Gaeltacht area of Donegal, studying Irish language and folklore.

Part of our studies was a day visit to Gola Island, an uninhabitated island off the coast of Donegal. It was very eerie to walk into a house where the big black kettle was still hanging over the cold embers of the fireplace and the table and chairs were still in place, as though at any minute the family would walk back in the door.

I couldn't help feeling as though I was an intruder. At the school I sat in one of the student desks and wondered where the children who had attended that school had gone to live. How often their thoughts must have returned to that little school, their playmates, and life on the island.

Once again, it poses the timeless question: When you are forced or choose to leave your home, when does your journey finally stop?

Some of the audience comments on The St. Kilda Tapes are as follows:

I thought the evening premiere of The St. Kilda Tapes was fascinating. Most notable were the music supplied by Alyth McCormack and her fine band - comprising Jonny Hardie of Old Blind Dogs, Ewan Vernal of Capercaillie, and Brian McAlpine of Session A9 - and the food!

The films - all silent documentaries shot in the 1920s - were accompanied by David Allison on guitars and overdubs by former St. Kilda residents. It made for a somewhat disjointed film, but it gave a fascinating insight into a lost way of life and was quite moving in parts.

With a bit more attention to editing and flow, it could be made into a wonderful account of the incredible changes in our way of life that occurred in the first half of the Twentieth Century, and whose legacy we are now experiencing. - Steve Edge
The Rogue Folk Club

All who attended this thought-provoking event could not help but feel a sense of nationalistic pride in the great courage shown by the people of St. Kilda in reaching a realistic decision for the betterment of their children and future generations.

But the poignancy of their leaving the island and the words of the narration by one of these children, Norman Gillies, presented an even more powerful statement which touched the heart.

One scene is particularly moving as he speaks of his mother watching the island disappear from their sight as they left their life of survival, struggle and remoteness but took with them to the mainland their crafts and skills, their music and song, their spirit of community and their sense of belonging where each took care of a neighbour as a friend.

Alyth McCormack, a native Gaelic singer from the Isle of Lewis, making her first appearance in Vancouver together with back-up musicians confirmed that musical traditions are enduring. Their inspired and fresh performance of Scotland's ancient music delighted the listening audience.
- The Ptarmigan Duo
Donald Paton, FSA Scot and Wilma Paton FSA Scot
[Donald and Wilma Paton form the Ptarmigan Duo and present a program of Scotland's history and culture in song and spoken word in Canada and also in their native Scotland.]

I appreciate the effort that people have made to make the tapes "come alive." The musical accompaniment complimented the scenes we viewed and added to their impact. The update on the little boy whose mother was spinning was particularly touching as he still thought of St. Kilda as "home."
- Liz Birnie

I thought The St. Kilda Tapes was absolutely fantastic and I enjoyed the evening so much. I didn't know such a barren place existed and how people could have survived on it for so long...it's kind of hard to believe. The fact that there was some canned music and then supported by the 12-string guitar and then the zither and then the beautiful singer ....I was just blown away by the whole thing. I would however like to have more information about The Scotland Funds, I really don't know anything about them.
- Don McTavish
McTavish Video Services

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