Scottish island community celebrates 100 years since they got their land back

An island community has marked 100 years since the land was returned to its people.

The centenary of the resettlement of Galson in the north east of Lewis and the return of more than 50 families to this corner of the island has been marked with the unveiling of a new monument.

Seonaid Ruairidh ‘an Mhàrtainn and Murchadh ‘an Bhàin Dòmhnallach were among the first new residents of Galson in 1924. | Seonaid Ruairidh ‘an Mhàrtainn and Murchadh ‘an Bhàin Dòmhnallach

The monument encapsulates the land struggle on Lewis, from the clearances to the raiders who attempted to seize back the land where they had lived and worked for generations to the ultimate resettlement of Galson following World War One.

Agnes Rennie is the chair of the board of Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn, which took the Galson Estate into community ownership in 2007.

A procession to the new monument which marks 100 years of the resettlement of Galson. PIC: Contributed | A procession to the new monument which marks 100 years of the resettlement of Galson. PIC: Contributed

Her grandparents on her mother’s side, Seonaid Ruairidh ‘an Mhàrtainn and Murchadh ‘an Bhàin Dòmhnallach, were among the new arrivals at Galson in 1924, along with her father’s parents.

Ms Rennie said it had been important to mark the centenary to reflect on the story of the land and its people - as well as the future hopes of the community now it is in their hands.

She said: “We felt we owed it to those who had come before us to do something.

“For me now it is now just about remembering the centenary, but remembering the raiders, remembering the clearances, which were never commemorated in any way and also looking forward optimistically given we are now part of a community-owned estate. OK, that comes with challenges, but it also comes with opportunities and these opportunities are now in our own hands.”

An aerial shot of the new monument, na Dorsan. | An aerial shot of the new monument, na Dorsan.

A total of 52 families arrived from across Lewis to take up new crofts under the Land Settlement Act, which was introduced following a series of land raids across the Highlands and islands by returning war veterans furious that land promised in return for their service was not forthcoming.

Raids at Galson were carried out in 1919 when 50 ex-servicemen from Shader and Borve occupied Galson Farm, then a tenanted sheep farm under the ownership of island owner and industrialist Lord Leverhulme, who resisted the terms of the new legislation.

At a meeting in June, Donald Murray, from Shader, read a long statement reproduced on behalf of local families wishing to be settled in Galson. It was reported in full in The Scotsman.

He said: “Our desire is to get small holdings on the farm, and nothing of which we are aware is to turn us away from that desire.

“We mean to do everything in our power to attain that ... while we were engaged in our country’s battles, promises without number were made that the land question was to be speedily settled, that no sooner were we to come back victorious than the land from which our forefathers were evicted would be placed in our possession; that a grateful country would not for a moment tolerate the disgraceful system which the best land in the country was monopolised by a fortunate few ...

“While we were fighting nothing seemed too good for us. But now that the enemy has been overcome, through our help, these promises seem to take much time in being fulfilled. In fact, a great many people have dropped their promises like a hot potato.“

That month, the Board of Agriculture was informed of ‘acts of malicious mischief’ with part of a march dyke separating Galson and Borve destroyed.

Future hopes: Local school pupils at the new monument which tells the story of the land struggle in this corner of Lewis. | Contributed

According to research, it was an “act of retaliation” against sheep farmer John Morrison, who regularly removed the crofter’s horses, a bond of contention for at least 30 years.

The agitation at Galson in 1919 mirrored, in part, the land raids of January 1888, which followed the clearance of land by island owner James Matheson, who made his wealth in the Chinese opium trade. Between 50 and 80 approached Galson farm around 1.30am in the morning armed with sticks, bludegeons, spades, scythes, pitchforks and other weapons and pulled down part of the boundary fence.

The incident resulted in the arrest - involving up to 100 police - and trial at the High Court in Edinburgh of Malcolm Smith, Malcolm Saunders, Malcolm Maciver and John Nicolson. They were all found not guilty.

The Board of Agriculture went on to purchase Galson with the land divided up into crofts.

Ms Rennie said her grandfather’s letter of application for a croft had been “very moving” to see.

She said: “The lived in the village of Shadder, in Lower Shadder, which is four or five miles away, so not a huge distance. But the farm was completely out of bounds to them, to everybody. You wouldn’t dare go there.

“In the letter he described his circumstances of living in overcrowded conditions, like so many others. At the time everyone was living in blackhouses and when someone married, another piece would be built on the side.”

Ms Rennie said the new crofts were allocated by “drawing lots”, with her grandparents “very lucky” to be assigned Croft 23, which already had a little house on it. The building remains in the family today.

Ms Rennie said: “My grandparents always regarded themselves as extremely fortunate, first to get the land and then to walk into a house with a roof, a slate roof.”

She added: “Mr grandmother saw it as a great opportunity, and that they were given an opportunity without having to go overseas. For many, that was the other option at the time.

“And the other thing was that people came far and wide from across Lewis to the village and people got on very well.

“I remember my grandmother saying ‘we were all the same’. They all came with young families, all had very little, but were ready to help each other. That was the spirit, that was how it was.”

Historian Juliette Desportes, who consulted on an exhibition to mark the centenary, said the projects “captured the voices of those who have bravely fought for the right to live on and off the land”.

She said: “While the story of the clearances for sheep and subsequent land raids is a well-known one, the events which took place in Galson have somehow been largely ignored by historians. It is wonderful to see such an important historical episode come to light and be celebrated in this way, 100 years after the township’s resettlement.”

The new monument at Galson has been designed by Will Maclean and Marian Leven, who also designed other island monuments including the Iolaire and Sùileachan.

At Galson, na Dorsan - or Doors - was unveiled on Friday in a ceremony forged with poetry and music from the Lewis and Harris Youth Pipe Band.