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The Drowned and the Saved
£5.99
The Drowned and the Saved—When War Came to the Hebrides
War reaches the Hebrides — internment, conflict, and survival
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About the Ebook
WINNER OF THE SALTIRE SOCIETY HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR
Next morning at about 6 o'clock my mother wakened us to say there had been a shipwreck and bodies were being washed ashore. My father had gone with others to look for survivors ... I don't think any survivors came in at Port Ellen but bodies did.
The loss of two British ships crammed with American soldiers bound for the trenches of the First World War brought the devastation of war directly to the shores of the Scottish island of Islay.
The sinking of the troopship Tuscania by a German U-Boat on 5 February 1918 was the first major loss of US troops in in the war. Eight months after the people of Islay had buried more than 200 Tuscania dead, the armed merchant cruiser Otranto collided with another troopship during a terrible storm. Despite a valiant rescue attempt by HMS Mounsay, the Otranto drifted towards Islay, hit a reef, throwing 600 men into the water. Just 19 survived; the rest were drowned or crushed by the wreckage.
Based on the harrowing personal recollection of survivors and rescuers, newspaper reports and original research, Les Wilson tells the story of these terrible events, painting a vivid picture which also pays tribute to the astonishing bravery of the islanders, who risked their lives pulling men from the sea, caring for survivors and burying the dead.
Why You'll Love This Ebook
- Discover the little-known story of wartime internment in the Hebrides
- Explore how global conflict reached Scotland's most remote islands
- Experience meticulous research into a forgotten wartime chapter
- Read another celebrated title from Birlinn Ltd - Independent Scottish Publisher
Reviews
'Excellent from every point of view — the narrative is clear and gripping, the research exhaustive, and the work imbued with a deeply felt humanity for the plight of the men involved' Joe Farrell
'Winner of the Saltire Society History Book of the Year'
About the Author
Les Wilson is a writer and award-winning documentary maker. Among his film credits is the 30-part series Scotland's War, an oral history of the Second World War, and the 13-part series The Real Tartan Army, a TV history of the Scottish regiments. He is the co-editor of Islay Voices (Birlinn, 2016) and the author of The Drowned and the Saved: When War Came to the Hebrides (Birlinn, 2018), which won the Saltire Society History Book of the Year award, 2018.
Publication Details
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
Publication Date: 25 January 2018
Print Length: 256.0 pages (Ebook edition)
ISBN (Ebook): 9781788850278
Format: Ebook
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