Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
7
Following on from the most popular theory that Ducat, Marshall and Macarthur fell vic-
tim to a giant wave, the next contender for a theory of what happened to the three men is
the possibility of foul play of some kind.
While the idea that one lightkeeper had gone berserk and killed his co-workers may
bedismissedaspreposterousbysome,itisnotasoutlandishatheoryasonemightthink,
as there are enough examples of difficulties with lightkeepers in their lonely places of
work where problems have arisen and ended very badly. There is also an example on the
Eilean Mor lighthouse itself which shows that the potential for violence was actually a
very real possibility. Donald John Macleod (Domhnall Iain a' Chidhe as he was known
in spoken English), worked as the harbour master at Breasclete from the 1930s onwards.
He was never officially appointed as harbour master; instead he appeared to just fall into
the role, as the family lived adjacent to the pier. However, he fulfilled the role substan-
tially and was the contact for many agencies, including customs and excise, the coast-
guard, and trawler and shipping companies. For the last twenty years or more of his life,
he ran his own business providing services to trawlers from all over Europe who worked
off the west coast of Lewis. He became well known through the years. A former col-
league of his son was on a visit to the Faroe Islands in the mid-1980s and met the prime
ministeroftheislandsatafunction.Ontellingtheprimeministerthathecameoriginally
from Lewis, the prime minister asked 'Do you know my old friend Donald Macleod at
the Quay House in Breasclete?'
Donald John Macleod's father, also called Donald, had not only been Breasclete Har-
bour Master before him but had also been involved in the construction of the lighthouse
on Eilean Mor from 1896 to 1899.
Donald John (the son) was actually working on the Eilean Mor Lighthouse on the
day the Second World War broke out in September 1939. He is sometimes referred to
as the 'part-time' harbour master for Breasclete because he also served as an OLK on
the Flannan Isles Lighthouse, therefore almost combining the two jobs with each being
consideredpart-time,althoughhespentfarmoretimeasBreascleteHarbourMasterthan
