Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Withtheabsenceoftheofficiallog(asconfirmedbytheNLBheadquartersat84George
Street, Edinburgh), it can only be surmised as to what actually took place on the last day
the lightkeepers were known to be present on Eilean Mor. However, a reasonable guess
can be made of what happened up until the last entry on the slate.
The PLKwasJames Ducat. The sonofaploughman, hewasbornat Lunanbank Farm
intheparishofInverkeillor,nearArbroathon11August1856andheenteredtheservice
oftheNLBasanALKon21November1878attheageoftwenty-two.Inhispositionas
an assistant, his first lighthouse was Montroseness (more commonly known as Scurdie-
ness) where he spent seven months. He then moved to Inchkeith on 9 April 1879 where
he stayed considerably longer, a total of five years and eight months. His lengthy period
ofserviceatInchkeithwasfollowedbyanevenlongerperiodofserviceathisnextlight-
house at Rhinns of Islay where he started on 3 March 1885 and spent a total of seven
years and nine months. His almost eight-year span at Rhinns of Islay was followed by
two shorter spells at Langness, for almost three and a half years. He received his promo-
tion to PLK shortly after a move to Loch Ryan on 17 April 1896. His promotion to PLK
was on 2 May 1896. On his arrival at Eilean Mor on 28 August 1899 James Ducat was
therefore an experienced and seasoned lightkeeper with twenty-two years of experience
behind him, including seniority as a PLK for over four and a half of those years.
2
TheSecondALK,andthethirdmaninlineofseniorityontheEileanMorLighthouse,
was Thomas Marshall. He was born on 11 April 1871 and had entered the service of the
NLB at the age of twenty-five as an ALK on 27 April 1896. His first station was Skerry-
vore where he arrived on 27 August 1896 and stayed three years and four months be-
fore his next posting to the Flannan Isles, arriving there on 31 August 1899. Marshall's
NLB register entry also shows him to have been 'Seaman & Resident Occasional, Ailsa
Craig'. No dates are given for Marshall's functions as seaman and OLK at Ailsa Craig,
butitcanbeassumedthatthiswasaperiodoftraininginthefourplusmonthsfromwhen
he joined the NLB in April 1896 to when he went to Skerryvore in August 1896. At the
