DISCOVERY - The Lighthouse - page 48

At first glance, it would largely appear that the grammar in Moore's letter/report is
somewhat stilted. In those days, and for some considerable time into the twentieth
century, lightkeepers were regarded very much as 'blue-collar' workers - educated,
of course, but not to 'professional' standards. That much remained unchanged right
through to the 1970s and beyond. In addition, Moore would have been under consid-
erable stress and pressure to get something on paper with the least possible delay. An
NLB employee at his level would not be used to communicating with higher authority.
Such communications would normally have been the prerogative of the principal light-
house keeper. Promotion was much slower in those days, a strict protocol would have
been observed, with a much greater respect for the chain of command than would have
been the case later.
It should also be remembered that the discovery of the missing keepers had had a
profoundlyunsettlingeffectonMoore.SomuchsothatalthoughMuirheadhadlefthim
as one of the temporary staff manning the Eilean Mor Lighthouse, he had commented
in his report that Moore's state of nervousness and agitation was worrying and that he
would have to consider removing him from the Flannan Isles if he did not improve.
After going through both Moore's short report of his immediate findings and Muir-
head's longer report of his investigation, two things are very clear which refute two
of the myths that constantly circulate about this mystery. The first myth is the uneaten
meallyingonthetable.Mooreasfirstonthescenestates:'Thekitchenutensilswereall
very clean, which is a sign that it must be after dinner some time that they left.' 16 Then
Muirhead's report, written only eleven days later, states in a similar vein: 'The pots and
pans had been cleaned and the kitchen tidied up, which showed that the man who had
been acting as cook had completed his work.' 17
The second myth is often mentioned and appears to heighten the 'drama' of the dis-
appearance is the entries in the station log and on the slate prior to entry in the log.
Although Robert Muirhead makes no actual reference to either the station log or the
slate, it is impossible to believe that he would have ignored such 'dramatic' entries and
made no reference to them. The supposed entries were said to be written in Thomas
Marshall's hand in the dramatic prose style of Victorian times and state:
Dec.12thGale,northbynorth-west.Sealashedtofury.Stormbound9p.m.Neverseen
such a storm. Everything shipshape. Ducat irritable. 12 p.m. Storm still raging. Wind
Steady.Stormbound.Cannotgoout.Shippassedsoundingfoghorn.Couldseelightsof
cabins. Ducat quiet. Macarthur crying.
Dec.13thStormcontinuedthroughnight.Windshiftedwestbynorth.Ducatquiet.Ma-
carthur praying. 12 noon. Grey daylight. Me, Ducat and Macarthur prayed.