Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
5
From 26 December 1900, the two most pressing matters were to find out what had
happenedtothethreemissinglightkeepersandtoensurethesmoothandcontinuousrun-
ning of the Flannan Isles lighthouse.
As an immediate and temporary short-term measure to take some pressure off Su-
perintendent Muirhead, the NLB secretary James Murdoch sent three telegrams on 29
Hesperus,
careoftheshorestationatBreasclete,tellinghimtoremainatBreascleteuntil
a lightkeeper named J.N. Milne arrived from Tiumpan Head and an NLB assistant store-
keeperfromGrantonnamedDonaldJackarrivedatBreasclete.Theyweretobetakenby
the
Hesperus
to help at the Flannans and keep things running until Muirhead could sort
outamorepermanentarrangement.MurdochinstructedCaptainHarveythatoncehehad
taken these two men out to Eilean Mor, he could bring back MacDonald and Harvey's
other two men. Both Assistant Storekeeper Jack and Lightkeeper Milne were expected
to arrive at Breasclete late on the 30 December 1900 or the following morning ,which
was a Monday, and Captain Harvey was to immediately take them out to the Flannans,
return with the others to Breasclete and then send a telegram to Murdoch informing him
that all his instructions had been carried out.
In order for this part of Murdoch's plan to be achieved, he sent his second telegram to
Lightkeeper Ferrier at Stornoway, instructing him to immediately call in the OLK to re-
placehim,whileheinturnwastoimmediatelyproceedthatdaytoTiumpanHeadLight-
house to replace Milne, who Murdoch informed him, was going to the Flannan Isles sta-
tion for approximately two weeks as a result of the accident there.
The third telegram sent by Murdoch was to lightkeeper J.N. Milne at Tiumpan Head
and stated: 'Accident Flannan Islands. You go there take charge for fortnight or so. Meet
mail steamer Stornoway tomorrow night. Jack Assistant Storekeeper, will arrive with
her.DriveovertogethertoBreascleitandjoin'Hesperus'.Ferrier,Stornoway,willarrive
tonight to take charge Tiumpan Head. Wire reply.'
2
With these telegrams all sent on the same day, James Murdoch had solved the imme-
diate problem of finding a very short term solution to the manning problem while Muir-
