St Kilda and Mingulay log books go online 20/9/11
The last school log books for the abandoned islands of St Kilda and Mingulay have gone online, revealing glimpses of community life on these remote Scottish islands.
Thanks to a partnership between Tasglann nan Eilean Siar (Hebridean Archives) and the National Records of Scotland the two unique books have been conserved and digitised in Edinburgh before being returned to Stornoway. The log books are now available as virtual books, allowing the browser to flip through the pages and zoom in to read individual text from the comfort of their computer.
These fascinating documents give a weekly account of life on these islands from the school teachers’ point of view, commenting on discipline, the weather and the progress being made by the students. Attendance is often an issue, with children being kept away from school to help with picking potatoes, cutting peat or unloading the supply boats. Illness and fear of illness also had an effect.
The Mingulay log book, covering the years 1875 to 1910, notes for Valentine’s Day 1896 “Only 20 came forward on Friday. This is owing to a whim of the parents that two or three other children are infected with a harmless rash on their hands. It is all a want of control of the [School] Board.”
The St Kilda log book, dating from 1901 until the island was evacuated in 1930, is equally detailed.
Its final pages record important non-
Tasglann nan Eilean Siar is the archive service for the Western Isles. Project manager David Powell said the digitised logbooks will reach a wider audience on the internet.
He added: “The window into the past of these rural remote communities is fascinating and, as we were all school pupils at some point, is something we can all connect with in some way.”
The website is at www.cne-