Tong

George Thomson M.C. 1885-1973

Thomson Battle of Doiran, Glasgow, Headmaster, Isle of Lewis, Newlands School, Tong, Worcestershire Regiment 0

George Thomson M.C. 1885-1973

Lt. George Thomson MC of 11th Batallion, Worcestershire Regiment. He is wearing the WWI cap and lapel badge of the Worcestershire Regiment

George Thomson M.C. 1885-1973

George Thomson was born at 32 Aird Tong, Isle of Lewis, Scotland on 25 September, 1885. His parents were Alexander Thomson and Janet “Jessie” Ferguson. Their story can be read here. He was the eleventh of thirteen children.

He attended the local school in Tong and he became a pupil teacher. This entailed attending school for two extra hours a day, one before and one after school, when he received tuition from the headmaster. He helped out in the classroom for the rest of the school day. George studied at home in the evenings for his Higher Leaving Certificate and only regretted that he had not been able to attend the Nicholson Institute in Stornoway as a pupil.

His was not the easiest route to university, but he was a clever lad and he got there, a little later than average. He was twenty one when he went up to the University of Glasgow in 1907 to study Latin and Mathematics and at that time his father was alive. He had a few changes of term-time address, perhaps a feature of studying in the city so far from the Hebrides. At the outset he lived c/o Macmillan, at 15 Hampden Street and lodged probably with the same family the following year at 11 Raeberry Street. In the session 1909-1910 he lived c/o Chapelle, at 53 Mount Street.

He seems to have applied himself well and he passed his degree exams in Latin and Mathematics in his first year, Logic, English and Education in his second year, Moral Philosophy and Celtic in his third year. He took first prize in Dr George Henderson’s Celtic class in 1910. George graduated MA on 10th June 1910. It was not the end of his studies, however. He came back in the session 1912-1913, this time to the Science Faculty, and enrolled for classes in Geology and Natural Philosophy. His plan was to teach.

I grew up knowing him as “Uncle George”, but he was actually my father’s uncle, so my great-uncle. When my father left Stornoway to attend Glasgow University, he lodged with his uncle in Muirend.

War Service

George Thomson went to war, enlisting first as a Private in the Royal Scots Fusiliers before being commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 11th Worcester Regiment. He fought at the Battle of Doiran in Macedonia in 1917, and was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. The London Gazette of 24th July 1917 contains the citation,

‘He was wounded in the attack but, receiving first aid, rejoined his platoon and reorganised it under heavy fire. He only withdrew on being wounded a second time.’

George Thomson – Roll of Honour

Map of Doiran Front

Battle of Doiran 1917

Between 1915 and 1918, British troops were part of a multi-national Allied force fighting against the Bulgarians and their allies in the Balkans. Although disease and the harsh conditions took a heavy toll, they eventually brought the campaign to a successful conclusion.

The British Salonika Force (BSF) covered 90 miles of front line including Doiran, where the British fought their two major battles of the campaign, and the wide Struma Valley, where small-scale operations were the norm and the effects of malaria were greatly felt.

The Salonika Front, approximately 250 miles, broadly followed the line of the border between Greece and North Macedonia. The line was established in 1915 by the allied forces in an attempt to protect Serbia against attacks from the combined Bulgarian, German and Austro-Hungarian forces.

The Battle of Doiran 1917

The second Battle of Doiran took place on 24-25 April 1917, and the Regimental History of the Worcestershire Regiment describes the action as follows.

Hardly had that reorganisation been completed when, shortly after 1.30 am, came a fresh storm of shells and a fresh onslaught from over the ridge. The enemy were determined to recapture their lost trench; they had paused only to collect their forces and to arrange a fresh barrage with their overwhehning artillery.

Doiran Front seen from Sal Greco de Popovo. Image Courtesy of Imperial War Museum

Soldiers reading the Balkan News – Salonika. Image courtesy of National Army Museum.

Injured at Doiran

That fresh barrage wrecked the defences of the shattered trench, and the new Bulgarian attack found the defenders with bombs exhausted and Lewis-guns mostly out of action. The platoons were now hopelessly intermingled, and in the darkness control was very difficult; nevertheless, inspired by the example of the wounded Lieutenant Thomson, the Worcestershire lads fought splendidly, beating off two more successive attacks. A big bomb struck one Lewis-gun, killing or wounding all its team. Bombs were striking all around, but 2nd Lieutenant F S Shaw, although already wounded, got to the Lewis-gun and brought it into action. He worked it single-handed, shooting down many of the enemy as they came charging forward and encouraging his men to fight to the last.

Military Cross

Lieutenant Thomson and 2nd Lieutenant Shaw were both awarded the Military Cross.

At that stage it was necessary to send back a message describing the position. Private J Auden volunteered to take the message, and set out down the slope into the barrage. He ran the gauntlet of the shells successfully, reached Battalion Headquarters, delivered his message and returned with the reply. On the way back he was struck and badly wounded; but he struggled on, delivered the answer, and remained in action till the end of the fight. He was subsequently awarded the Military Medal.

Miltary Cross – First World War

Newlands School.

Newlands School

The war over, George returned to Glasgow to take up the teaching profession in which he had taken his first steps as a boy on Lewis. He taught in a few Glasgow schools before becoming a headmaster.

George married Helen MacOonald from Holm on 22 July 1920 at Burlington House, Glasgow, and they had one son and one daughter. Alasdair (1921-2000) was a navigating officer in the Merchant Navy and an Arts graduate of Glasgow. Marjorie (1924-2002) married Ian MacKenzie from Stornoway and lived in Saltcoats.

George Thomson finally retired from Newlands School after forty years in teaching. He was an enthusiastic member of the Lewis and Harris Association for over sixty years. He died in 1973 aged 88. His wife Helen died in 1966 aged 75.

Family Life

This photograph shows George and his wife Helen on the right. I don’t know the identities of the other members of the family

George Thomson and Family

Retirement

This video was created from cine film taken by my father in 1955. It was filmed in the back garden of his house in Ormonde Drive, Muirend, Glasgow. The two children in the video are myself and my sister.

Acknowledgements

This page has been created from personal memories and family documents and photographs. Information about his war service was courtesy of the Regimental History of the Worcestershire Regiment. I have also drawn on the Glasgow University Roll of Honour and information provided by my sister Jennifer Tarry.

View Ancestor Chart

The Family of Marion Thomson

Mawhinney, McLeod, Thomson Fort Chipewyan, Gull Lake, Isle of Lewis, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Sydney, Tong 0

The Family of Marion Thomson

Letter from Jessie Mawhinney

Marion Thomson’s Family

Jessie Catherine Mawhinney wrote to my father on 23rd February 1989 about the emigration from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland to Canada, of her own parents in the early years of the twentieth century.

Her mother, Marion Mary, was the eldest child of James and Isabella Thomson, and the grand daughter of Alexander Thomson and Christina MacInnes. She was born in 1882, the first white child born in the Northern Territory of Canada.

She returned to the Isle of Lewis with her parents in 1889. In 1905 she met a George McLeod who had come home from Nova Scotia. They married in a ceremony in the market place with five other couples before returning to Nova Scotia. George found employment in the coal mines. Below is Jessie’s account, written only a few months before she died in 1989.

Nova Scotia Coal Mines

If I were a writer I could put together a lot of incidents in our family that would make pretty good reading. My father, George McLeod (why he spelt his name without the “a” we never knew and never thought of questioning), came to Canada in the early 1900s. He had an aunt married to a retired sea captain name of Kemp, living near Sydney, Cape Breton Island.

My father came and stayed with them while he sought work in the coal mines near there. In 1905 he went back to Lewis and married my mother and brought her out to Auntie Kemp’s until he could build a house, which he finally did, a little shack in the woods which my mother swore was two feet wider at one end than the other.

Anyway, their three oldest children were born there. Their close neighbours were a white lady married to a negro who also worked in the mines and my mother said he used to pick up one of her hens on his way home from work occasionally.

But the women were very good friends and Mrs. Mickey taught my mother a lot of things about housekeeping and sewing and making ends meet on my father’s salary. He received $1.50 per day and these were long, long days underground. Finally a group of the miners decided to go on strike for better wages and working conditions. No unions in those days. They stuck it out for a year and then, through desperation, went back only to be assigned worse jobs and no change in pay.

The Esplanade Sydney Nova Scotia 1950

Landseekers Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

By 1911 the Government opened a large territory of land in Saskatchewan. 320 acres of open prairie land could be had for the sum of $5.00 with provisions that a small house be built, a few acres broken each year and a minimum of three months living on the land each year for three years. After that they could apply for another 350 acres for the same price.

This looked like a fantastic deal to my parents so with high hopes they travelled on an immigrant train to the west. They stopped over in Winnipeg and were warmly received by friends from Lewis and felt much happier about the journey ahead.

My father settled the family in a small house in Gull Lake, then quite a thriving little town, and went to see what he could do about building a shack on his new homestead. He took a job in the local livery stable. There were two such in the town and they did a lively business.

No cars those days! He was able to borrow horses and a wagon and hauled supplies out to the farm. There wasn’t even a road out there so it was a long drive, ten miles, over rough places. He finally put up a small shack of lumber and covered on the outside with heavy, black tar paper which was attached to the wall with flat round metal discs and a sharp nail. Some tedious job getting that lot done.

Anyway, came the day to move the family out for their three months stay. With the three young ones, my sister Annabelle wasn’t quite a year old and my mother was pregnant with Johnnie. They didn’t have much to take out, just the bare necessities and it was a very windy day.

Homestead

Through the years we came to accept the fact the wind blew an awful lot and not a gentle breeze either. About the last mile of their journey they noticed various sizes of pieces of black tar paper blowing toward them. Mother couldn’t imagine where they would come from but Dad had a sinking feeling he had seen them before and sure enough when they reached “Home on the Range” the little shack was minus a covering here and there.

Must mention they brought a cow along which was tied to the end of the shack and in the day time was tethered out on a long rope to feed on the long prairie grass. Dad had dug a well near the shack and the water was lovely. My mother used to hang a milk can on a rope down into the well to keep it cool. One day the snap that held the rope on the can came off and after a great deal of persuasion, my brother who was about six years old then, was lowered into the well to rescue the milk.

My father took the borrowed horses and wagon back to town and from then on until the three months were up he worked at his job in town and walked to the homestead every Saturday night with the weeks supply of groceries. Back the ten miles on Sunday night. My mother must have been terribly lonely there though I don’t remember that.

Early Sod House

Gull Lake Saskatchewan

Aunt Isabel

The next summer my Aunt Isabel came to be with her and we young ones just loved her as she was just sixteen and a great one for playing games. There was a large ranch just across from our place which was fenced and a big gate close by which we, children, would swing on if there were no cowboys around to catch us.

They would be riding around to see if the fence was down and would come in once in awhile for a chat and a cup of tea. Eventually my father made a little pen for hens from a cave out in the side of the hills and sods from the newly plowed ground. So we had eggs and milk but there never was time enough or tools to have a garden until they came out to live all year round and have a proper house and other buildings.

Often there were land agents from town driving protective buyers out to look over the land still open for sale. One very rainy night two men stopped at the shack asking if they could come in because of the downpour. My mother was pretty apprehensive about letting them in but the nearest neighbour was two miles away and she couldn’t refuse.

They tied the horses in the shelter of the shack and came in to sleep on the floor until morning. My mother kept the axe handy by her bed just in case! In time these two men became good friends of ours and had many a good laugh about that night.

Gull Lake Policeman

It was six years later that the farm became a permanent home. In the meantime my father had several jobs and had acquired a nice house in town. The last two years he spent as town policeman.

One weekend my mother took the two youngest and went to visit another Lewis lady on a ranch twelve miles from town. My oldest brother and I were left to keep house while Dad was at work. We were pretty surprised on the Saturday evening when a strange man showed up at the door. He said Dad had sent him and he had some groceries and said he would have supper. He persuaded us to have some fun with Dad and we were to say when he came home that the man never arrived.

It turned out he was in jail for some minor thing and Dad had felt sorry for him so decided he could be out for the evening, likely knew him pretty well. Anyway, when we heard Dad at the door the man hid behind the big kitchen stove and when Dad enquired if he came we weren’t for telling the truth.

Dad was pretty worried for a while until the man emerged laughing. I suppose we got a good scolding and Dad would be relieved he hadn’t “flown the coop”.

Gull Lake 1911

Gull Lake 1950

Schooldays

The folks sold the house in town to buy horses and what machinery they could get by with. More would need to come later. There were four new work horses to name and I still remember their names. Also a team of drivers which we named Mutt and Jeff.

There were good years and bad years and we were fortunate to be a fairly healthy bunch. School was 1.5 miles away and we walked and took our lunch. School was only in the summer months in the first few years. Later on the Government paid a grant if the school was kept open the full term.

The eight grades were taught in one room by one teacher and I will say the children did very well though most of us couldn’t afford to go on to High School in town. I don’t remember that anyone particularly famous went from there into the world but we certainly had many happy days there.

Ancestor Chart

The First Lewis Woman in Athabasca

MacIver, Thomson Athabasca, Fond du Lac, Fort Chipewyan, Hudson's Bay Company, Isle of Lewis, Lake Mamawi, Scotland, Tong 2

The First Lewis Woman in Athabasca

James Thomson and Isabella MacIver and family

James Thomson and Isabella MacIver

This page contains a story about James Thomson and Isabella MacIver from 15 Tong, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. James Thomson was the son of my great great grandparents Alexander Thomson and Christina MacInnes.

James was a fur trader employed by the Hudson’s Bay Company in Canada, working in the snowy wastelands of Northern Alberta at Fort Chipewyan.

James married Isabella MacIver in Stornoway on 27 April 1877. James’ father, Alexander Thomson and Isabella’s mother Catherine MacIver née Thomson were brother and sister. So James Thomson and Isabella MacIver were first cousins.

In 1927 on the occasion of their Golden Wedding, Isabella told her story to the Stornoway Gazette about how she had decided to go and join her husband in Athabasca, and in doing so became the first Lewis woman in Athabasca.

The story below is told in Isabella’s own words.

Journey to Athabasca in Isabella MacIver’s own words

It is a far cry from Stornoway in the Hebrides to Fort Chipewyan in North Athabasca, 850 miles north west of Winnipeg, even in these days when giant ocean liners cross and recross the Atlantic, and when luxurious trains traverse the great plains of Canada from seaboard to seaboard.

What it was in the year 1880 even in the best steamer then available, and on land by portage and canoe has been described by such writers as General Sir W F Butler in his book The Great Wild West and by numerous others. So that the account that follows may fall short in interest to those others, but I venture to say that it was no light journey to be undertaken by a woman who had hardly ever before left her native island, and who had not a word of English to help her in her great adventure into the unknown.

I was married at Stornoway on the 27 April 1877, my husband having come home on a visit and having to return almost immediately afterwards, so that I was exceedingly anxious to accompany him on his return. It was well known that the country at this time was very unsettled. The Indians had been put into a state of unrest by raids and other troubles, and I was strongly advised not to accompany my husband out there. All those who knew where I was going, and the difficulties I would have to surmount before getting there did all in their power to dissuade me from my desperate undertaking.

Fort Chipewyan Fur Trader. Colin Fraser

Entrance to Fort Chipewyan

Hudson’s Bay Company

Dr R Miller who was then agent for Hudson’s Bay Company at Stornoway did all he could to prevent my venturing out there, telling me that the cold in Western Canada was most severe in winter, and that the heat in summer would be very trying to one like me. Still, my husband had been out for thirteen years and he was well acquainted with the country. He understood the Indians, their language and their customs so I was not a bit afraid to venture.

However, much against my will, and in no way discouraged, I was forced to forgo my project, and it was three years after before I got away. During these years in my letters to my husband, I pressed him hard to allow me to go out to him as I could not be satisfied unless I was permitted to go. Thus it was that in the month of March 1880 my joy was great on receiving a letter in the following terms:

Dear Madam

Enclosed please find a draft of money for ……. dollars in your favour and a through ticket per the Allen Line from Glasgow to Winnipeg, sent by your husband who has doubtless acquainted you with his intention of bringing you out here.

You will, therefore, lose no time in making your preparations as it is most necessary for you to be here early in May so as to enable you to accompany your husband to the Athabasca District, his new appointment.

Yours Truly

Alexander Christie (Head Clerk), Hudson’s Bay Company, Fort Garry, March 1880

Voyage to Canada

I need hardly say that I was well pleased with the way matters were progressing for my project, and I lost no time in pushing forward my preparations for my journey.

My people redoubled their efforts to dissuade me from going, telling me that I would surely be killed by the Indians, and that my husband would be killed on my account. My mother especially gathered all the wild rumours she could about Indians and such like, but I would listen to no one, my mind was made up and I must go.

In the middle of April I embarked on the SS Clansman at Stornoway on a Monday and arrived at Glasgow on Thursday intending to sail from Glasgow on the following Saturday, but as I had hardly any English and as I did not know any Gaelic speaking people going by that boat, a friend advised me to wait for a week. A boat with a Gaelic speaking captain (Captain Maclean, afterwards Provost of Govan) was due to sail in a week, and my friend spoke to the captain on my account.

SS Clansman. Image courtesy of University of St Andrews Libraries

Every afternoon during our voyage the captain sought me out and greatly encouraged me for my venture. Also, before the voyage came to an end at Quebec he sought out among the passengers a Gaelic speaking man of the name of Mackay from Kintail, who was going to Winnipeg to search for work. The captain entrusted me to the man’s care and while he was of great service to me as interpreter, I was at the same time useful to him. He had sent his money to Winnipeg in advance under the impression that his ocean ticket supplied him with everything he needed on the train journey as well as on sea. This, of course, was not the case, but as I was well provided with funds, I was able to see us both through. Our passage across the ocean was good and uneventful, and I was little the worse for the voyage, arriving in Quebec in high spirits and quite satisfied with the first part of my journey.

Canadian Pacific Railway

After a short stay at Quebec we entrained for Winnipeg but as some sections of the CPR had not yet been finished on the north side of the Great Lakes, we had to go through the United States. Leaving Quebec in the early morning by the Grand Trunk Railway, our route lay upland through Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton then across into Detroit and through the States of Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota and Dakota, never once leaving the train from the time we entrained at Quebec until we arrived in Winnipeg. We even crossed the Great River at Detroit in sections and passed through the cities of Detroit, Chicago, St. Paul’s in Minnesota and Dakota, crossing again into Canada at Pembina in the province of Manitoba, and arriving shortly afterwards at Winnipeg, the first stage of my journey.

On my arrival there, I was disappointed at not finding anyone meeting me. As Fort Garry (the headquarters of the Hudson’s Bay Company) was nearly two miles from the railway station, I got the Kintail man to accompany me to the Company’s office where I called on Mr. Christie and found him most considerate. He told me that my husband was on duty at Fort Alexander and would be back in a day or two. In the meantime he placed me in a hotel close to Fort Garry, and told me to want for nothing as he would arrange everything for my comfort.

My two days stay in the hotel was very pleasant to me until the arrival of my husband from the Lake. With him were his cousin. John McInnes from Tong, and Angus Morrison from Stornoway. The latter was then the oldest pilot on Lake Winnipeg and second in command of the Company’s steamer which was to take us out on Lake Winnipeg to the mouth of the Saskatchewan River.

Our meeting was a most happy one and for a week we had an exceptionally fine time of it, meeting the many Stornoway and Lewis men who came to see me and to enquire about the old country and the folk at home. These were all retired servants of the Hudson’s Bay Company and they told me that there were no Stornoway or Lewis women in Winnipeg at that time, at the same time impressing on me that my adventure was only beginning then; a truth I was soon to find out for myself.

The Steamer ‘Colville’

Thus at the beginning of June 1880 we boarded the steamer ”Colville” of the Hudson’s Bay Company with Angus Morrison second in command and John McInnes, my husband’s cousin, as steward, and began to descend the Red River. The view as we passed down by Kildonan and St. Andrews was magnificent, pretty cottages nestling in sweet glades on each side of the river and a charming countryside stretching away on either side. I was told that the settlers were the descendants of Gaelic speaking people brought out from Sutherlandshire by Lord Selkirk years before.

Certainly their habitations now seemed to be placed in a smiling garden of exceeding richness. In the evening we arrived at Stone Fort, a large square closed in by walls twelve feet high and most strongly built of stone and lime. This enclosure was one of the wonders of the Hudson’s Bay territory, being very imposing and picturesque and to me exceedingly interesting as it was the work of a Stornoway man of the name of Macrae from Melbost.

Steamship Colville

Here at Stone Fort some goods were taken on board for use in the northern depots trade and then we passed down the river to Selkirk where most of the goods for the outlying districts were shipped. Here, at Selkirk, was where it was originally intended for the CPR to cross the Red River but the people of Winnipeg agitated and got the Railway company to strike along the south side of the river for 25 miles and cross at Point Douglas opposite Winnipeg.

Now everything was hustle and bustle loading the “Colville”, working day and night until she was loaded down to a dangerous point according to Angus Morrison, and he knew the River and Lake Winnipeg better than anyone, but at last all was ready and we left Selkirk for the lake, about five miles distant. There was a strong breeze blowing from the west as we got to the mouth of the Red River, and this had the effect of driving the water in a measure to the other end of the Lake. The mouth of the river had not been deepened or dragged, and the steamer often ran aground, making it impossible to get out onto the lake.

We were in a fix and there was nothing for it but to turn back to the river, discharge part of the cargo and try again. After getting rid of some stores, we tried again and were successful getting into the waters of the lake and passing along the north side of the mouth of the Saskatchewan River, but we could only get two miles up the river for we were told that the “Colville” could get no further owing to an obstruction called the Grand Rapids, and that the “Colville” had to return to Selkirk. There was a portage of two miles on the other side of the rapids and all the goods were carried this distance to where a large Company steamer, the North Castle”, was going up the Saskatchewan River.

Saskatchewan River

Two days later, we boarded the steamer and began to ascend through Cedar Lake, Moose Lake, Las Passe, Cumberland Fort and Fort-la-Corne above which the Saskatchewan River forks into two branches. We took the North branch and after a while came to Prince Albert where a few small houses could be seen scattered here and there. I was told that there was to be a town here soon, but as yet there was little appearance of that.

It took us a long time to get from the rapids to this place as the river was full of sandbanks and the current was very swift and strong, while huge pine trees some 90 and 100 feet long, fallen from the river banks and floating downstream, made the going quite difficult.

From Prince Albert we came to the great Fort Carlton, the capital of the Northwest Territories, where all the chief factors and traders from the far west McKenzie River District, the Athabasca District and the Île-à-la-Crosse District came every summer to hold council as to how to carry on the work of the following winter. Fort Carlton was a formidable place built of solid logs to a height of twenty feet all round so as to protect the white traders from the savage attacks of the Indians. I was frightened on being shown the marks of the lead balls fired into the fort by the Indians in olden times.

Here, my husband’s chief deputy, Mr R Ross MacFarlane, a Stornoway man, and a man of high distinction in the district, came to see me and complimented me on my courage in venturing so far west. He said that although I had a hard part of my journey still in front of me, he was not a bit afraid that I would not accomplish the rest as well, and as he had had a hand in allowing me to come so far, he was to ask me to undertake a delicate commission for him; no less than to take a cage of six tame hens and a cock to Fort Chipewyan, a distance by the route we would take, I was told, of 1,500 miles. As he was a great patron of my husband and a man of exceedingly high character and kindness, I promised that I would do my best to serve him, and took charge of his consignment of livestock with pleasure.

I was to get a pony and trap for myself and all the requirements for the hens were to be given to me, while carters and boatmen would be given instructions to assist me at all times when necessary. We were here on the borders of civilization and for the rest of our journey there would be no trains or steamers, our only means of travel being carts and York flat boats.

Red River Passage

This, then, was the third stage of my journey and preparations had to be made for a rough trip the like of which I never as much dreamt of Flintlock guns had to be cleaned out, powder and shot, tent poles and pegs, tea and sugar, kettles and pans had to be got ready, axes had to be sharpened and handled and innumerable other things had to be made ready for this part of the trip. As I faced this wild unknown I felt a quiver of uncertainty for the first time, and saw the wisdom of those who tried to dissuade me from entering the Great Wild West, but I was as determined as ever to go on. We crossed the river by a flat boat, and struck due north, our train consisting of ten carts all in charge of a Red River District man, William Sinclair, who knew every part of the route.

Red River Valley

Next morning we were off. The drivers shouted and laughed as they yoked the animals to the carts and fixed the baggage up, for everything bad to be secure and in its proper place. My place was in the rear with my pony and trap and this enabled me to see the country on every side, wild undulating country not very thickly wooded but covered with the richest vegetation. For seven days we trekked through this land of plenty stopping for dinner when a horn was blown by the chief and everyone cooking his own dinner amid a cheerfulness and good fellowship which to me was good to see. There was plenty of game to be shot, wild swan, wild duck, moose, beaver and all sorts so that we were never short of fresh provisions.

After seven days we came to Green Lake and met six boats that were ready to carry us across the lake. We then went down the Green Lake River through Waterhen Lake and River to Île-à-la-Crosse Fort, where we waited for a day or two to give us a much needed rest. We left for the long portage and passed up Île-à-la-Crosse Lake, Deep River, White Lake, Buffalo River and Lake Methie River and Lake, and from there to the long portage called Methie Portage. Here, we were at the highest point of land, and the Methie Portage is a connection between the water that falls into Hudson’s Bay (through the English and Churchill Rivers) and the waters that fall in the Arctic Ocean (through the Clear Water, Athabasca and Mackenzie Rivers).

York Boat

The Long Portage

This portage of twelve or fourteen miles took us a whole day to cross with our horses and carts, and at evening we camped on fine high ground overlooking the Clear Water River. The view was extremely fine as far as Fort McMurray, the background of the mountains and the plains with an occasional patch of woodland forming a lovely picture.

Here again six York boats were ready to take us down to Fort Chipewyan, my destination, and they were in the charge of a middle aged Frenchman who knew his work well. He was called “Guide of the Brigade”.

We left the Long Portage early in the morning, and I was placed with my charge in the guide’s boat. We were going downstream rapidly, gliding smoothly over the surface until the afternoon when there was a call from the guide for all the boats to land, and for all steersmen to come to his boat for a consultation. This order was promptly complied with and there was a long consultation. I saw that something unusual was going to happen for all the boatmen were stripping themselves to the very skins and tying handkerchiefs round their heads.

All the time I could hear ahead a loud dull roar which seemed very terrifying but which, I was told, was caused by falling water. We were in fact to run rapids. The guide told the steersmen that every man had to do his part as he was told, the boats were to keep a certain distance from one another, and if any mishap were to befall a boat, all other boats coming behind were to go to her assistance as those in front could not turn back in the rapid current.

My husband who had passed several times through these rapids, and who understood all the people were saying, told me all this and at the same time told me to fear nothing as the going was perfectly safe. Soon we pushed off from the land, and in a short while the roar of the falls could be heard growing louder and louder as we rapidly approached the ledge. Before coming to the larger falls there were occasional falls which the boats ran down, giving the boatmen a most exciting time as they rowed with all their might on one side of the boat and backed water on the other side thus causing the boat to spin like a top in midstream. All this time the roar of the cascade was terrific and it was impossible to hear a word unless spoken at the top of one’s voice.

The spray from this immense body of water falling 70 or 80 feet down, rose high above the tops of the trees on either side and at first I thought the boats were going to shoot down this awful drop, which of course no-one could do and live. The boats were landed above the big fall and all the cargo was carried by the men across a small neck of land in front, and the boats were dragged ashore and pulled across a small strip of land into the water below the great falls, and so into smoother water behind.

Fort McMurray

It was a long time before I forgot the look and the roar of that giant fall or the majestic sight it presented to me when I viewed it for the first time. On our way down to Fort McMurray we passed as many as five of these rapids and at each one the cargo was taken out of the boats and carried across by the men.

It was a wonderful experience and a delightful sensation to me as the empty boats ran down the rapids towards Fort McMurray where the Clear River joins the Athabasca River. I was told that I was the first Scottish woman, and I am certain that I was the first Lewis woman that got down these rivers, for although at all these trading forts and stations Lewis men were everywhere in evidence, no Lewis women were to be met anywhere.

We left Fort McMurray after landing supplies for next winter, passed down the Athabasca River to the lake of that name, crossed the end of Lake Athabasca and arrived the first week of September at my destination, Fort Chipewyan in the Northwest Territory and established by that famous traveller, Sir Alexander McKenzie, a Stornoway man. The Deputy Governor Mr R Ross MacFarlane, who had arrived by canoe before us, came to see me and congratulated me on my success in coming through so many hardships, and bringing a cargo of hens safe and sound to Fort Chipewyan.

Grand Rapid to Fort Chipewyan

Hudson’s Bay Company Housing, Fort Chipewyan 1893

Fort Chipewyan

These sketchy notes are now at an end. At the time these things happened, no notes were taken nor was it ever intended to write this account, but perhaps to many, the route taken and the hardships of travel endured by the early settlers may be of interest. To me, as I look back on those eventful days, many things come back, but nothing so much as the kindly consideration that was given me, a lonely woman, by Indians, Frenchmen and everyone else I came in contact with. My health was excellent and I was looking forward to a very happy home life in the plains of Athabasca. In conclusion, may I add my humble thanks to my countrymen who went before me into the Unknown, for I know well that when the history of these great and valuable parts of Canada comes to be written, it will be found that a very prominent part in the pioneering work of the Great Northwest has been taken by Lewis men.

Ancestor Chart

Alexander Thomson and Janet Ferguson

32 Aird Tong, Crofting, Fisherman, Inshore Fishing, Isle of Lewis, Jessie, Scotland, Stornoway, Tong, Windmill 0

Alexander Thomson and Janet Ferguson

Alexander Thomson

Alexander Thomson was born in Tong, Isle of Lewis, Scotland in about 1840. He was the son of Alexander Thomson and Christina MacInnes whose story is told on a separate page. He was the oldest of three generations of Thomsons to live in 32 Aird Tong, the youngest being my father who was born there in 1910.

Janet “Jessie” Ferguson

Janet Ferguson, who was known as “Jessie”, was born on 1 November 1842 in Gress, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. She was the daughter of Evander Ferguson and Ann Murray, whose story is told on another page.

Aerial view of Tong with 32 Aird Tong marked with red arrow.

The Isle of Lewis

The Isle of Lewis (more properly the Isle of Lewis and Harris) is the largest island of the outer Hebrides or Western Isles. It is also the most northerly. The southern half of the island is rocky and mountainous while the northern half is flat, soft moorland with many lochs. The island is surrounded by beautiful white sandy beaches. The climate is influenced by two main factors; the Gulf Stream and the prevailing south-west wind. The Gulf Stream is a warm ocean current coming from the south west from the Gulf of Mexico.

The prevailing south west wind is warm but also moist as it passes over the Atlantic. The climate is, therefore, warmer than one would expect at such a northerly latitude but it is also windier and wetter.

Birth of Janet “Jessie” Ferguson

The illustration opposite is a copy of the Parish Register for Gress. It is hard to read, but can be transcribed as

“Evander Ferguson and Ann Murray, his spouse, a daughter born [Illegible] Janet”

Birth – Janet Ferguson 1 November 1842, from the Parish Register

Copy of the Marriage Register for 18 January 1866

Marriage

The Certificate opposite is the entry from the Marriage Register for Back Church. Alexander records his occupation as a fisherman, whereas his father records his occupation as a crofter. It is interesting that both he and his wife sign the Register with a cross as their mark, so presumably neither could read or write.

Fishing Industry

The fishing industry in Lewis included deep sea and inshore fishing. Deep sea fishing was with nets or long lines. The nets were used by the drifting method for herring in the right season. The long lines were used for cod, ling and other larger fish. For inshore fishing the main work was done in small open boats using oars or sail. The fish, mainly haddock, were caught by small lines. The small boats were at sea for only a few hours at a time whereas the net fishers were at sea from late afternoon until the following morning.

The crew then sold their catch, cleaned up their ship and set sail again. On Saturday the ship was tied up and locked while the crew went home until Monday morning.

Many of the crofters were also fishermen and it is doubtful if the croft alone could support the family without the additional income from fishing and the very considerable amount of food provided by the in-shore fishing.

From early in the eighteenth century until the Second World War the herring fishing industry grew rapidly, reaching its peak around 1930.

Aerial View of Gress and Back

Stornoway Harbour

The town of Stornoway grew up around a small but sheltered harbour. The original castle stood where the main pier stands today but it disappeared many years ago.

In 1633 Oliver Cromwell sent a small force to take and hold Stornoway. They took it without opposition but did not stay long. The inhabitants attacked their headquarters after a few months. Although the invaders won the battle they withdrew from the island soon afterwards. They did, however, leave a few reminders of their stay.

The main street of the town is called Cromwell Street today and the main square is Percival Square. Between Stornoway and Sandwick there is a sharp rise in the road which is still called Oliver’s Brae.

Fishing boats in Stornoway Harbour

Fishing boats moored in Stornoway Harbour

The Fishing Boat called “Nothing”

Alexander Thomson of 32 Aird Tong, was a full time herring fisherman from the port of Stornoway. In 1884 he bought a new, larger fishing boat (24 tons and 52 foot keel) and went to register it at the Custom House. He was so excited about his new acquisition that he had not thought of a name. The clerk had taken all the details of the new boat and asked him what name he had given it. Caught unprepared Alexander said hesitatingly “Nothing”.

Before he could stop the clerk, he had entered the name “Nothing” in the register. My great grandfather decided that it was God’s will and left the name to stand. Unfortunately he had forgotten how very superstitious all seafarers are. No self respecting fisherman would dream of trying to earn a livelihood in a ship called the “Nothing”.

After much pressure and persuasion he got enough men together to crew the boat with himself as skipper. When the season ended that year the “Nothing” stood high among the top earners. There was no more difficulty in finding a crew.

Herring Fishing

The herring fishing began in Barra and Mallaig on 10th April and in Stornoway on 10th May. It moved to Wick and Lerwick on 10th June and along the Moray coast on 10th Ju!y and so the fleet moved down the East coast of Scotland and England reaching Lowestoft and Yarmouth in October and November.

My father recalls in his notes that:

“it was on a return visit home from East Anglia that my grandfather, on one occasion, picked up a large windmill and brought it home to Tong. The sails of the windmill were so large that the machinery had to be housed one floor up above ground level. For this reason 32 Aird Tong had a two storey extension added to the west end of the house. That extension is still present today (c1990).

The last time I visited the old home the extension was occupied by a tweed weaver’s loom. It was very noisy but not nearly as noisy as the old windmill had been. Looking back and recalling the noise of the old windmill I often wonder if my grandfather had ever heard of lubricants!”

Sadly, I don’t have a photograph of the windmill, but I would love to see one if anybody has ever seen one.

Quay Stornoway

Elder of the Kirk

The following is an extract from my father’s history. “Alexander Thomson, my grandfather, was also an elder of the Kirk. The village of Tong had no kirk originally but the villagers together built a Meeting House in which the elders, including Alexander, usually took the service.

The nearest clergyman, from Back, occasionally came to take a full service. The services were, of course, in Gaelic. When Alexander took the service he had to lead the singing and this was a serious problem as he had no musical sense whatsoever. The metric psalms were sung by the method known as “presenting” where the leader sang each line followed by the congregation. I have often been told that when my grandfather “presented” the congregation always sang to the tune of St. David – not because his “presenting” was ever recognisable as such but because they all knew it was the only tune he ever attempted.

Some time after he died when I was a pupil in the junior school in Stornoway I decided I would like to join the Junior Choir. The test was brief and decisive. I was refused. The teacher had known my grandfather and his singing ability and commented that I was not as good a singer as my grandfather had been! It took me a few years to realise the great wisdom of her decision.

War Service

The illustration opposite is an extract from the Lewis Roll of Honour. I have highlighted the entry for 32 Aird Tong. Alexander Thomson had served in the South African Defence Force during the Boer War, and also served in the First World War.

Also listed is my grandfather John Thomson, who was lost at sea in the Mediterranean on 22 February 1917, and also my father’s Uncle George who is pictured above.

Uncle George as he was known to me, even though he was a great uncle, lived just round the corner from my grandparents in Glasgow. So we were regular visitors, when we visited my grandparents.

Ancestor Chart

John Thomson and Henrietta MacKenzie

Alexander Thomson, Ann MacLeod, Crofting, HMS Isonzo, Isle of Lewis, Janet Ferguson, Murdo MacKenzie, Scotland, Tong 0

John Thomson and Henrietta MacKenzie

John Thomson

John Thomson was born at 32 Aird Tong, Isle of Lewis, Scotland on 6 September 1879. His parents were Alexander Thomson and Janet “Jessie” Ferguson. Their story is told on a separate page.

Henrietta MacKenzie

Henrietta MacKenzie was born at Shulishader, Isle of Lewis, Scotland on 18 January 1881. Her parents were Murdo MacKenzie and Anne MacLeod, Their story is told on a separate page.

John Thomson and Henrietta MacKenzie on their wedding 12 March 1908

Wedding Photo

I thought I would start off with a photo of the happy couple on their wedding day. Their marriage certificate shows that they were married on 12 March 1908 in Garrabost according to the customs of the Established Church of Scotland. It would seem that the MacKenzies worshipped at the Church of Scotland.

The Church of Scotland was founded in the Reformation when John Knox split from the Catholic Church. They espoused the theology of Calvinism. This is not to be confused with the Free Church of Scotland.

The Free Church was and still is sometimes colloquially known by the term “The Wee Frees”, even though, in 21st century Scotland, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination after the national church. Since this term was originally used in comparing the Free Church with the United Free Church (which is now a much smaller denomination), the Free Church of Scotland now deprecates the use of the term.

The Thomsons of Tong were members of the Free Church. In Garrabost there was both a Free Church and a Church of Scotland.

John Thomson

The illustration opposite shows the Birth Certificate of John Thomson at 32 Aird Tong, the family home. His father Alexander Thomson records his occupation as “fisherman”, but on John’s marriage certificate he records his occupation as “crofter”.

He was, of course, both a crofter and a fisherman, as the crofting way of life was a subsistence way of life which ideally required another source of income to support the family. As John was one of 14 children an additional source of income was almost a necessity.

John Thomson Birth Certificate 6 September 1879

Henrietta with her children fom left to right, Donald, Etta, Ivor & Jessie Ann

Family Photograph

The photograph opposite is a photograph of Henrietta MacKenzie taken about 1920. There was a fifth child called Johanna, who died in infancy in 1916.

Henrietta MacKenzie

My aunt told me the story of the day that they got the news about her father. A telegraph boy had been spotted cycling round Broad Bay, which meant only one thing; bad news for someone. Everybody would emerge from their croft and stand by their gate, hoping he would cycle on to Gress or Tolsta, but on this occasion he cycled into Tong and down to 32 Aird Tong to hand my grandmother the telegram to say that her husband had been lost at sea. My aunt said she was hysterical and inconsolable. My aunt was nine years old at the time.

Henrietta Mackenzie – Birth Certificate 18 Jan 1881

John Thomson – Service Record

John Thomson had been killed in the Mediterranean during the First World War, and, as a result, the family were evicted from the croft at 32 Aird Tong, which had been the family home for three generations. Henrietta lost her youngest child in 1916, then lost her husband in 1917, and was then evicted from their home.Henrietta moved to Stornoway to find work as a fishworker on the quayside. The children were split up and went to stay with various MacKenzie relatives on Point.

Eventually Henrietta managed to get a flat in Keith Street and was able to get her children back into a single family unit. Judging by the age of the children, I’m guessing that this photograph was taken about 1920, and was presumably to celebrate the reunification of her family.

The MacKenzie Family

The photograph opposite shows the MacKenzie Family. Standing at the back is Henrietta MacKenzie, my grandmother, with her arm on her mother’s shoulder. Her mother was Anne MacLeod.

On the chair is Isabella, who married Roderick MacKenzie a widower. It was said that Isabella’s father Murdo did not approve of the marriage as he hoped that she would look after him in his old age. He then moved in with Henrietta, who by this time was widowed.

Sitting, Jessie, the youngest, who was engaged to James Thomson. Two brothers engaged to two sisters, but he jilted her and she eventually married a policeman called Donald MacLeod of Aignish and had a family Norman (bank manager), Donnie (minister), Alastair (teacher) and John (doctor). They lived in Glasgow.

Henrietta MacKenzie with her mother Anne MacLeod.

Early photo of John Thomson

John Thomson

A photo of John Thomson, my grandfather, in his early years. One feature, which he appears to have passed on to his son, Donald, and also to me is the receding hairline. It provides a useful yardstick for dating photographs. In this photograph he has a very respectable hairline, but later photographs his receding hairline is more pronounced. I would guess that this photograph was taken about 1900.

As a sea faring fisherman, John Thomson would have been able to supplement his income by joining the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR). The Royal Naval Reserve is a part-time force of civilians, who provide the Royal Navy with the additional trained personnel it needs at times of tension, humanitarian crisis, or conflict.

As a consequence of his membership of the RNR, John Thomson was called up at the outbreak of hostilities in 1914, at the beginning of the First World War. He served aboard HMS Isonzo. The Isonzo, originally called the Isis, was a steamship of about 1,700 tons. She was originally built for P&O to reduce the time for mail and passengers between Brindisi in Italy and Port Said in Egypt. She was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Isonzo in 1916.

She was used as a supply ship by the Navy, running a shuttle between Malta and Taranto in Italy where a British Battlegroup centred around the battleships, HMS Queen and HMS Prince of Wales was based. The Navy of the Austrian Hungarian Empire was docked in Trieste, and the British were seeking to blockade the entrance to the Adriatic Sea near Taranto, to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy entering the Mediterranean and joining the hostilities.

HMS Isonzo

A watercolour sketch of the Isonzo moored off the Castillo Grande Signal Station in Malta. Malta was used as a staging post for supplies and personnel for keeping the Battlegroup in Taranto fully supplied.

HMS Isonzo off the Castille Grande Signal Station Malta. NB Isonzo is the grey naval vessel in the centre not the sailing ship

HMS Isonzo at Malta 1916

February 1917

In January 1917, the Ships Log shows that the Isonzo was in dry dock having extensive repairs involving the removal of one of the steam boilers. The Ships Log for February 1917 is missing from the Public Record Office, but I was able to piece together her movements from the Ships Logs of other vessels that moored alongside her in Malta and Taranto.

This story is based on witness statements of another seaman from Lewis who was aboard Isonzo at the time. It seems that she left Malta bound for Taranto on 21 February. An incident ocurred on the trip, which apparently required the ship to seek shelter in a bay and send down a diver, who was supported by my grandfather. The diver got into difficulties and was rescued by my grandfather, but who was lost at sea in the process.

The Isonzo docked the following morning in Taranto and an inquiry was held on board one of the warships, but I have never managed to get a copy of the Inquiry Report at the National Archives.

Gibraltar

After the war the Isonzo was laid up in Gibraltar and sold to Italian Ship breakers in 1923.

HMS Isonzo

John Thomson RNR

Dating this photograph, from his hairline and also his uniform, I would guess that it was taken not long before his death in 1917.

I was proud to note that he wore the same splayed moustach as Thomson, one of the pair of detectives in the Tintin books. See the Home Page if you need an explanation.

Marriage Certificate

The illustration opposite is a copy of an entry in the Marriage Register of the Church of Scotland in Garrabost, referred to in the first paragraph of this page.

Scottish National War Memorial – Edinburgh Castle

Remembered with Honour

The Scottish National War Memorial, located inside Edinburgh Castle maintains a record of all service personnel from Scotland who lost their lives during the war.

The Certificate opposite recognises John Thomson’s entry in the Register.

Chatham Naval Memorial

John Thomson RNR is also included on the Chatham Naval Memorial.

Commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Chatham Naval Memorial – Leading Seaman John Thomson RNR

Gress Cemetery

Although his body was never recovered a Memorial Stone was erected in Gress Cemetery. The transcription reads

“Erected by his sorrowing widow Henrietta Thomson, in Sacred and Loving Memory of her dear husband John Thomson, who was drowned while on active service in the Mediterranean Sea. 18 February 1917”.

In fact the date is incorrect as he died on the 22 February.

Fishworkers

On her marriage certificate, Henrietta records her occupation as a fish worker. After her husband died, Henrietta returned to Stornoway and got work as a fishergirl on the quayside and was able to reunite her family.

Henrietta MacKenzie asked to be buried in the cemetery in Aignish, as she did not wish to share her final resting place with the man who had evicted the family from their croft at 32 Aird Tong. He, whoever he was, and I believe that he might have been a Thomson relative, had been buried in the cemetery in Gress.

Herring gutters Stornoway Isle of Lewis

Ancestor Chart

Alexander Thomson & Christina MacInnes

Back, Coll, Crofting, Isle of Lewis, Loch Seaforth, Parks, Scotland, Stornoway, Tong 0

Alexander Thomson and Christina MacInnes

Alexander Thomson

Alexander Thomson was born in the village of Coll on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland in 1813. His parents were James Thomson and Mary MacAuley.

Christina MacInnes

Christina MacInnes, also known as Chirsty, was born in the village of Parks, Lochs on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland in 1812. She lived to the age of 101 and died in Tong.

Aerial view of the village of Coll

Back and Coll

The photograph opposite shows an aerial view of the villages of Back and Coll.

Angus’ Grandmother

I don’t know who wrote the account opposite but it is clearly written from first hand memory of events. I have transcribed the recollection below:

“Mrs Christina Thomson died at Tong on Saturday 26 April at the advanced age of 101 years. She was born in Parks, Lochs, near the mouth of Loch Seaforth in 1812, and as a girl of 13 moved with her parents to the new crofts formed at Tong, when a portion of the Stornoway Parish Glebe was made into allotments in 1825.

From that year she lived at Tong till her death.

She was possessed of a full and accurate memory and of great clearness and independence of mind, all of which continued quite unimpaired to the last. Until the age of 88 she had unusual vigor of body as well as alertness of mind, and to the end was keenly interested in all modern incidents and inventions brought to her notice.

She was survived by no fewer than 135 descendants, 2 daughters, 58 grandchildren, 75 great grandchildren and 1 great, great, grand child.

The six surviving members of her family range in years from 58 to 72. Of her 58 grandchildren, 19 are resident in Canada. At the time of her death she was probably the oldest inhabitant of the Island of Lewis.”

Hand written recollection of Christina MacInnes (cont. below)

Christina MacInnes Notes – Page 2

The Thomsons of Tong

My father spent his retirement visiting the Record Office in Edinburgh. He meticulously traced the history of his “Thomson” ancestors. I never thought anything of this at the time, but I now realise that he really only ever researched the history of the Thomsons. A bit like he was only interested in following the Y Chromosome.

My objective is the opposite. I want to trace ALL the ancestors of my children and to try to tell the human stories behind them where I can. Sufficient facts and figures to create the context, but the emphasis to lie on stories and anecdotes.

When my father could go back no further than James Thomson. he had a change of plan and decided to fill in by tracing the descendants of James Thomson. This was a massive task, but we shared the idea of creating human interest stories. He traced many Thomsons, who had emigrated to all parts of the globe and wrote to them, inviting them to write to him and tell him about their recollections of emigration; and write to him they did. He was soon creating a collection of anecdotes, first hand accounts of leaving Lewis.

Typical Croft, Isle of Lewis

Crofting

Outside the town of Stornoway life in the rural areas was dependent on the crofting system. Each croft was an area of land approximately 6-7 acres or 2.5 hectares,. The crofts were close together in village communities. Although the crofter did not own the land he had absolute security of tenure following the Crofters Act of 1885. He could sell the croft or will it to whomsoever he wished. But in selling the croft he could only charge the value of improvements effected during his tenure. He was usually succeeded by a member of his family.

The croft could support only one family. As a family grew to adulthood all but one had to find a livelihood elsewhere. This drove many men and women to emigrate to distant lands such as the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and to some European, countries. Between 1922 and 1929 three ocean liners left Stornoway with many emigrants to the US and Canada. The last ship which left in 1929 discharged its human cargo in the US and Canada as the great financial crash of 1929 took place.

Gathering Peat for Fuel

Each crofter had the right to graze two cows on the common grazing land round the village and to have a flock of sheep on the moorland some miles away. In the summer the common grazing was closed for six weeks in June and July. During these six weeks the cows had to be grazed on the croft or taken to the moor some distance away. On the moor each family had a very small bothie or shieling usually beside a quiet, secluded loch. These shielings were often in village groups. Each shieling was made of stone and earth roofed over by a large tarpaulin. As life was largely in the open air the shieling was just big enough to hold a bed, two chairs and a fireplace.

Fortunately in June and July the weather was always friendly. The shieling was usually occupied by grandmother and one or two grandchildren to act as cowherds. The cows were allowed to roam during the day and had, therefore, to be kept under observation. Life in the open air in June and July was warm and idyllic. It is not surprising that the shieling appears frequently in Gaelic song and poetry.

Crofter carrying peat basket

Ancestor Chart