To be remembered

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has put the details of Evander Macleod, who drowned in the torpedoing of HMS Otway in July 1917, neatly on its website. Following the heavy loss of Lewis sailors in that sinking, the Stornoway Gazette also made mention of their names. Evander has since slipped under the radar. The Roll of Honour, published in 1921, does not refer to his death; the Lewis War Memorial does not mention him, and neither does the Point War Memorial at Garrabost, only a few miles from his former home at 34 Lower Bayble.

The loss of life during WW1 was, proportionately, heavy in the Isle of Lewis, and it is only to be expected that a few unfortunates will be missed in transcription. I trust that in time for Remembrance Sunday, Evander will be given the proper place amongst the ranks of island men who made the supreme sacrifice during the Great War.

Seaman EVANDER MACLEOD
Last address in Lewis: 34 Lower Bayble
Son of Angus and Maggie MacLeod, of 34, Lower Bayble, Stornoway.
Service unit: Royal Naval Reserve, HMS Otway
Service number: 4028B
Date of death: 22 July 1917 at the age of 34
Drowned in torpedoing of ship
Memorial: Chatham Naval Memorial, panel 26