Hebridean History

Tolsta's Bridge to Nowhere: Leverhulme's Arrival by Finlay Macleod - Tholastaigh: Teach Leverhulme le Fionnlagh Macleòid

As if the whole 19th Century Lewis area of Sir James Matheson et. al. was not sufficient, the 20th Century provided another unexpected stranger on the stage in the person of Lord Leverhulme. Here he comes; all-powerful and well-meaning -- he comes into the lives of young island Gaels newly back from the trenches of France.

They had been promised 'A land fit for heroes' on their victorious return, and who meets them on the home soil they had fought for but an English industrialist who knows as much about crofting as did the Germans they had fought to the death.

A main focus of interest here is the range of texts which have constructed the period -- ranging from the local newspapers of the time to recent analyses by modern historians.

Nigel Nicolson (1960) gives a fair account of Leverhulme and his plans, and how these were perceived in Lewis and in Harris. Joni Buchanan (1996) places the Leverhulme episode in the same discourse within which she placed Sir James Matheson. Leah Leneman (1989) includes the Leverhulme story as part of her wider description of land struggle and raids following World War I.

Since this took place in the modern period there are contemporary accounts of some of the events. One such event -- an open-air meeting (reportedly of nearly a thousand people) between Leverhulme and the crofters at Gress Bridge -- has been recorded in detail by Colin MacDonald (1991), a Gaelic-speaking land official present at the meeting.

"Good morning, everybody!" began Leverhulme, "Have you noticed that the sun is shining this morning? - and this is the first time it has shone in Lewis for ten days... This is going to be a great meeting..." How wrong he was! "So great is my love of Lewis," he continued, " that I am prepared to adventure a big sum of money for the development of the resources of the island and of the fisheries..."

Amidst the cheering, one man stood out, and in doing so, stepped into Lewis history. His name was Martin. He addressed the group in Gaelic, "Seo, seo, fhearaibh! Cha dean so an gnothaich... 'S e am fearann a tha sinn ag iarraidh. (a' tionndadh ri Lever) An toir thu dhuinn am fearann?" ("Come, come, men! This will not do! This honey-mouthed man would have us believe that black is white is black. We are not concerned with his fancy dreams that may or may not come true! What we want is land -- and the question I put to him now is: Will you give us the land?")

The bewildered Leverhulme could only retort," I am sorry! It is my great misfortune that I do not understand the Gaelic language. But perhaps my interpreter will translate for me what has been said." What had been said sounded the death-knell -- for better or for worse -- of this developer's plans for Lewis.

This meeting has inspired one of the three cairns built recently in Lewis for Cuimhneachain nan Gaisgeach (Memorials of the Heroes), and which were drawn by the Scottish artist Will Maclean and built by local stonemason Jim Crawford. Leverhulme soon became one of the icons of Lewis & Harris history; he touches many aspects of life in these islands and his name crops up in discussions on fisheries, Stornoway's town plan, whaling in Harris, and 'the bridge that leads no-where' in Tolsta: not a bad epitaph for his stay in the Hebrides.

References:

Joni Buchanan. 1996. The Lewis Land Struggle. Acair, Stornoway.
Leah Leneman. 1989. Land Fit for Heroes? Land Settlement in Scotland after World War 1. Aberdeen University Press.
Colin MacDonald. 1991. Life in the Highlands & Islands. Inverness.
Nigel Nicolson. 1960. Lord of the Isles. Lord Leverhulme in the Hebrides. London.