110992: Marie of Dunkirk/ Marie de Dunquerque Summer 1874, Crowlista

One early summer’s day in 1874 the people of Crowlista were planting barley when they saw, approaching the bay, a fully rigged ship in sail coming in to anchor at Poll Gorm, considered to be the worst anchorage in Camus Uig. They responded by rowing out to the ship to warn the crew of the danger they were in but were met by a language they did not understand. The captain appeared and in very broken English told the Crowlista men that they were a French crew on a ship named ‘La Marie de Dunquerque’, (Marie of Dunkirk) and that they were on their way to deliver supplies to the French fishing fleet off the coast of Iceland.

The advice of the villagers was to move the ship when high tide came and that they would guide the crew to a safer anchorage, however, after some time the ship began to drag her anchor and headed for the skerries at Traigh a Chidhe, Carnish causing considerable damage. The cargo was removed and stored at the Crowlista pier, laden as the ship was with provisions of all kinds, including fine wine and brandy.

The crew stayed in the village in the homes of the locals and for six weeks repairs went on to the ship. The French made their mark by making seagull soup, much maligned by the local women. However they did share the liquid cargo, much to the pleasure of the men in the village.  The French enjoyed the hospitality and all went well, despite the language barrier, until one fateful day.

A number of girls were found by a group of the crew doing washing in a burn. Quickly the girls realized that the men were not on a social visit and ran off as a group and arrived at the home of a woman called Peigi Dhomhaill. When told what had happened she told the girls to hide in the upper area of her house, so when the men came to the house she was sitting nonchalantly by the fire denying knowledge of their whereabouts. She was able to speak in Gaelic, telling the girls, “Dead silence up there, ye that are hiding.” The suspicious Frenchmen undaunted hid behind a hillock and waited until the girls came out. They sprang on the girls and one, Anna Ruairidh, was caught and taken away by a strong Frenchman, who wouldn’t let her go despite being remonstrated with by the villagers and his crew-mates, who had not wanted to disrespect those who had been so hospitable to them over the weeks.  However the man ignored their pleas and took her off. The people were in uproar, they were afraid of the man, some advocating violence, some patience, in case the girl got hurt.

Her exasperated widowed mother by ten o’clock at night had run out of patience and went to her brother-in-law, George Macleod, who was still working in his shoemaking shop, and pled for help. He took his apprentice and a number of young men who were ceilidh-ing there and went to confront the Frenchman. They surrounded him and the girl by forming a circle, and all talking in Gaelic at once, caused the man to become distracted. As they sustained the barrage of talking and came closer, one man, Donald, quietly told Anna to take hold of his hand and one moment of distraction caused him to be able to pull her from the man and free her. The Frenchman was left to be berated by his fellow Frenchmen for his behaviour and actions and lack of respect for the kindness that had been shown to him.

The ship was ready at that time to leave and departed back to France where the captain and crew were censured by the authorities for neglect of duty, and Anna went on to marry a local lad, remaining in the village where she brought up her family.

An article on which this story is based, ‘Marie of Dunkirk’, by Dr D Macdonald, Gisla, was published in the Stornoway Gazette on October 21st 1958.