Evacuation of St Kilda

By 1930, life on St Kilda had become increasingly fragile. Only 36 people remained on the island - far too few to sustain the community or the traditional way of life. With many cottages sitting empty and several households made up of widows or older residents, everyday survival became harder with each passing year.

Harsh winters often cut off deliveries of food, mail and supplies. Traditional work such as sheep farming, tweed weaving, fishing and collecting seabird products became difficult to maintain, particularly as more young people left to find opportunities on the mainland. Concerns about health and access to medical care grew too, especially following the tragic deaths of two young women in 1930.

After the winter of 1929–30 the remaining islanders felt they could no longer manage another season alone. In May, twenty residents signed a petition asking the government to help resettle them on the mainland, with the support of the island nurse Williamina Barclay and the missionary schoolteacher Dugald Munro. They expressed a wish not necessarily to stay together, but simply to find a place where they had a better chance of work, support and stability.

The government responded quickly. On 29 August 1930, the islanders and most of their sheep left St Kilda aboard HMS Harebell. Families were resettled in several locations, including Lochaline, Strome Ferry, Culcabock and Culross, with work arranged to help them begin their new lives.

It marked the end of a remarkable chapter in Scotland’s island history - and the beginning of a new one for the St Kildans who left.