Getting started on this mission was an act which sometimes made me question my sanity. But I persevered, and relatives came out of the woodwork. Some preferred to stay in it, but I have made new friends. Sister Flora takes care of the accuracy, and I write the stories, put up on the family blog.

It was while I was trying to get to grips with the MacLeans that I encountered, quite by accident, my great-uncle Kenneth who died in the sinking of the Iolaire. I was looking at the Memorial website, when the address, 12 Northton, hit my eye. I checked, and sure enough I had discovered a family tragedy. Out of this came our Maclean relatives, and Derek Peakman, and I discovered that I had a great-aunt, Isabella. Derek also found a lovely pic of my dad in 1939 with his aunt.I am hoping that Derek has some stories of Raasay where Isabella married into the MacLeods. A small story is already on the blog, about the '45.

Meanwhile, the struggle continues. I attach for De...