Willie ‘Buchach’ Macleod of Stornoway has celebrated his 100th birthday.
The centenarian has lived through a remarkable period in history.
Congratulating him on the big day were numerous friends and family, including many of his 13 grandchildren and ten great grandchildren.
Willie was born in the town and brought up in Church Street.
He took up joinery as a trade and at seventeen was drafted into the salvage squad called in to recover cargo from the famous Whisky Galore ship, SS Politician, which ran aground off Eriskay in February 1941.
The 8,000 ton steamship was carrying a mixed cargo of goods to Jamaica including pianos, motor parts, bedding, machetes and baths, on top of a £3 million worth consignment of Jamaican banknotes.
But it was the cases piled high containing 264,000 bottles of whisky which came to immortalised the wreck in popular culture.
He still recalls how the cargo hold located towards the stern of the vessel -
Evading the ever-
His suitcase burst open soon after arrival in Tarbert, Harris, as he struggled up the brae with his heavy burden, spilling bottles across the street. He negotiated a deal with a taxi driver to trade two bottles for a hire to Stornoway. Years later, to his amazement, he learnt a police sergeant was watching him the whole time from the bridge of the ship.
By this time London was calling: requiring his construction skills to help rebuild the city bombed in the Blitz after months of relentless Luftwaffe air attacks.
The date 8 May, 1945, was a memorable occasion as Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared Victory in Europe Day or V-
By the end of that decade Willie was heading northwards, back home to Stornoway to set up his own business, W. J Macleod -
He also served as a retained fireman in Stornoway Fire Brigade.
Willie and his wife Mary settled in Leverhulme Drive, raising their family of three sons and a daughter. Later, they moved to Newton. The couple were married for 50 years when Mary sadly died in 2004.
Stornoway man celebrates 100 birthday
7 November 2023
