Editing St Kilda, Scotland (section)

=== Evacuation and aftermath ===
[[File:Boreray and the Stacs.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Boreray, St Kilda|Boreray]], [[Stac Lee]], and [[Stac an Armin]] (left) from the heights of Conachair, the highest cliff in the [[United Kingdom]].]]

Numerous factors led to the evacuation of St Kilda. The islands' inhabitants had existed for centuries in relative isolation until tourism and the presence of the military during the First World War led the islanders to seek alternatives to privations they routinely suffered. The changes made to the island by visitors in the 19th century disconnected the islanders from the way of life that had allowed their forebears to survive in this environment.<ref>[http://www.kilda.org.uk/frame1.htm The Evacuation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831172220/http://www.kilda.org.uk/frame1.htm |date=31 August 2010 }} kilda.org.uk Accessed 2 December 2008</ref> Despite the construction of a small jetty in 1902, the islands remained at the weather's mercy.{{refn|Even in the 21st century this is a problem. The National Trust reported in 2006 that it was cancelling 2007 work parties as "adverse weather conditions resulted in our supplies failing to reach St Kilda and our next opportunity to get supplies out is May 2007."<ref>[http://www.kilda.org.uk/frame26.htm "Work party information"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061002160717/http://www.kilda.org.uk/frame26.htm |date=2 October 2006 }} National Trust for Scotland. Retrieved 18 March 2007.</ref>|group="note"}}

After the end of the Great War, most of the young men left the island, and the population fell from 73 in 1920 to 37 in 1928.<ref name=Keay/> After the death of four men from [[influenza]] in 1926, there was a succession of crop failures in the 1920s. Investigations by the [[University of Aberdeen]] into the soil where crops had been grown have shown that there had been contamination by [[lead]] and other pollutants, caused by the use of seabird carcasses and peat ash in the manure used on the fields. This occurred over a lengthy period of time, as manuring practices became more intensive, and may have been a factor in the evacuation.<ref>[http://www.kilda.org.uk/latestnews.htm#Poison "Poison in Paradise"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205145818/http://www.kilda.org.uk/latestnews.htm#Poison |date=5 December 2008 }} National Trust for Scotland. Retrieved 20 June 2008.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.01.076 |title=Ancient manuring practices pollute arable soils at the St Kilda World Heritage Site, Scottish North Atlantic |date=2006 |last1=Meharg |first1=Andrew A. |last2=Deacon |first2=Clare |last3=Edwards |first3=Kevin J. |last4=Donaldson |first4=Margaret |last5=Davidson |first5=Donald A. |last6=Spring |first6=Christian |last7=Scrimgeour |first7=Charles M. |last8=Feldmann |first8=Jörg |last9=Rabb |first9=A. |journal=Chemosphere |volume=64 |issue=11 |pages=1818–1828 |pmid=16542706 |bibcode=2006Chmsp..64.1818M }}</ref>

The last straw came with the death of a young woman, Mary Gillies, who fell ill with [[appendicitis]] in January 1930 and was taken to the mainland for treatment. She died in hospital, having given birth to a daughter who also died. It was assumed that she had died of appendicitis, but her son Norman John Gillies discovered in 1991 that she had died of [[pneumonia]].<ref>Rix, Juliet (24 March 2012) [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/mar/24/last-man-st-kilda-evacuation?INTCMP=SRCH "St Kilda: On the street where we lived"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829170634/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/mar/24/last-man-st-kilda-evacuation?INTCMP=SRCH |date=29 August 2017 }}. London. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 28 March 2012.</ref> All the cattle and sheep were taken off the island two days before the evacuation by the tourist boat ''Dunara Castle'' for sale on the mainland. However, all the island's working dogs were drowned in the bay because they could not be taken.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/eighty-years-ago-st-kilda-was-evacuated-today-one-of-only-two-survivors-remembers-leaving-the-islands-1-821248|title=Eighty years ago St Kilda was evacuated. Today one of only two survivors remembers leaving the islands.|newspaper=[[The Scotsman]]|date=11 August 2010|access-date=29 August 2017|archive-date=29 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829162733/http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/eighty-years-ago-st-kilda-was-evacuated-today-one-of-only-two-survivors-remembers-leaving-the-islands-1-821248|url-status=dead}}</ref> Although the cats were left behind, many did not survive the winter.

On 29 August 1930, the ship [[Anchusa-class sloop|HMS ''Harebell'']] took the remaining 36 inhabitants to [[Morvern]] on the Scottish mainland, a decision they took collectively themselves.

<blockquote>The morning of the evacuation promised a perfect day. The sun rose out of a calm and sparkling sea and warmed the impassive cliffs of Oiseval. The sky was hopelessly blue and the sight of Hirta, green and pleasant as the island of so many careless dreams, made parting all the more difficult. Observing tradition the islanders left an open Bible and a small pile of oats in each house, locked all the doors and at 7&nbsp;am boarded the ''Harebell''. Although exhausted by the strain and hard work of the last few days, they were reported to have stayed cheerful throughout the operation. But as the long antler of Dun fell back onto the horizon and the familiar outline of the island grew faint, the severing of an ancient tie became a reality and the St Kildans gave way to tears.<ref>Maclean (1977), p. 142.</ref>
</blockquote>

One source states that "officials found forestry work for the men, and most of them were settled at [[Lochaline]] near Oban, while other families went to live at [[Strome Ferry]], Ross-shire, [[Culcabock]] near Inverness, and at [[Culross]], Fife".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/learning/features/stories-from-st-kilda |title=Stories from St Kilda |date= |work=National Records of Scotland |access-date=11 February 2021 |quote=}}</ref> Barclay visited the resettled islanders and found that some were experiencing difficulties with disillusionment and adjustment, which she reported to the Scottish Department of Health.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The new biographical dictionary of Scottish women|date=15 October 2018 |editor-last=Ewan |editor-first=Elizabeth|isbn=9781474436298|location=Edinburgh |publisher=Edinburgh University Press|oclc=1057237368}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle-2-15039/st-kilda-and-the-seas-of-change-1-465588|title=St Kilda and the seas of change|website=www.scotsman.com|language=en|access-date=2019-06-28}}</ref>

In 1931, the remaining cats were shot to protect the native birds and rodents.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://commonplacefacts.com/2024/07/24/the-evacuation-of-st-kilda-a-story-of-isolation-resilience-and-change/|title=The Evacuation of St Kilda: A Story of Isolation, Resiliance, and Change|date=24 July 2024}}</ref>

Also in 1931, the laird, [[Reginald MacLeod of MacLeod|Sir Reginald MacLeod of MacLeod]], sold the islands to [[John Crichton-Stuart, 5th Marquess of Bute|Lord Dumfries]], later the 5th [[Marquess of Bute]]. For the next 26 years they saw few people, save for the occasional summer visitors or a returning St Kildan family.<ref>Thompson, Francis (1970) ''St Kilda and other Hebridean Outliers''. David & Charles. {{ISBN|0-7153-4885-X}}</ref><ref>Steel (1988) pp. 229–32.</ref> Lord Dumfries was an [[ornithologist]] and bought the islands to preserve them as a bird sanctuary, leaving them to the [[National Trust for Scotland]] on his death in 1956.<ref>{{cite web|title=5th Marquess of Bute, John Crichton-Stuart (1907–1956)|url=http://www.mountstuart.com/history-and-heritage/bute-family/5th-marquess/|publisher=Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute|access-date=13 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729194336/http://www.mountstuart.com/history-and-heritage/bute-family/5th-marquess/|archive-date=29 July 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The story of St Kilda has attracted artistic interpretations, including [[Michael Powell]]'s 1937 film ''[[The Edge of the World]]'' and an opera.<ref>McMillan, Joyce (3 March 2007) [http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=336112007 "St Kilda the Opera brings out the bully-boys"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102160545/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=336112007 |date=2 November 2007 }}. Edinburgh. ''The Scotsman''. Retrieved 3 March 2007.</ref>

The last of the native St Kildans, Rachel Johnson, died in 2016 aged 93, having been evacuated aged eight.<ref>BBC News – Last surviving St Kildan Rachel Johnson dies (7 April 2016) [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-35985243] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505175625/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-35985243|date=5 May 2021}}. London. ''The BBC''. Retrieved 7 April 2016.</ref>