New film tells of Sutherland man who was among Titanic victims
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A newly completed short film tells the poignant story of a young man from north Sutherland who was among the victims of the Titanic disaster.
George William Mackay, from Skerray, had decided to make a new start in the United States but was one of more than 1500 people who were lost when the White Star liner sank in the North Atlantic 109 years ago. He was 20 at the time, and his body was never found.
Retired archivist Janet Baker has created a nine-minute documentary about George's life. It is entitled Titanic and the Highlander and is available to view free on YouTube.
George was born into a large crofting family but chose to venture out into the world to seek his fortune. After leaving Skerray school he went to work in London as a footman in the home of a barrister, Edward Montefiore Micholls.
George had two sisters, Georgina and Christina, who had settled in America, and they often encouraged him to join them there.
And so in 1912 he resolved to set out for the USA. Janet says it is not known which ship George was originally booked to travel on, "but for some reason he changed ship and sealed his own fate".
Janet notes that back home, before the Titanic set sail on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, George's mother had a premonition of an impending family disaster.
The Belfast-built liner was considered to be "unsinkable" but it went down off the coast of Newfoundland on April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg. There were more than 2200 passengers and crew aboard.
As a young single man, there was no room for George in the lifeboats.
A memorial stone was erected in Skerray burial ground some time after by his friends from London.
In her commentary, Janet states: “If you are visiting the north of Scotland, perhaps doing the North Coast 500 route, or live close by, why not pay a visit to George's memorial? Take a sprig of heather for him. Spend a few minutes there. And think about this young Highlander, setting out into the world to find a new life, following in the footsteps of thousands of Highlanders who had gone before him, only to become an unwitting player in a famous tragedy.”
Born in County Durham, Janet spent 38 years as an archivist – latterly as education and outreach co-ordinator for the Highland Archive Service.
She explained: "I had been interested in the Titanic disaster since my twenties and have several books on the subject. My interest was really piqued, though, when I saw Allan Maciver’s photo of George’s memorial stone in Skerray burial ground. The rest, as they say, is history."
