The Third Wave by Iain Finlay Macleod

Over 100 years after the Iolaire sank with the loss of hundreds of lives, Iain Finlay Macleod imagines the disaster through the eyes of a survivor.

An unnamed sailor is returning from the Great War and meets his brother on board the overcrowded yacht returning Naval Reservists home to Lewis.

He's on deck when they hit rocks at Holm and describes the confusion on board as the boat quickly sinks.

One man is able to secure a line to land and the narrator is the last man to make it ashore before the rope breaks.

He talks about the loss of his brother; how the fighting and subsequent disaster changed his feelings about war, God and loyalty to country.

Written by Iain Finlay Macleod.

Read by Daibhidh Walker.

Producer: Eilidh McCreadie

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2025.