The remote island that was evacuated to 10,000km away
On 10 October 1961, the population of Tristan da Cunha, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, was evacuated to the UK, due to the threat of a volcanic eruption
On 10 October 1961, a volcanic eruption threatened the population of Tristan da Cunha, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, and all 264 islanders were evacuated to the UK.
Two years later, the majority voted to return.
In an interview she gave to the BBC in 1961, Mary Swain describes what it was like to survive the preceding earthquake and landside and be relocated to the other side of the world.
Produced and presented by Rachel Naylor, in collaboration with BBC Archives.
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(Photo: Evacuees from Tristan on board a Dutch liner bound for Cape Town on 21 October 1961. Credit: Central Press/Getty Images)
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