Arisaig church hosts musical commemoration of First World War tragedy
On February 26, 1918, HM Hospital Ship Glenart Castle was torpedoed in the Bristol Channel while sailing from South Wales to France, with the loss of 162 lives.
One of the casualties was Mary McKinnon, a nurse from Arisaig and a member of Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Nursing Service.
When her great-niece opera singer Fiona MacDonald saw Mary’s name on the Arisaig war memorial, she decided to investigate further.
Ms MacDonald, 55, asked the family about Mary, and was shown an autograph book in which she had collected signatures from grateful soldiers she helped nurse in the war.
She immediately resolved to carry on her ancestor’s work and do something to help today’s servicemen and women…
