A School in South Uist

Reminiscences of a Hebridean Schoolmaster, 1890-1913

These are the memoirs of Frederick Rea, a teacher from England who became headmaster of Garrynemonie School in South Uist in the 1890s. They show how he strove to meet the difficulties presented by life in one of the poorest districts in the Outer Hebrides.

In 1889 Frederick Rea arrived from the Midlands to teach in South Uist, at that time one of the poorest places in the Outer Hebrides. Roads were often no more than rough tracks across the mountain moorland or over the storm-swept machair, and his Gaelic-speaking pupils were often frozen and starving.

In this extraordinary book, he recounts the years he spent in this remote corner of Scotland, where he was welcomed with uncommon kindness and generosity by the islanders, who found him to be a sincere, conscientious man and an excellent teacher. The book also reveals Rea's keen powers of observation as he describes the lonely, ruggedly beautiful landscape and the customs and lifestyle of the people. Frederick Rea treasured his memories of South Uist for the rest of his life, and his love and respect for the islands and islanders is wonderfully conveyed in this vivid testament. 

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