Not Always As Appears

In 1816 Robert Stevenson built this lighthouse on the Isle of May, in the Firth of Forth. It resembles a Gothic castle. In 1918, on the night of 31 January / 1 February, the lighthouse keepers were relatively close to the so-called 'Battle of May'. This involved the Royal Navy, but not the enemy. It consisted of a series of accidents in which eight collisions occurred, two submarines lost, three other submarines and a light cruiser damaged, and 279 men died. The full story was not made public for 84 years and the lives lost were commemorated with a cairn erected on the mainland, at Anstruther harbour, on 31 January 2002.

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