Cuimhneachan/Remembrance - Episode Guide

The first episode looks at what bards such as Neil MacDonald from North Uist and Duncan Johnston from Islay had to say, first at the beginning of the war and later on after direct experience of trench warfare on the battlefields of France.

The second episode looks at the impact of the war on Highland and island communities. One bard reflects on how the war has taken so many active young men away to fight, casting a shadow on their villages and districts. But amongst the gloom there is also an attempt at lightheartedness, with one Skye bard complaining about the shortage of tobacco!

The third episode looks at how the poets handled the great loss of life during the war, both at sea and in the trenches. The songs reflect a range of perspectives: the mother mourning her son, the widow's grief over the loss of her husband and a soldier's first-hand account of the bloodshed on the battlefield.

The final programme looks at the legacy of the war through the eyes of the bards who were writing in the years after it had ended. It was thought that the war would be 'the war to end all wars', but that wasn't the case, and that realisation led many poets such as Murdo MacFarlane to question the effectiveness of war in general. However, at the same time, it is realised that the sacrifice of those who went into battle should never be forgotten.

The first episode looks at the songs composed about the Highland and Island lads or 'heroes' who fought in the war. Included in this episode is The Gaels around the British Flag by John MacLennan, who was born in Inverasdale, Wester Ross, but spent most of his life near Brisbane, Australia. From there he composed The Gaels around the British Flag, urging Gaels from all parts of the Highlands to rise up against the German forces. In The Fine Lads have Gone, Donald Macdonald from Corunna, North Uist, gives a vivid description of the ferocity of battle.

Separation is the theme of the second programme and the many forms of separation that resulted from the war. Death is the ultimate separation and in the song In Memory of Murdo MacLennan, Catherine MacLeod's grief at the death of her fiancé, Murdo MacLennan, from Stornoway, at the Battle of Loos, is poignantly expressed. The separation of Hugh MacKinnon from Eigg from his childhood friends who died in the Great War is the subject of I am Today Sad and Mournful. Looking around Eigg he sees reminders everywhere of the times they spent together in their youth.

The war at sea is the subject of this programme, and amongst the songs featured is 'Song of the Navy' by Murdo Macleod, which touches on the difficult conditions encountered by sailors at sea. Angus MacKenzie from North Uist was a gunner on one of the fishing boats which were tasked with clearing German mines at sea during the war. It was a life of constant danger and in 'O How Melancholy I Am', he addresses this as well as expressing his longing for his native North Uist.

This programme looks at how the world of the Gael changed in the years following World War I and also how writers have responded to the war 100 years on. In 'Song for the Pupils of Carinish School-2014', writer Norman Maclean uses a tragic incident from his family history to question whether it is ever worth going to war. A photograph of John McDiarmid's great grandfather, also called John McDiarmid, provided him with the inspiration to write the poem 'Hands Like Shovels'.