The Dutch Consul-General in London has made a presentat ion to Fr. .John McQueen, well-known Gaelic-speaking rector of Castlebay, Barra, for his kindness to torpedoed Dutchmen.
When in November the Dutch tanker Sliedrecht was sunk in the Atlantic five men took to a boat. They drifted for eight days before they were picked up, starving and exhausted, by a trawler. They were brought ashore at Castlebay and taken to hospital on the mainland.
CHEQUE AND LIFEBOAT Fr. McQueen was tireless in giving assistance to the men. He wrote to their families in Holland saying that the men had been rescued and were safe. The men could not forget the kindness, and thus the priest's generosity became known.
The Consul-General presented the priest with a cheque, and has made him a present of the lifeboat which carried the men to land.