The Seven Men of Knoydart was the name given, by the press at the time, to a group of land raiders who tried to appropriate land at

Knoydart Knoydart (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cnòideart'') is a peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. Knoydart is sandwiched between Lochs Nevis and Hourn — often translated as "Loch Heaven" (from the Gaelic ''Loch Néimh'') an ...

in 1948. The name evoked the memory of the

Seven Men of Moidart The Seven Men of Moidart, in Jacobite folklore, were seven followers of Charles Edward Stuart who accompanied him at the start of his 1745 attempt to reclaim the thrones of Great Britain and Ireland for the House of Stuart. The group included En ...

, the seven Jacobites who accompanied the

Young Pretender Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...

on his voyage to Scotland in 1745.Prebble, J. (2012) ''John Prebble's Scotland'
page 77-78
Pan Macmillan. Retrieved March 2015 Comprising seven ex-servicemen, their claim was to be the last

land raid A land raid was a form of political protest in rural Scotland, primarily in the Highlands. History A land raid was a form of political protest in rural Scotland, primarily in the Highlands. Land raiders threatened to seize, or seized, land which ...

in Scotland.

History

At the end of the 18th-century, a population of around 1,000 eked out a living on the Knoydart peninsula, through a mixture of

crofting Crofting is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production particular to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th century townships, individual crofts were established on the bette ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

.Humphreys, R. & Reid, D. (2013) ''The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands & Islands'' (6th Ed.
page 236
Rough Guides UK. Retrieved March 2015 Depopulation of the area began in August 1853, when the recently widowed Josephine MacDonnell forced the eviction of some 330 people to Canada, on board the ''Sillery'', to make way for sheep.Sandison, B. (2012) ''Sandison's Scotland'
page 194-195
Black & White Publishing Retrieved March 2015 Depopulation of the area continued, with a series of further evictions as successive landowners ran the property as a

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

and shooting estate.

Land raid

By 1948, Knoydart was owned by

Lord Brocket Baron Brocket, of Brocket Hall in the County of Hertford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 19 January 1933 for the businessman Charles Nall-Cain, 1st Baron Brocket, Sir Charles Nall-Cain, 1st Baronet. He was chair ...

, who was controversial for his fascist activities before and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was known as a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

sympathiser, and became a committed member of the

Anglo-German Fellowship The Anglo-German Fellowship was a membership organisation that existed from 1935 to 1939, and aimed to build up friendship between the United Kingdom and Germany. It was widely perceived as being allied to Nazism. Previous groups in Britain wit ...

, using his estates to entertain supporters of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. On 9 November, the seven men, Henry MacAskill, Archie MacDonald, Archie MacDougall, Jack MacHardy, Duncan McPhail, Sandy Macphee and William Quinnall, made the

invoking the Land Settlement Act, which permitted ''returning servicemen to take over land which was under-used and farm it as their own''. As veterans of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, they had been fighting to defend Britain against the fascist regimes in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and elsewhere. The seven men marked out of arable land and of hill land upon which to settle. The raid followed a pattern set by the

Highland Land League The first Highland Land League ( gd, Dionnasg an Fhearainn) emerged as a distinct political force in Scotland during the 1880s, with its power base in the country's Highlands and Islands. It was known also as the Highland Land Law Reform Associat ...

some seventy years before, and was inspired by similar land raids at the end of the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, on

Raasay Raasay (; gd, Ratharsair) or the Isle of Raasay is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound. It is famous for being the birt ...

and the Long Isle, when returning soldiers drew public attention to the misuse and mismanagement of land. Men of Knoydart memorial

Although the raiders had public opinion on their side, Lord Brocket succeeded in obtaining a court order to remove them. The raiders' case was heard and rejected by a Court of Enquiry called by the government early in 1949. An appeal by the men to the

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

also failed. A cairn commemorating the land raid was erected at

Inverie Inverie (; ) is the main village on the Knoydart peninsula in the Scottish Highlands. It is located on the north side of Loch Nevis and, although on the mainland of Britain, the network of single-track roads surrounding the village is not connect ...

in 1991, by the Knoydart Land Raid Commemoration Committee. The plaque reads: :: ''Justice!'' :: ''In 1948 near this cairn the Seven Men of Knoydart staked claims to secure a place to live and work.'' :: ''For over a century Highlanders had been forced to use land raids to gain a foothold where their forebears lived. Their struggle should inspire each new generation of Scots to gain such rights by just laws.'' :: ''History will judge harshly the oppressive laws that have led to the virtual extinction of a unique culture from this beautiful place.''

Legacy

In 1984

Philip Rhodes Philip Leonard Rhodes (1895–1974) was an Americans, American naval architect known for his diverse yacht designs. Life Rhodes designed a wide variety of vessels from 7' dinghies to 123' motor-sailors, from hydrofoil racers to America's Cup win ...

, a

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

property dealer, acquired the estate. He began selling off sections, bringing an end to the reign of absentee landlords in Knoydart. The last 17,000 acres were bought by the

jute Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...

manufacturing company Titaghur, and when the company went into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

the land was acquired by the

Knoydart Foundation Knoydart (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cnòideart'') is a peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. Knoydart is sandwiched between Lochs Nevis and Hourn — often translated as "Loch Heaven" (from the Gaelic ''Loch Néimh'') an ...

in a community buyout.

References

{{Squatting in Scotland History of the Scottish Highlands Land reform in Scotland Land rights movements Lochaber 1948 in Scotland 1948 in British law Fascism in Scotland Protests in Scotland Squats in the United Kingdom Evicted squats 20th-century squatters Squatting in Scotland November 1948 events in the United Kingdom