An exhibition in Edinburgh will narrate the story of one of Scotland’s most enduring maritime mysteries, in which three lighthouse keepers vanished without trace from their post in the Outer Hebrides.
Their disappearance from the Flannan Isles lighthouse in December 1900 remains unsolved, inspiring ballads, books and film adaptations including movie thriller The Vanishing starring Gerard Butler as well as an episode of Doctor Who and a song by rock icons Genesis.
Now a 126 year-old letter written by the man who was sent to investigate is to go on display for the first time at the National Records of Scotland (NRS) in Edinburgh. In the letter he describes what he found on arrival at the lighthouse.
The letter, from relief keeper Joseph Moore to the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, is part of a new exhibition, “For the Safety of All: Scotland’s Lighthouses”, running from August 3 to September 25 as part of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The Flannan Isles Lighthouse, on Eilean Mòr, 21 miles west of the Isle of Lewis, had only been in operation for a year when the keepers disappeared.
By the time Principal Lightkeeper James Ducat, Assistant Lightkeeper Thomas Marshall and Occasional Keeper Donald McArthur were discovered missing, the light had not been seen for ten days.
Their story will be highlighted in the free-to-enter exhibition to “help put the high risk but life-saving work of lightkeepers into the spotlight”.
Assistant Lightkeeper Joseph Moore was dispatched to the 75-foot lighthouse, built on a 200-foot cliff, to investigate on 26 December – 11 days after a passing steamer noted seeing no light in poor weather.
In his letter, dated 28 December 1900, he described how he found the station deserted, with lamps ready, the lens and machinery cleaned, the kitchen tidied but no trace of the men.
He concluded two of his colleagues, Ducat and Marshall, were dressed for bad weather as their outdoor clothing were missing, while McArthur likely left “in shirt sleeves”, suggesting haste.
He noted heavy iron railings had been damaged and mooring equipment moved about but the lighthouse itself was in good order.
He wrote: “I went up, and on coming to the entrance gate I found it closed. I made for the entrance door leading to the kitchen and store room, found it also closed and the door inside that, but the kitchen door itself was open.
“On entering the kitchen I looked at the fireplace and saw that the fire was not lighted for some days. I then entered the rooms in succession, found the beds empty just as they left them in the early morning.
“I did not take time to search further, for I only too well knew something serious had occurred.”
The last entries in the keeper’s log were for December 13, but notes up to the morning of Saturday December 15 had been made on a slate, suggesting the men disappeared that afternoon.
A report concluded the men likely left the lighthouse either to secure some gear or to ascertain storm damage on the landings and were caught by an unexpected wave, which swept them into the sea.
But speculation and theories over their fate have continued for over a century.
The exhibition will focus on the story of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses and the Bell Rock lighthouse off the Angus coast.
The world’s oldest surviving sea-washed lighthouse, the exhibition will look at the engineering challenges that were overcome to position the Bell Rock lighthouse where it was needed.
NRS archivist Jessica Evershed said: “Scotland’s coastal waters are among the most beautiful and treacherous in the world. They have fed and sustained communities for centuries but they also claimed many lives.
“The records in the exhibition are from those we hold for the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses.
“They allow us to look at a range of themes from the challenges of building the offshore Bell Rock lighthouse to lighthouses in the war. It’s a story of inspirational engineering but also tenacious dedication and courage.”
The Northern Lighthouse Board, which commissioned the Flannan Isles Lighthouse, pays tribute to the three keepers on its website: “Now over 100 years later, what happened on that day remains a mystery. A mystery that has captured the imagination of the public ever since.
“There have been many books written about the Flannans and in 2018, the film The Vanishing was released to a worldwide audience.
“Despite the intrigue and dramatised speculation of what may have happened, we have to remember three keepers lost their lives and the families of these three men, to this day, do not know their fate.
“The loss of the three Keepers from the Flannan Isles Lighthouse in 1900 is a significant and very sad part of our history.”
The exhibition will take place in the Adam Dome at General Register House, Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3YY. Admission is free. It will be open Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm, from 3 August to 25 September 2026 and during Doors Open Day on Saturday 26 September 2026, 10am to 4pm.
The exhibition is suitable for all ages and will run as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026. A transcript of the letter can be viewed on the Northern Lighthouse Board website.
