"...the snowstorm of '56. I had just become the sole island postman taking the place of the three bicycle postmen. I was to have a van - a red Morris Minor with the Royal Insignia on the sides. On January 9th the GPO Supervisor came over from Mull to assess the routes. When it came to delivering the mail to Caolis I drove down to the edge of Crossapol beach. It was no bother for cars in those days; the track was not gouged out by heavy tractors and trailers. The Supervisor said he would wait in the van. Snow started to fall as I walked the beach. By the time I got back it was blizzard conditions, a gale coming in from the south east. The Supervisor had not thought to get the van back to the road. We were blocked in the sand dunes and had to walk for help carrying the mail bag. The Laird, Kenneth Stewart, gave us a lift to the Village in the Landrover.

It stopped snowing by 8.00pm but there were snowdrifts across the roads for days. The official Post Office bicycle had not been returned to the mainland so that is how I delivered the mail until the snow was gone. Quite a start for the first ever Post Office van on the island!"

Calum MacQuarrie