Tales From Barra

John Lorne Campbell was the author of numerous books and articles, including Canna: the Story of a Hebridean Island, the island thatwas his home from 1938 to his death in 1996. He was instrumental in ensuring that the island pass into the care of the National Trustfor Scotland in order that its natural and cultural heritage be protected. He was honoured with numerous awards during his life,including honorary degrees from the Universities of Glasgow and Oxford, fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and in 1990an OBE.

Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool in 1883. He was educated at St Paul's School and Magdalen College, Oxford. During the First World War he became a Captain in the Royal Marines, becoming Director of the Aegean Intelligence Service. He wrote more than ninety books - novels, history and biography, essays and criticism, children's stories and verse, and was also an outstanding broadcaster. He founded and edited until 1961 the magazine the Gramophone, and was President of the Siamese Cat Club. He lived for many years on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, but later settled in Edinburgh. Compton Mackenzie died in 1972.

John Lorne Campbell FRSE LLD OBE (1906-1996) was a Scottish historian, farmer, environmentalist and folklore scholar. He recorded a disappearing Gaelic heritage, and wrote and published extensively about Gaelic and Highland culture and life.