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Journalist donates more than 50 years of news archives to history group

A journalist has donated more than half a century’s worth of news and photographic archives to a historical society on his patch.

Stornoway journalist Bill Lucas, 87, has gifted his entire archive to the Stornoway Historical Society with a view to them forming a publicly-accessible collection.

Bill started his newspaper career with his hometown title the Hamilton Advertiser, before joining the Stornoway Gazette five years later in 1956.

After three years, he moved to the Scotsman but returned in 1961 and ran a freelance agency until his retirement in 2010.

From left: Bill Lucas with Malcolm MacDonald, Catherine Marion MacLeod, Ken Galloway and Anna Tucker from the Stornoway Historical Society

From left: Bill Lucas with Malcolm MacDonald, Catherine Marion MacLeod, Ken Galloway and Anna Tucker from the Stornoway Historical Society

Discussing his archive with the Gazette, Bill said: “It’s 50 years of news stories, photographs, negatives, transparencies, recordings when I was the BBC’s voice of the Hebrides for a wee while before they moved here.”

Bill’s photographic collection includes at least 3,000 images, and one picture will appear in the Gazette each week.

The newspaper has also agreed with the society that they will provide a page of their own material each month.

Malcolm MacDonald, chair of the society, said: “This is the most remarkable collection we have ever received.

“We are overwhelmed with gratitude to Bill for giving us the opportunity to sort the images and eventually make them available to the public at large.

“They will create a tremendous amount of interest.”