Lost treasures
Jerry first moved to the Scottish island of St Kilda in 2005. He started working for an organisation called The National Trust. It helps to protect natural areas and historic buildings. During the summer, Jerry repaired the island’s oldest buildings. In the winter, he didn’t stay on St Kilda. He went to live with his parents in Glasgow. In 2010, he got a job as the island’s manager. Now he lives in a lighthouse on the island all year. He is the only inhabitant.
In the past, about 180 people lived and worked on St Kilda. They grew their own food and caught seabirds for meat. It was a hard life. They didn’t leave the island very often. When they needed something, they wrote a message, put it in a bottle and tied the bottle to a small wooden boat. The messages didn’t always arrive. Some appeared in Norway, more than one thousand miles away!
In the 1920s people started to leave because they didn’t have enough food. On August the 29th, 1930, the last inhabitants left the island. ‘I don’t think they wanted to go,’ says Jerry. ‘This is a tough place, but it’s very beautiful, too.’
I. When did Jerry first go to St Kilda? In 2005.
