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O chionn greis, bha mi ag innse dhuibh mu àite air a’ Ghàidhealtachd a dh’fhuiling ionnsaighean le bomaichean. Bha sin anns an Dàrna Cogadh. B’ e an t-àite Loch Iubh ann an Ros an Iar. An-diugh, tha mi a’ dol a thoirt sùil air àite eile air a’ Ghàidhealtachd a dh’fhuiling anns an aon dòigh.

’S e sin Foithear, taobh Loch Nis – no ann am Beurla, Foyers. Tha am facal foithear a’ ciallachadh ‘slope, terraced declivity’. Tha e boireanta. ’S e Fear Foithreach a’ Ghàidhlig a bha air the Laird of Foyers.Ìý

Tha abhainn a’ sruthadh sìos am bruthach an sin. Tha i a’ dol tro choille. Tha i a’ tuiteam thairis air leac mhòr, a’ dèanamh eas ainmeil – the Falls of Foyers. Ann an Gàidhlig, bhiodh tu an dùil gur e sin Eas Foithreach. Ach ’s e Eas na Smùide a chanas sinn ris. Canaidh sinn ²õ³¾Ã¹¾±»å ri water vapour a dh’èireas à eas nuair a tha tòrr uisge ann.

Chaidh mi a choimhead air an eas. Tha e drùidhteach. Ach bha an turadh air a bhith ann airson grunn làithean. Gu mì-fhortanach, cha robh mòran uisge anns an eas.

Tha an t-àite sìtheil agus bòidheach. Tha e gu sònraichte àlainn as t-fhoghar. Tha duilleagan nan craobh ruadh is donn is buidhe. Ach cha robh an t-àite sìtheil air an treas latha deug dhen Ghearran, naoi ceud deug, ceathrad ’s a h-aon (1941). Air an latha sin leig itealan-cogaidh Gearmailteach bomaichean air an fhactaraidh aluminium ann am Foithir.Ìý

Thuit dà bhoma air pìoban uisge ri taobh na factaraidh. Chaidh dithis fhear a mharbhadh – Murchadh MacLeòid agus Gilleasbaig MacDhòmhnaill. Chaidh feadhainn eile dhen luchd-obrach a leòn. Chuir a’ bhanaltram ionadail agus buidheann de shaor-thoilich ionad-nursaidh air dòigh. Rinn iad cobhair air na daoine a chaidh a leòn.

Chaidh a h-uile uinneag anns an fhactaraidh a bhriseadh. Ach cha robh an fhactaraidh dùinte fada. Trì mìosan an dèidh sin, thàinig itealan Gearmailteach eile. An turas seo, bha gunnaichean dìon aig an fhactaraidh. Loisg iad air an itealan agus chùm am pìleat a dol seachad. Cha do leig e boma sam bith.Ìý

A wee while back, I was telling you about a place in the Highlands that suffered bombing attacks. That was in the Second [World] War. The place was Loch Ewe in Wester Ross. Today, I’m going to look at another place in the Highlands that suffered in the same way.

That is Foithear on Loch Ness-side or in English ‘Foyers’. The word foithear means ‘slope, terraced declivity’. It is feminine. Fear Foithreach was the Gaelic for the Laird of Foyers.

A river flows down the slope there. It goes through a wood. It falls over a large slab creating a famous waterfall – the Falls of Foyers. In Gaelic you might assume that to be Eas Foithreach. But it’s Eas na Smùide that we call it. We call water vapour that rises from a waterfall when there is a lot of water in it ‘²õ³¾Ã¹¾±»å’.

I went to look at the waterfall. It is impressive. But there had been dry conditions for several days. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much water in the waterfall.

The place is peaceful and beautiful. It is particularly beautiful in autumn. The leaves of the trees are russet and brown and yellow. But the place wasn’t peaceful on the thirteenth of February 1941. On that day, a German military aircraft dropped bombs on the aluminium factory in Foyers.

Two bombs fell on water pipes adjacent to the factory. Two men were killed – Murdo MacLeod and Archibald MacDonald. Others among the workers were injured. The local nurse and a group of volunteers set up a nursing station. They assisted the people who had been injured.

Every window in the factory was broken. But the factory wasn’t closed long. Three months after that, another German warplane came. This time, the factory had defensive guns. They fired on the aircraft and the pilot continued past. He didn’t drop any bomb.