Little Ross Island Lighthouse Keeper Murder Remembered

Little Ross is a small 29-acre island off the coast of the Solway Firth (Scottish Gaelic: Tràchd Romhra) in southwest Scotland (Alba). The island is south of the town of Kirkcudbright, Galloway (Scottish Gaelic: Cille Chùithbeirt, Gall-Ghàidhealaibh). Some years ago Little Ross was sold and recently it has been reported that planning proposals have been submitted to bring derelict cottages back into use as holiday lets.

Inevitably whenever there is news about the island the media refers to a murder that took place there in 1960. Prompting a headline in BBC Scotland "Holiday homes plan for lighthouse murder island near Kirkcudbright". On 18 August 1960 a father and son on a boat trip to Little Ross island made a gruesome discovery. The body of a lighthouse keeper, Hugh Clark, who had been killed by his colleague, assistant keeper Robert Dickson. 

He had fled the island but was later arrested in Yorkshire and came to trial at the High Court in Dumfries. It came out during the proceedings that Robert Dickson had a history of mental illness and the defence was insanity. However, the judge's direction to the jury, on legal grounds, was that he was guilty. He was sentenced to the death penalty, which was later commuted to life in prison. Robert Dickson subsequently took his own life when in jail.

Images: Little Ross island (above) and map of location (below) both courtesy of BBC Scotland.