reform. The government did pass supportive legislation, but progress in actually allocating land was very slow, and further slowed by the outbreak of war in 1914. But after the war, there was strong public support for the returning servicemen, high expectations, and pressure to make good the political promise. Expectation soon turned into anger at official delay, and land raids resumed. On Lewis, Lord Leverhulme the new landowner had ambitious plans for the island and these – and the substantial investment and employment he was bestowing – initially made him popular. But when his opposition to land settlement schemes became generally known in March 1919, the farmlands of Tong, Coll and Gress were raided. By autumn the raiders were persuaded to leave, but in January 1920 they made new raids on Coll and Gress, and this time began to build houses there. Leverhulme's response was to stop all his development work, initially just in that district, then throughout Lewis. This caused uproar. His specific objection to re-settlement of Coll and Gress was that they were needed as dairy farms to supply the town of Stornoway. His condition for resumption of development was for the raiders to withdraw; by way of compromise he offered to make land available on the west coast of the island. He also wrung from the government an agreement that they would not use their compulsory powers in support of land settlement on Lewis for ten years, provided his development works continued. On this basis, the raiders were again persuaded to leave in autumn 1920. Several farms on the west coast of Lewis were indeed re-settled, just in time to forestall land raids there, but in spring 1921 Coll and Gress were again raided, and again Leverhulme responded by halting his developments. The government thus felt released from its undertaking not to invoke compulsory powers. Faced with this official determination, Leverhulme conceded to resettlement of the entire farms of Coll and Gress, and part of Orinsay in the south of Lewis, rather than lose them piecemeal by legal action. Conflict on Lewis continued around the farm of Galson (near the northern tip of the island), but by this stage Leverhulme was giving up on his plans for Lewis, and turning his attention to adjoining Harris. He was also becoming seriously overstretched financially. In 1925, he died and his many projects on Harris and Lewis were abruptly ended.