SS Politician
SS Politician was a cargo ship that ran aground off the coast of the Hebridean island of Eriskay in 1941. Her cargo included 22,000 cases of scotch whisky and £3 million worth of Jamaican banknotes. Much of the whisky was recovered by islanders from across the Hebrides, contrary to marine salvage laws. Because no duty had been paid on the whisky, members of HM Customs and Excise pursued and prosecuted those who had removed the cargo.
Politician was completed in 1923 under the name London Merchant. She was a general cargo ship that traded between Britain, the United States and Canada, and up and down the west coast of the US. In 1924—during the years of American prohibition—Oregon's state prohibition commissioner seized her cargo of whisky despite its having been approved and sealed by US federal authorities. After the British Embassy in Washington complained to the US government, the whisky was released back to the ship. During the Second World War Politician participated in the Atlantic convoys between the UK and US. In February 1941 she was on her way to the north of Scotland, where she ran aground while attempting to rendezvous with a convoy. No-one was badly injured or killed in the accident.
The local islanders continually visited the wreck of Politician to unload whisky, even though it was in a hold filled with marine engine oil and seawater. Customs men undertook raids, arresting many and seizing the boats of those suspected of taking part. The excise authorities pushed for charges under the punitive customs legislation, but the authorities charged those arrested with theft. Many were found not guilty or not proven, and several were fined; 19 were incarcerated at Inverness Prison for terms ranging between 20 days and two months. Salvors were used to rescue as much of the ship as they could, and the whisky they raised was shipped back to its bonded warehouses; this was also looted during its journey. Two salvage crews removed much of the cargo, and the second crew raised the wreck off the seabed. Part of the ship's hold, and her stern, were cut away and sank to the bottom of Eriskay Sound; the remainder of the hold was destroyed with gelignite to prevent further looting.
A few of the Jamaican banknotes from Politician were presented at banks in Britain, Jamaica and other countries. As a result, in 1952 the blue ten-shilling notes were withdrawn and replaced with notes of the same design, printed in purple. Bottles of whisky have been raised from the seabed by divers, and some have been found in hiding places on Eriskay; these have been auctioned. The story of the wreck and looting was the basis for the book Whisky Galore; an adaptation was released as a film in 1949 and a remake in 2016.
1920–1939
The cargo ship SS Politician was built by the Furness Shipbuilding Company between 19 September 1920—when she was laid down—and 1923 at the Haverton Hill shipyard, County Durham, England. She was launched in November 1921 as SS London Merchant, and was completed in May 1923. London Merchant was one of six sister ships built at the yard; the others were London Commerce, London Importer, London Mariner, London Shipper and Manchester Regiment. London Merchant gross registered tonnage was 7,899, she was long and at the beam; her depth of hold was and she could achieve. While being fitted out, she was hit by another ship and damaged.After London Merchant was repaired she began trading across the Atlantic; her owners, the Furness Withy company, advertised her cargo services in The Manchester Guardian, shipping from Manchester to Los Angeles, Seattle and Vancouver. In December 1924—during Prohibition in the United States—she docked in Portland, Oregon, with whisky as part of her cargo; this had been approved and sealed by the US federal authorities. George Cleaver, Oregon's state prohibition commissioner, ignored the approval, broke the seal on the cargo and seized the whisky. The ship's master refused to leave without the whisky and the British Embassy in Washington complained to the Federal authorities, who intervened and ordered the whisky released back to the ship. Cleaver was ordered to write an apology to the captain and the Furness Withy company. On Christmas Eve 1927 she was involved in another collision and was repaired. She traded on the US eastern seaboard until 1930 when, with the onset of Great Depression, world trade dropped, and she was tied up in the River Blackwater, Essex, along with 60 other vessels.
In May 1935 London Merchant was purchased by the Charente Steamship Company, part of the T & J Harrison shipping line. Charente renamed her Politician, and used her on cargo routes between Britain and South Africa; her crew soon nicknamed her Polly. At the outbreak of the Second World War Politician came under Admiralty orders and was involved in the Atlantic convoys between the UK and US.
Early February – 12 March 1941
In early February 1941 SS Politician left the Liverpool docks to travel to the north of Scotland, where she was to assemble with other ships to be convoyed across the Atlantic to the US and Caribbean. Captain Beaconsfield Worthington was the ship's master, overseeing a crew of 51. She carried a mixed cargo that included cotton, machetes, sweets, cutlery, bicycles, cigarettes, pineapple chunks and biscuits. In the fifth hold there were eight crates of Jamaican banknotes, comprising ten-shilling and one- and five-pound notes, to the value of £3 million; alongside the notes were 22,000 cases of Scotch whisky of various brands. The whisky had been taken from bonded warehouses in Leith and Glasgow that had been damaged by German bombing, and was being shipped to the US to raise hard currency for the war effort; as an export product, none of the bottles bore an excise stamp.File:Relevant locations for the SS Politician.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Map showing the sound of Eriskay—the area between Eriskay's north coast and the southern coast of South Uist|Relevant locations for the SS Politician:
– The current site of wreck.
And, the approximate site the ship grounded, according to:
– the Canmore database;
– Roger Hutchinson's history;
– Arthur Swinson's history.
After leaving the River Mersey, Politician travelled through the Irish Sea, made her way past the Isle of Man, through the North Channel that separates Britain and Ireland, past Islay then to the west of the Skerryvore lighthouse and into the Sea of the Hebrides. In the vicinity of Eriskay, Politician ran aground on rocks at about 7:40 am on 4 February in bad weather and poor visibility. Sources differ on where Politician was grounded. The Canmore database run by the Historic Environment Scotland puts the event half way along the eastern cost of Eriskay; Roger Hutchinson's book on the story of the ship states it was on the rocks of Ru Melvick, a rock outcrop at the southernmost point of South Uist; the Merseyside Maritime Museum considers it was on "submerged rocks on the northern side of the island of Eriskay"; and Arthur Swinson's 1963 history places it just north of Calvay, a small uninhabited island at the north end of Eriskay. Eriskay is ; the population recorded on the island in the 1931 census was 420.
Worthington attempted to free Politician from the rocks, but she would not move. The rocks had breached the hull and water began to flood the engine room and stokehold and break the vessel's propeller shaft. Worthington was concerned the heavy waves would soon break up the ship, so he ordered the crew to abandon ship. The radio operator sent two SOS messages; the first was "Abandoning ship. Making Water. Engine-room flooded"; the second, sent at 8:22 am stated the vessel was positioned "ashore south of Barra island, pounding heavily". One lifeboat was launched with 26 men on board. It was washed onto rocks close inshore to Rudha Dubh, an outcrop on South Uist. All survived, although one man was injured on the rocks. Lloyd's, the lifeboat from Barra, spent several hours searching the area south of the island in heavy mist before a report came in of Politician siren, which had been heard north of Eriskay. Lloyd's travelled to the area, by which time fishermen from Eriskay had boarded Politician. At Worthington's request they sailed to Rudha Dubh, collected those who had left earlier, and returned to the ship. The lifeboat reached Politician at about 4:00 pm, when Politician crew boarded the lifeboat and were taken to Eriskay. They spent the night there, billeted in small groups in the homes of the islanders; while staying on the island, the sailors told the islanders that Politician cargo contained whisky.
The following morning, 6 February, Worthington and his first mate, R. A. Swaine, were taken back to Politician to view the damage and see if there was any chance of salvaging her. He found that someone had been on board overnight, as personal possessions of the crew had been taken. The vessel was in the same situation as the previous day, so they signalled the situation to T&J Harrison. Harrison's asked the Liverpool & Glasgow Salvage Association to assess Politician status. The chief salvage officer, Commander Kay, arrived at the stricken vessel on 8 February, and reported back that a salvage attempt was possible. The signal stated that there was of water in the main hold, in the engine room and in number five hold. Within days the salvage ship Ranger had arrived and of cargo were removed. As hold five was below the surface, and full of a mixture of seawater and oil, Kay did not attempt to salvage its contents.
Local customs officers considered that some whisky had already made its way onto the islands, and asked Kay to put a guard on the ship at night-time. He refused, pointing out that with the rough seas it was dangerous for the man left behind, and it would be a waste of his time. There was evidence that islanders had been aboard during the nights: the crew's bonded stores—the food, drink and tobacco for consumption during the voyage—were all looted on 19 February. Some of Kay's salvors had managed to obtain whisky from the hold. When they returned to Glasgow on one trip, a search by customs men found several bottles, which they seized. On their second trip, the salvors dropped the whisky before entering port and had it picked up later. On 10 March representatives of HM Customs and Excise secured the hold with an excise seal to show no duty had been paid on the contents. On 12 March 1941 Kay and the salvage crew left the wreck of Politician.