Whisky Galore

In 1941, when the SS Politician, bound for America, was blown off course and came aground on the rocks of Eriskay. People came from as far as the Isle of Lewis to battle the waves and ‘rescue’ the 260,000 bottles of whisky that the ship had been carrying.

The police then began raiding villages and crofts, with the whisky rescuers being arrested, fined and even, in some cases, jailed. It’s estimated that 24,000 bottles were either hidden, destroyed or drunk by the residents of