The wrecking of the SS William H Welch

The cargo ship SS William H Welch was part of a convoy sailing from London to Loch Ewe in February 1944 when it was caught in a storm and became stranded on a reef on the north side of Eilean Furadh Mòr. Repeated attempts to rescue the ship by a British escort tug and the local Coast Guard failed. In the huge seas the captain mustered all the remaining crew on the bridge but with each mountainous wave the crew were swept away into the crashing sea.

At 6am the ship broke in half and the assembled crofters of Cove, along with four soldiers from a platoon training at the Highland Fieldcraft Centre at Poolewe, waded into the sea up to their necks to reach the stricken crew. Of the 74 crew there were only twelve survivors. Battered by the storm, the survivors and their rescuers endured a driving blizzard, sub-zero temperatures and a wild sea dashing them against razor sharp rocks. The survivors were also covered in a thick coating of heavy oil which was released from the Welch as she broke apart.

Many locals were involved in the rescue. Most of the young men of the community had left to serve in the Second World War and so most of the rescuers were older men and the women of the community. One survivor related being recovered by two old women who carried him four miles to their home. Jean Mackenzie from Cove also receives special mentions in accounts of the rescue, making repeated journeys back and forth through the driving blizzard with large kettles of hot tea.

A blazing fire was soon kindled on the shore, despite the ferocious weather, and the survivors and rescuers were able to start warming up before transporting the casualties by stretcher three miles across the moor to Cove, where they were then transported by the local bus and ambulance to hospital in Gairloch. After the survivors were transported to safety the rescuers continued their efforts to ensure as many bodies as they could find were recovered for burial. A memorial cairn commemorating the disaster has since been erected.

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