The Soay ferryman

Alexander “Sandy” Campbell

Alexander Campbell was born on the Isle of Soay in May 1883, the son of John Campbell. The Campbells had been on Soay since the Highland Clearances when they were moved from Skye.

Alexander, known as Sandy, was the boatman who ferried people and goods to the island from the Isle of Skye and ports on the west coast of Scotland.

The following article was written by a Church of Scotland minister who had the good fortune to use Sandy’s services:

The Lovable Rogue

Sandy Campbell is a “Wee Free” but Sandy is not what one would call a “church-goer”; in fact Sandy is rather frowned upon by his kirk, the reason for this being that he is rather fond of celebrating his every visit to the mainland. He was celebrating when I first met him; it was in Mallaig. I had arranged to sail with Sandy on the Mary S, bound for the Soay Isle.

Soay is a little island of the Inner Hedridean Group; it is situated off the southwest coast of Skye right at the foot of the famous Cuillins and 17 miles from Mallaig, the nearest port. There are only a dozen families living on the island which is one of the most primitive of the Hebridean Isles.

The “Mary s”, an old drifter which acts as mailboat between Soay and the mainland was due to sail at 4p.m. Long before the time of sailing I dumped my pack on board then passed the time helping Donald McDonald putting the cargo on board; petrol for the motorboats, meal and other foodstuffs and the mail. Donald was mate, wheelsmanand deckhand all rolled into one, and a good man was Donald.

Well, 4 o’clock saw no Sandyarriving; neither did 5 or 6 o’clock. At about 7pm sandy rolled up at the pier, very gay. He wasted no time getting the engine started or rather attempting to do so, for I am afraid that Sandy was in no fit state to start any engine nor would he allow Donald or anyone else to touch the engine of his beloved “Mary S”. Eventually at about 8pm Sandy got the engine started and I very nervously bade farewell to Mallaig and dry land. Darkness overtook us as we were across the Sound of Sleat.

What a night that proved to be. Not only did Sandy lose the course at one stage but he nearly lost his life. I was playing the mouth organ, “Road to the isles” or “Over the sea to Skye” and there was Sandy, up on the hatch dancing a jig with the dark, deep waters of the Atlantic only two feet away on either side. How we ever arrived at Soay I do not know but when we did arrive we found that we could not enter the natural harbour as the tide was against us. There was nothing for it but to spend the rest of the night onboard; and if you have ever spent a bitterly cold night sleeping on hard boards with only a damp tarpaulin to cover you then you will know that there are more comfortable ways of passing the night. Somehow I did not feel too kindly disposed towards Sandy..

But during my stay on Soay I came to know him well and I learnt much of him. I came to see the tremendous potentialities in that man. He is a real leader, a man with initiative, daring and a heart of gold, a man with a heart as big as the Island of Skye. If there is any danger to be faced, Sandy is the one to face it; he does that every time he visits the mainland during the winter months when there are terrific seas running. Whenever someone is ill on the island Sandy is the one to brave the seas in the “Mary S”, sailing round the extremely dangerous southwestern coast-line of Skye, up Loch Brittle to Glen Brittle from where he will phone to Carbost to summon Dr McDonald and take him back with him to Soay.

During the winter of 1936/37 such storms were raging that Soay was completely isolated for a period of three or four weeks. Moreover an epidemic of influenza broke out on the island. Of the 50 souls on the island 48 were down sick, Sandy Campbell and another man nursed those 48 patients until the seas had subsided sufficiently for Sandy to undertake the trip to Glen Brittle. He took a nurse back to the island.

In fact if it were not for Sandy’s initiative Soay would be in a very much worse plight than it finds itself today ; he it was that wrote to the king - the late King George V,- stating Soay’s plight and petitioning for some means of communication between the island and the mainland. As a result of the letter the “Mary S” was gifted to the island and placed in his custody.

Some day Sandy will come to see the emptiness and purposelessness of his celebrations and then, I believe, his country will benefit by those admirable qualities of his. May that day come soon. Britain needs the positive and constructive leadership of men like the real Sandy Campbell.

Photograph from The Soay of our forefathers by Laurance Reed. Sandy is in the white cap with his daughter Elspeth on the boat at Mull in 1953

Sandy married Soay girl Maggie Jane Cameron. They had 6 children. When the island was evacuated in 1953 Sandy and his family moved to Mull where he lived until his death.