A spoon found entangled in the anchor chain of a ship off the west coast has offered a fascinating reminder of the area’s wartime past.
Duncan MacArthur, a seaman for the Northern Lighthouse Board aboard the NLV Pole Star vessel, discovered the item of cutlery as the anchor of the ship was raised from the seabed about 40ft below off the coast of Kyle of Lochalsh.
The Pole Star had been at anchorage between Balmacara Bay and the nearby Murchison Monument when the discovery was made.
The spoon captured the attention of Mr MacArthur – who ordered his colleague operating the anchor’s winch to stop before placing the item in his pocket for safekeeping.
It wasn’t until later in the day, after cleaning the object, that he discovered the initials USN on its base.
After researching over the weekend, he now believes the spoon dates back to the early 1940s and would have been part of an enlisted man of the US Navy’s itinerary during the Second World War.
Mr MacArthur said it is “very rare” to come across any item in the chain of an anchor and it is the first time it has happened to him in his lengthy career at sea.
He said: “It is as if it landed in my lap.
“It is very rare to drag up anything and, if you do, it is usually mud or boulders on the foot of the anchor.
“It was so weird because it was just balanced perfectly between the two rings and I actually thought it was a razorfish at first.
“I just put it in my pocket and afterwards I cleaned it up and that is when I saw it had USN branded on it.”
Kyle of Lochalsh was used as a strategic point for the military during both world wars, with a disaster striking on November 27, 1940 when HMS Port Napier, a minelayer of the British Royal Navy during World War II, was destroyed after a fire broke out in the ship’s engine room.
The vessel, with approximately 550 live mines on board, was abandoned, as well as the nearby villages of Kyle and Kyleakin, as the ship drifted into Loch Na Beiste where she capsized and lies today.
Mr MacArthur said following extensive research he believes the spoon came from a vessel located in the area of a similar time.
He said: “Initially I thought it was perhaps part of a cutlery set from a ship that had maybe gone over the side or that it had been in with rubbish.
“I looked up online and in World War One there was navy activity in the area with minelayers, and in the Second World War there was other activity as well.
“Looking at it online it came up with the 1940s and it was in an enlisted men’s mess.
“Everybody has been quite amazed.
“It is something different and something you don’t see every day.”
Mr MacArthur has said he will explore whether there is a museum or collection near to Kyle of Lochalsh which he can donate the item to.
If no appropriate suitor can be found, he is keen to keep it as a memento.
