‘Ferry Reverend’ who protested at Sabbath sailings dies aged 90
A Free Church of Scotland minister who gained prominence after lying down on a pier in an attempt to prevent ferry sailings on the Sabbath has died at the age of 90.
The Rev Angus Smith made headlines in the summer of 1965 after he and other protesters tried to blockade the slipway at Kyleakin in Skye before the arrival of the first Sunday car ferry from the mainland.
However, the first car to disembark was able to complete its journey, thanks largely to a 25-strong police escort.
Its occupants, George and Sydney Pueretz, tourists from Dallas, Texas, said the last time they had seen so many police was after the assassination of President Kennedy.
Mr Smith was among 14 people arrested in the aftermath of the protests and was carried off by four policemen.
He declared it a “sad, sad day for this God-fearing island of ours”, explaining that his opposition to the sailings was sparked by “concerns for the souls of the ferrymen” and “concern for the glory of God”.
He said at the time: “God’s commands are absolute, and when God says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day,’ there’s no contravening of it.”
Mr Smith’s actions that day earned him the nickname of the “Ferry Reverend” and he maintained a lifelong observance of the Sabbath’s importance.
When in 2009 the ferry that was due to make the first Sunday sailing from Lewis to the mainland developed technical problems, he declared it a message from God.
“The chief message is not that the ferry has broken down, but that God speaks to us through his works,” he said.
“All companies, including ferry companies, should remembertokeepthesabbath holy instead of pursuing monetary gain.”
Mr Smith was a minister of Skye’s Snizort Free Church and later Cross Free Church in Lewis.
He campaigned for the traditionalist wing of the Free Church before leaving to join the Free Presbyterian Church in 1999.
The father-of-four was born in Govan, Glasgow, to parents from the Isle of Lewis, and was a record-breaking cross-country runner in the army before going on to teach in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire.
While Mr Smith’s observances drew criticism, those who knew him paid tribute yesterday.
Author and poet Donald Murray said that, while he rarely agreed with Mr Smith’s pronouncements from the pulpit, or in the press, he was struck by his “kindness and decency”.