"On Sunday 7 December 1941 two ships battled for survival in a horrendous storm raging in the sea channel between two of the Faroe islands, Svínoy and Fugloy. Throughout the short daylight hours the villagers on the islands watched as the drama slowly unfolded before them and the larger vessel, the cargo ship SS Sauternes dragged its anchor and drifted towards the shore of Svínoy. In late afternoon the end came for the Sauternes. The ship was swamped by three successive mountainous waves and went down bow first, the whole ship eventually going under with a final puff of smoke from its funnel. Just before the vessel sank two life-rafts were launched. The watchers on shore could see that five men were on one of the rafts but after being capsized twice in the surf no survivors remained on board, the other raft also disappeared from view. Despite their experience in these waters the villagers were unable to attempt a rescue, the seas and winds making impossible any attempt to launch their small boats. All the crew and passengers on the Sauternes were lost.

In early December 1941 the vessel was loaded in Scotland with supplies for the British garrison in the Faroe Islands. The cargo included 250 tons of food, 3000 gallons of petrol together with other military supplies. Some special supplies were included so that the troops on the islands could celebrate Christmas, these included bottles of whisky (the main force was of Lovat Scouts from the Scottish Highlands and islands), other spirits and even a number of Christmas puddings. However the most unusual item of cargo loaded was 22,500 kroner worth of Danish coinage. With Denmark being occupied by German forces it was impossible to obtain supplies of coinage from the mint in Copenhagen. To meet a shortage in the Faroes these coins were specially minted in Britain. The money was loaded onto the Sauternes in a steel case which was bolted to the floor of the captain's cabin.

The Royal Navy armed trawler HMT Kerrara escorted the Sauternes on her journey to the Faroes. On the evening of 6 December they reached the islands but were unable to make port in Tórshavn having been driven by the bad weather considerably out of their course to the northeast. The wind was westerly force 10 and the two vessels sought shelter in Viðvík on the coast of Viðoy. Whilst there, the master of the Sauternes, W Smith, telegraphed to the Naval Headquarters in Tórshavn that they were in Fugløfjord. The Naval personnel misread this message and thought that the vessels were in Fuglefjord a safe anchorage off the village of the same name on the island of Eysturoy. The vessels were ordered to drop anchor and as a result of this misunderstanding the fate of the Sauternes and her crew and passengers was determined.

Later that night the wind changed to the northwest and strengthened to hurricane force. The two vessels were driven out of Viðvík and towards the open sea. As dawn broke the local islanders could see that the Sauternes had taken a pounding, her bridge was bent over and lay on deck. The vessel dropped anchor to try to avoid being driven onto the cliffs of Svínoy but to no avail. In total 25 people perished.

Late the next day the Kerrara limped into Tórshavn with considerable damage to her bridge and deck works but fortunately no further casualties. Over the next few days some of the cargo from the Sauternes was washed ashore and six bodies recovered, all of which were subsequently buried in the old churchyard at Klaksvík, the major town in the northern islands of the Faroes. One of these was Captain G A Perris of the Royal Army Service Corps. An army captain on the staff of the War Office, Capt. Perris was travelling to the Faroes to see how the supplies were delivered and check up on complaints of shortages." - Axel Mortensen / Brian Hague