Raasay: East Suisnish pier - W L Byers anchor 2

Close-up view of the Byers anchor fluke with its swastika symbol.

The anchor was used to aid ships to be kept in position on East Suisnish pier while the ore was being loaded. It was made by W. L. Byers of Sunderland perhaps in the early years of the 20th century, and like many of their anchors, it has the swastika symbol on one of the flukes. The swastika has been around for many centuries as a symbol of good luck, and in this instance has absolutely nothing to do with the Nazis who subsequently appropriated it for their own dark purposes.