Harold Wilson's love for the Isles of Scilly

In Easter 1978 I was staying at my parents’ home near Penzance and took my future wife for her first visit to the Scillies.   We had a reasonably smooth crossing on the Scillonian both ways.  Coming back the boat was not that busy as it was a week or so after the Easter holiday.   I was therefore quite puzzled when there was a delay getting off at Penzance.  

When I got to the top of the stairs the reason became apparent.   Harold Wilson was there, accompanied by his golden labrador dog  Paddy.   He was shaking the hand of every passenger as they got off.   This was about two years after he had stopped being prime minister.

What I should have noticed was that the Scillonian would have been flying the flag of Trinity House.  Wilson had been made an Honorary Elder Brother in 1967 and always flew the flag outside his bungalow when he was on St.Mary’s.

Whether or not they agreed with his politics (and most of them probably did not) most Scillonians appreciated the higher profile that he gave to the islands and the consequent boost to the tourist trade.   A much used picture was of him standing outside the Co-op in his shorts.   Of course for Wilson it helped to reinforce the image he wanted to create of a down-to-earth Englishman.  But his affection for the islands was real, as is shown by the fact that he is buried at Old Town.

The Wilsons first went to the islands in 1952 when they went to stay with their friends, the Kays.  How this came about is recorded by Ernest Kay in his memoir Pragmatic Premier which includes many photos and stories about the Wilsons on the islands.

 In 1951, the Kays were staying at their usual guest house when an elderly couple arrived.    They turned out to be Herbert and Ethel Wilson, the parents of Harold.    They fell in love with the islands, as people do.   When they returned to their Cornish home where Harold and his family were staying, they communicated their enthusiasm for the islands to him.

Up until then the Wilsons had always spent their holiday in Cornwall, thinking that crossing the forty miles of rough sea to St.Mary’s would not be worth the effort.  In 1952 Harold and his family spent four days on the islands in superb weather and decided never to go anywhere else.