One notable rescue was in 1894, when 27 (some say 33) people were saved from the 1878-built "Loch Shiel" which had run on to rocks off Thorn Island. Three RNLI silver medals were awarded, including one to Thomas Rees, who is buried in the churchyard at St Mary's. The rescue is described as Wales' "Whisky Galore". The "Loch Shiel" was carrying goods from Scotland to Adelaide and included gunpowder, beer and 7,500 (some say 7,000) cases of Glasgow whisky. The cargo was partially recovered by Customs, but some of the bottles are still amongst the wreck and are described as "undrinkable". One local man drank himself to death on the 100 proof whisky. In 1999, bottles of beer from the wreck were auctioned for £1,000 per bottle.