A Peedie Bit O' Orkney...

And a bit more - as promised - on the area of Scapa Flow and Wartime developments, today focusing on The Churchill Barriers and The Italian Chapel.

In 1939, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak was at anchor in Scapa Flow (whose entry was protected by blockships that had been sunk to make access harder), when German U-Boat U-47 under the command of Gunther Prien managed to sneak undetected into the Flow and torpedo the ship, which sank with the loss of 833 of her 1,234 man crew.

In 1940, a series of 4 causeways were built, linking the Mainland to 3 of the south islands, thus making a permanent defence from the East. They were built by Balfour Beatty, with labour provided by Italian prisoners of war who were held in the area.

One of the Barriers:

The prisoners had asked for somewhere to worship, and were given the use of 2 Nissan huts on the island of Lamb Holm. And this is what they built...

Spectacular, isn't it?

Most of the interior decoration was carried out by Domenico Chiocchetti, making use of materials lying to hand... for instance, some of the ornate fittings round the lights were made from corned beef tins!

Domenico sadly died in 1999, after returning to Italy after the war (but not before helping to finish the chapel), and his widow has passed away within the last few days. They were not forgotten, and he returned a couple of times to assist in the restoration of the chapel. Orkney held them in high regard, and I believe this was returned.

The chapel is well worth a visit if you ever make it to Orkney... it really is beautiful.