BRITAIN AT WAR_____
There has been
great activity in Naval and Military circles in Orkney for over a week, and
whilst it is not yet advisable to go into details, it may be of interest to
state that so long ago as Wednesday of last week special service sections of
the Orkney Artillery were called out and sent to their appointed stations. On
Sunday the remainder of the force was mobilised, and further detachments at
once sent forward to certain points which are understood to be of strategic
value. The remainder of the men were allowed to proceed home but had
instructions to hold themselves in readiness for an immediate call. The orders
to mobilise came on Monday evening and all night long the men from the
out-stations were arriving at headquarters, where the Kirkwall companies had
already reported for duty. The calling out of the Orkney Artillery at such an
early stage in the crisis created great excitement in Orkney, especially in
view of the fact that at one time it was decided to disband the corps, and it
was only with great exertion on the part of those concerned that this was
averted.
The Orcadian,
8 August 1914
"The tents were pitched on flat piece of ground between Mucklehouse and Black Neave near a low wall which Mr Taylor had built. Three tents for men to live in; one cook's store tent; one Guard Tent on level space...Serg. Mackay & I lived in Test house. There were a couple of chair beds and blankets &c in it and we just took possession of these..."
Orkney Archive Reference D1/1118
In Scapa Bay construction work was ongoing as, on 13 August 1914, less than two weeks into
the First World War Admiral Jellicoe requested that anti submarine patrols by
seaplane be flown in defence of the fleet in Scapa Flow . As a result a seaplane base was quickly
constructed at the head of Scapa
Bay
The canvas covered
hangars used were, however, no match for the winter gales which often blow in
Orkney and a more sheltered site was found at Houton Bay
Our current exhibitions chart Orkney's experience of WW1 at home through the use of official documents, letters home, newspaper articles, diaries and photographs. We have three so far, each covering three months of the war.
Click on the label "Orkney at War" below to see more blog posts on this subject.
