Orkney at War - Wartime Visitors

As part of our Orkney at War exhibition we have a few original items on show in the Archive Searchroom.

One gift we received a couple of years ago which we are quite excited about is a Visitor's Book from the Y.M.C.A. in Longhope.

"Long Hope Bay during the war was the headquarters of the auxiliaries of the Grand Fleet, and never in its history were so many vessels of such varied types assembled in the harbour. The village of Long Hope, where there is a good pier, naturally became much frequented by officers and men from the ships, and eventually a commodious Y.M.C.A. was erected, which did much useful work. Tea on the beach was always a pleasant change from ship life (and tinned milk!), and the Post Office at Long Hope became a favourite rendezvous for informal tea-parties."

Quote from Scapa and a Camera by C W Burrows, p51. Orkney Room reference 941.09 Y

The book records many visitors and volunteers to the Y M C A from August 1916 - 1939. The first page contains some well-known names:

 

It is signed on 1st August 1916 by Admiral John Jellicoe, Commander in Chief. It is also signed by his wife Gwendoline Jellicoe and her sister, Freda Cayzer from Tarbert House, Ross-shire. I do hope they enjoyed their cup of tea.

 

Archive reference: D1/1207

 

Other items on show are:

 

John Fraser's record of Orcadians service in the 1914-1918 war which is an indexed scrapbook of soldiers deaths and officer ranks of Orcadians in WW1 containing mostly press cuttings, which include photographs of soldiers and officers from all the parishes of Orkney who served and died.

Archive reference: D1/692

 

Lily Gunn's Souvenir and Autograph book which contains drawings, poems, photographs and messages from patients of the British Farmers Hospital and the Number 2 Anglo-Belgian Hospital, Calais, France from 1916-1918.

Archive reference: D1/983

 

An extract of Military Tribunal Register of Cases

 

A Technical Instruction Committee of the Secondary Education Committee was formed in 1910, which in the following year became the Advisory Committee concerned with extension work in Orkney of the Aberdeen and North of Scotland College of Agriculture. On account of its links with agriculture this Advisory Committee was in turn metamorphosed into the District Agricultural Committee on Food Production in 1916, and had thrust upon its various functions far removed from secondary education, including matters pertaining to military recruitment and the supply of labour for farms. By an extension of this aspect of its work the committee was used, according to the Agricultural Military Service Act , 1916, for the hearing of appeals for exemption from military service on grounds of agricultural necessity.

 

Two men mentioned in this particular extract are:

 

John Sabiston, aged 19 from Northbigging, Swona, a ploughman, fisherman and boatman was refused exemption from military service on 28th April 1916. He appealed on 19th May 1916, but his appeal was dismissed on 2nd June 1916.

 

Peter S Garrioch, aged 40, from Grindally, Orphir, a farmer, was granted conditional exemption on 11th April 1916.

 

This extract contains about 25 names and we have about 20 pages of names in the whole register. Our friends at the Orkney Family History Society have kindly volunteered to transcribe all the pages for us.

Archive reference: CO5/3/8

 

This small exhibition of original items will stay on display until the end of August 2016.  

Orkney At War (Aug-Oct 1914) Exhibition Taster

As promised here are a few of the items we have used in our exhibition:

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

In his diary, James Marwick, Lieutenant/Captain in the Royal Garrison Artillery (Territorial Division) wrote on Monday 3rd August:

"Mobilised at Drill Hall Stromness 3pm. I was there in full marching order ready to go"

On Wednesday 5th August he was in Rackwick:

"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

A very different perspective came from Stewart Isbister who was a new recruit to the Royal Garrison Artillery (Territorial Division) in 1914. In his memoir, having been posted to Kirkwall Drill Hall from Finstown,  he wrote: "I cannot begin to tell you of the lonesomeness of those days, my first away from home and the new Army life I found so bewildering. "

Orkney Archive Reference D1/1177 

 

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 in the parish of Orphir.

 

 

Orkney Archive Reference CO7/7/4 (plan dated c.1920)

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.