Orkney At War (July - December 1917)

The 11th instalment of our "Orkney at War" Exhibition is now available to see upstairs on the Orkney Room corridor noticeboard.
The display shows how Orkney and Orcadians were affected by the war in their daily lives, using items from the Archive collections which were created at the time. Items such as newspaper reports, scrapbooks, council minutes, photographs, letters and diaries.

Here are a few items from the main exhibition:

L2153/1 Rousay

Territorials at the look-out hut on the Brae of Moan, Wasbister, Rousay. c.WW1. On the left is Corporal Isbister who was in charge. Back right is Marcus Wood from Aikerness, Evie.

JULY

From the Orkney Herald, 4th July 1917:

Band Performance
Band performances in Kirkwall have, since the outbreak of war, been, unfortunately, of rare  occurrence. On Saturday evening, however, the inhabitants were provided with a treat in the form of a band from one of HM's ships. Taking their stand in front of St Magnus Cathedral, a delightful two hours' orchestral concert was given, which was greatly appreciated by the great concourse of people who were present.

Letter to the Editor - The A.C.C. Concert in Kirkwall
Sir, - I notice with surprise in the last issue of your valuable journal the lengthy and somewhat favourable notice you give to the A.C.C. Concert held in the Temperance Hall.
I feel I am voicing the feelings of a large number of my fellow townsmen in raising a protest against this class of entertainment in Kirkwall. We were a quiet and pious community until invasion by men of the Fleet and Air Service was thrust upon us some time ago. We, of course, have no wish to grumble or complain of this, realising that it is unavoidable and for the good of the nation as a whole. We, however, can see no necessity for performances in our Temperance Hall which are a replica of those given nightly in the debauched music halls of London. The spectacle of an inebriated and vulgar person such as was depicted, was neither elevating or amusing, although, to be sure, the acting savoured more of the village idiot in this particular case. The sleek manner, glossy hair, and well-kept fingernails of the music hall manager, can only have a detrimental effect on our daughters, tending to make them dissatisfied with the homely lads at our doors, who are nearer and should be dearer.
[no name given]

Tragedy in Orkney Waters


From the Orkney Herald, 25 July 1917:

The Lost Vanguard
Was HMS Vanguard the victim of foul play?
The loss of this fine Dreadnought, which blew up while at anchor on the night of the 9th inst. as the result of an internal explosion, is to be the subject of a full inquiry.

According to the Admiralty statement, the Vanguard sank immediately, and unfortunately there were only three survivors on board, one of whom has since died. Twenty four officers and seventy-one men, however, were not on board at the time of the disaster, making the total number of survivors 97. The Vanguard had normally a compliment of 870, so it would appear that 770 men have perished.



L6569/2 HMS Vanguard

This is not, unfortunately, the first disaster of this kind which has occurred to the British Fleet (says Mr Archibald Hurd, the Daily Telegraph naval correspondent). On former occasions it has been suggested that possibly there had been foul play, but official assurances were given to soothe these fears.

In the meantime, however, the Stockholm revelations have been published, and we have learned of high explosives being made up to represent pieces of coal to be inserted in ship's bunkers. In the circumstances the public will await with anxiety the result of the official inquiry which will be held.

Apart from a sense of mourning the blowing up of the Vanguard will cause, the overwhelming thought for the moment will be that every precaution must be taken to prevent any further incident of this kind. The blowing up of a ship by internal combustion had become almost unknown in recent years. Since this war, however, such disasters have occurred to British, French and Italian ships, but, so far as is known, none had taken place in connection with German and Austrian Fleets.

AUGUST

From the Orkney Herald 8 August 1917:

The Orcadian Bed

Mrs J.W. Cursiter, formerly secretary of the Orcadian Women's Suffrage Society, has received the following letter from a wounded French soldier who has occupied the Orcadian bed at Royaumount:-

"Hospital de Royaumount, June 22, 1917 - Dear Mrs Cursiter, - I am very pleased to write to you after my stay at Royaumount in your comfortable bed, and after all the care which has been bestowed on me. I am proud to have shared in such boundless kindness, and glad that I am able to talk a little about what I saw in Britain, for I have spent several seasons there, particularly Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
And now I am going on leave to see my dear parents for the first time in five months. I would end my little letter by wishing you every happiness, and a paradise to come at the end of your life. - Your affectionate Ally, (signed) Jacob Jean Marie."

In WW1 over 18,000 charities were created to aid men at war and women and families at home in the UK. This included contributing to the upkeep of beds in hospitals.

SEPTEMBER

From the Stromness Town Council Minutes:

At a Meeting held on Thursday 27th September 1917

Stromness Town Council Minutes, ref: S1/5 p222

"The Council considered the matter of the navy carrying passengers gratuitously from Longhope to Scapa and elsewhere in consequence of which the trade of the town had been considerably hampered and the usual trading steamer "Hoy Head" had been placed at a considerable disadvantage. The Magistrates with Councillor Baillie were appointed to see the Master of the "Hoy Head" and have a letter written to the Admiral on the subject."

L3487/1 - Soldiers in Westray [names unknown]

 

OCTOBER

 

From the Kirkwall Town Council Minutes, K1/1/17 p512:

 

Meeting held on 17th October 1917

The following letter was read, "Paterson Manse, Kirkwall. 29th Sept 1917. Dear Mr Heddle, Will you kindly convey to the Provost, Magistrates and Councillors of the City and Royal Burgh of Kirkwall my sincere thanks for their kind message of sympathy in my great bereavement. The very beautiful Card on which their message is expressed will always be one of my most treasured possessions and will ever remind me of the years of our citizenship in Kirkwall, yours sincerely, [sgd] Agnes H. Millar"

 

NOVEMBER

Military Concert at the Drill Hall, St. Mary's Holm.

 

DECEMBER

Extracts from the Diary of Gunner Astles, Archive ref: D1/237

Hoxa Head Battery, South Ronaldshay, Orkney Is: N[orth] B[retain]

24th December 1917
The following notes are going to be chiefly on Orkney as I find it. I have been here over two years now, during which much has happened. Phenomena is in plenty, and it may look very odd at the weather results, later. Today has been mild, but 12pm has brought a great change, and now, as I write this, snow and hail is making Xmas feel ever so much nearer and seasonable.

Christmas Day, Orkney 1917
Christmas Day! The time of the Nativity. For the 4th year of the war, this has brought many comparisons as to the 1st, which I spent in the Red sea. I have been out for the greater part of the past night, and the morning was heralded by my pal, who it might be said, was anything but polite.
Wash over; hair brushed; immaculately attired in a blue jersey - as served out per Admiralty - and my pal and I sit down to dine.
Oh! What a feast. Two or three slices of bacon; a basin of tea; about eight loaves of bread; and ever such a long sit down, complete the menu, and as we are about the last to finish, a shrill whistle calls us out to Parade...
For my job I find myself in a party to draw water, which is to "bile douffs in" tis said...
11.30am the Christmas Dinner is brought: Pork; Potatoes; Cabbage; Apple-Ring Pie; Semolina Custard, and the dinner only needs putting out. One of the boys makes the gravy, calling it "Black Jack"...
A brisk walk of forty minutes lies before me... My way continued by way of the dam across the hill, and through the picturesque village of St Margaret's Hope...
"The Steamer" had arrived a few hours earlier...[it] is really the salvation here now-a-days. For many days the few shops have been empty of any seasons stores. Fruit and all such stuff has to be brought here, and...most commodities have become from luxuries to extravagances anywhere, but here, alas! all three have been at a premium.

The 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th instalments are still displayed in various locations around the building and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th instalments, including a special feature of the sinking of HMS Hampshire, are available to see in a folder in the Archive Searchroom. Click on "Orkney At War" in the labels to see more blog posts on this subject.

Orkney At War (Aug-Oct 1915)

Here are a few items from our fifth instalment of our Orkney At War exhibition. These archive items are taken from records during August, September and October of 1915. We continue with the diary of Margaret Tait. We find out about meat supplies in Orkney, employability of men with hernias, schoolchildren in Walls, see huts in St Margaret's Hope and much more. It is now a year since the beginning of the war.

Archive Reference: D1/525 - Journal of Margaret Tait, 1911-1918
1 August 1915

(Sunday) I am sitting down on the garden seat and the air is mild and pleasant and the flowers are blooming lovely. The berries are all ripe on the trees and quite ready for picking. Ruby Marwick is up on top of the dyke or garden wall, which divides their place from this. She is the only sign of life about the place and everything seems very quiet and still. I can see the town clock from here and it is just 6. I was up the willows for a walk this afternoon but it came on a drizzle so I didn’t stay long. This last week a liner was torpedoed off the Birsay coast by a German submarine  and the crew brought into Kirkwall. One of the crew proved to be a german (supposed to be a spy) and was kept aboard the submarine. The mail boat (St. Ola) on her way to Scrabster was ordered to turn and go back to Stromness one day last week. Anniversary services are to be held in the churches next Wednesday (4^th) evening, it being a year since the war began. Rita Middleton stayed to tea tonight as there were stewed prunes. Jim is in Deerness for the week-end.

The shop will soon be finished now and will look very nice. Yesterday morning the boarding was taken down from the front. The office is finished. The little front shop will be finished this incoming week. The house is lying as bad as ever. Since the war the beef has gone up to ¼ per lb and not even fresh at that. 2 half loaves are 9d, before the war they were 6d. Sugar 4d per lb, before it was 2d. Nearly all foodstuffs have gone up in proportion and coal is now 40/- per ton. Last Saturday week (24) was the anniversary of poor Jackie’s death, so I went up and cleaned all the weeds out of the grave and placed a posy of forget-me-nots on it which I had planted specially. Then I went up and had a look at poor Mrs. Wylie’s grave.
 

Orkney Herald newspaper 11th August 1915

A YEAR OF WAR

INTERCESSORY SERVICES AT KIRKWALL

The anniversary of Britain’s entry into the war was marked throughout the county on Wednesday by services “of humble prayer to almighty God on behalf of the nation” In Kirkwall a joint intercessory service was held in the evening in St Magnus Cathedral, at which there was a large attendance. The Rev John Rutherford opened the service with prayer, and the reading and devotional exercises were conducted by Rev. Gee, Millar and Mr Wm. Barclay. An appropriate address was delivered by the Rev. John M. T Ramsay, St Andrews. A collection was taken up on behalf of the Britain to Poland Fund.

 

Archive Reference: CE55/4/31 - Royal Naval Reserve Letter/Memorandum book, 1910-1924 : Letter from 20th August 1915

 

Archive Reference: L8745/2 Royal Navy accommodation at St Margaret's Hope pier, c.1914-1918.

 

 

Archive Reference: CO5/68/1 - South Walls Public School Logbook, 1895-1922, p428.

1915, [page] 428,
2nd Aug - very few children at school as Naval Sports are being held the children are away to them, only 14 not going so gave these holiday.
6th Aug - Attendance poor, 88.5%
15th Aug - Ordinary progress
20th Aug - Received word during the week that this school would be closed for the Normal Vacation for 7 weeks commencing 10th September.
27th Aug - Mr Bruce Compulsory Officer visited school today and examined attendance which is very poor only 77%.
3rd Sep - Ordinary Routine
8th Sep - Naval Sports Half holiday given in accordance with note from School Board Clerk.
9th Septr. - Visited this School today & found the Register correctly marked to date. J.M.F. Groat, Clerk.

Archive Reference: L8214/4 - Uploading supplies at Hoxa Battery, South Ronaldsay, no exact date (c1914-1918)

Archive reference: K1/1/17 - Kirkwall Town Council Minute book, 1912-1920Item read at Kirkwall Town Council meeting on the 7th September 1915
 

Supplied of Meat. in view of the increased demands for meat by the British and French Armies and of the relative shortage of vessels equipped for the conveyance of meat from overseas, the Board of Trade wish to call the attention of the public to the great importance of restricting the consumption of meat with a view to economising the national supply and avoiding excessive increase of price. Board of Trade, 20th May 1915.

It was agreed on the suggestion of Bailie MacLennan to call the attention of the Local Government Board to a way in which the food supply might be supplemented, vizt., by utilizing the patrol trawlers when possible in fishing.

 

Orcadian newspaper 25th September 1915

SIGHT TESTING IN ORKNEY

Messrs LEADBETTER & PETERS Deeply regret that it will be impossible to visit Orkney this year owing to Admiralty restrictions. Although applications for permission to visit Orkney have been made both by letter and personally at the Admiralty, this permission has been refused. Messrs. Leadbetter and Peters are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience which will thus be caused to their numerous clients in Orkney and take this opportunity of returning sincere thanks for all orders received during past visits. They will take the earliest opportunity given to them to again visit Orkney as usual.

LEADBETTER & PETERS

Eyesight and Spectacle Specialists

ROTHERHAM, CHESTERFIELD, ILKESTON, DERBY.

 

Orcadians with the Colours

Archive Reference: D1/1127 - World War 1 Scrapbook by Dr Duncan, Stromness

Seaman John Coutts, Walls

 

 

 

 

Trooper Alex. Norquoy, Firth

 

The Orcadian newspaper 9th October 1915

WOUNDED SOLDIERS

News has reached friends in South Ronaldsay that two soldiers belonging to this island were wounded recently. Lance Corpl. Wm Cumming of the Seaforths is said to have been dangerously wounded in France and Pte. John Loutitt of the Seaforths is also wounded although slightly.

Information has also been received that Pte. Robert Laird of the 8th Battalion Seaforths, a native of Burray was wounded on 25th September. His wound which is in one of his legs is not thought to be serious.

We understand that a large number of Orcadians have suffered in the recent fighting. We shall be glad if relatives will co-operate with us in making the details for our roll of honour as complete as possible.

The Orcadian 16th October 1915

DECORATED BY THE KING

On Friday 1st inst. At Buckingham palace, His majesty presented board of trade medals for gallantry  in saving life at sea in various parts of the world to a number of sailors. There were fifteen silver medallists and three bronze medallists each of whom was personally decorated by His Majesty.  Among the list we observe the name of Mr Henry Linklater, who is the eldest son of Captain H Linklater, The Holms, Stromness. The circumstances are these. “Two members of the crew of the steamship Cawdor Castle of London, Henry Linklater chief officer and B. Green seaman were given the silver medal for helping in the rescue of the crew of the schooner Lucie of Mauritius, which was in a sinking condition in the Indian Ocean, in January 1913. The Cawdor Castle launched a lifeboat which, under the command of Mr Linklater and manned by Green and five other men (who have already received their medals), proceeded to the Lucie. The boat was manoeuvred under the stern of the Lucie, and the crew of the eight men were taken off one by one by means of ropes in a heavy sea”

Archive Reference: D1/525 - Journal of Margaret Tait, 1911-1918

20 October 1915

The weather has been lovely these last few days, almost like summer and such lovely moonlight evenings. Had some fine walks with Bunty. Fancy its 2 months since I wrote last. Kirkwall Bay is still crowded with foreign ships coming and going all the time. I hear they are not to be taken in to Kirkwall any more but to be sent to Shetland, and Kirkwall is to be made a base for torpedo destroyers. There’s no sign of the war coming to an end, indeed it seems farther off than ever. Bulgaria has joined now against us.
The shop has been opened up a few weeks now but the house still looks as if a cyclone had passed through it.
Another Zeppelin raid on London last week killing about 40 and wounding over 100. Great damage to property. That’s the second Zeppelin raid within the week, the first one doing not so much damage.

 

Click on the label "Orkney at War" below to see more blog posts on this subject.