Stromness Dragon

Remember my blogs about the Ness Battery? Well, there have been lots of developments since I last wrote about it, so I thought that I would give you an update! I’ll start off with a bit about the site in wartime, what’s there now, and what life might have been like for the men stationed there.

The site, once owned by the Ministry of Defence and now the property of Orkney Islands Council, comprises two large WWII gun emplacements, the remains of several camp huts, an enormous control tower, various engine rooms, water tanks, and remnants of the WWI battery and camp. The site is surrounded by a large perimeter fence, and access is strictly controlled by the council.

Last year, the Scapa Flow Landscape Partnership Scheme came in to being. It has 3 years’ worth of funding, and some of that money is going towards Ness Battery, for the development of public access via guided tours, and conservation of the structures, both interior and exterior.

Ness Battery was extremely important during both World Wars, as it protected the western approach to Scapa Flow, home port of the British war fleet and vital to national security. In WWI, Ness Battery offered the only serious defence against attack – there were a few blockships between Graemsay and Hoy, and an induction loop, but Ness provided the fire power. In WWII it was a Port War Signal Station for the Examination Service, and Fire Command for several coast batteries on Orkney Mainland, Graemsay and Hoy.

Several important structures remain, including the two gun emplacements (each at one time containing a ‘Twin Six’ – a pair of 6-inch guns with a fire rate of 72 rounds per minute). These were originally open to the skies – it was not until 1941 that the concrete roofs were put on, after attack from the air was recognised as a serious threat.

The WWII Ness Battery was planned and mostly constructed before the start of the war. Time was taken in its construction, resulting in underground ammunition magazines, and drystone wall reinforcements. It was one of only two batteries in Orkney that was operational at the start of the conflict.

Shipping was strictly controlled in and out of Hoy Sound, and any ship that had failed to communicate was warned off by a shot across the bows. On one famous occasion, this was the St Ola ferry. The official war diary (which recorded events at the batteries) noted the appearance of an enemy plane overhead. The plane was then seen to drop three parachute mines into Hoy Sound, thus making it impassable for any shipping until the mines could be cleared. One of the ships that tried to enter the Sound was the St Ola, under the command of the redoubtable Captain Swanson. For one reason or another, there was no way of contacting the ship, so shots were fired. Swanson, apparently furious, held his course, and it took another shot to convince him to turn the ship around and find an alternative route into Stromness!

Thanks to funding from Scapa Flow Landscape Partnership Scheme, archaeologist Gavin Lindsay was able to travel to the National Archives in London to study the record books pertaining to Ness Battery. As well as providing detail about the way that the guns and searchlights were controlled, the records also gave an insight into life in the camp itself.

Orkney counted as an overseas posting for the British forces, with all the attendant perks and privileges. It is likely that the average length of service might have been about 6 months, but there were no doubt variations. At Ness it seems that there could have been 100-150 officers, NCOs and other ranks, although there was constant movement of troops, and units spending only a short time there before going on to other locations.

Whilst the Battery Observation Post and gun emplacements were made of concrete and cast in situ, the camp consisted of Jane or Jain huts which, like Nissen huts, were prefabricated buildings that could be transported in bits then constructed on site. The huts at Ness had wooden walls and ‘wrinkly tin’ roofs (corrugated iron). The officers’ quarters had an ablutions block, a kitchen, and a nice little fireplace in the mess. The other ranks were quartered in four huts, some containing stoves (none are there now, alas), and in the mess hall, a stunning mural was painted on three sides of the interior walls. Local legend says a fourth wall boasted a painted crest bearing the words ‘Come the four corners of the earth, and we will sink them!’ The Italian Chapel it wasn’t!

The Ness Battery had its own entertainment troop called The Nesters. Stromness and Lyness in Hoy saw many of the great Forces entertainers too – Gracie Fields, Flanagan and Allen, Vera Lynn and George Formby. There were several Forces newspapers, including the famous Orkney Blast, edited by Eric Linklater and Gerry Meyer, whose masthead featured a very saucy WREN-mermaid!

The hardships felt by those stationed at Ness were largely of the cold/wet/boredom variety. The Orkney landscape and climate can seem inhospitable to those unaccustomed to it, and we can only pity the poor so-and-sos on the night when the war diary recorded in April 1941: ‘Very severe gale….& snow storm…. Roof blew off several occupied huts.’

Research continues into the site and the resources will grow with time. Meanwhile, a training course is taking place for tour guides, with a view to guided tours of Ness Battery being available later on this year. It is hoped by many that this will just be the start of the process – once interest is excited, awareness raised and money generated, who knows where it could lead? I can’t help thinking that Ness Battery has the potential to become one of the most visited places in Orkney – so watch this space!

Tags: Ness Battery, Orkney, Stromness, WWI, WWII

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