Orkney's Scapa Flow Museum Launches Wartime Audio Project
New 'Voices from Scapa Flow' initiative uses digital storytelling to share personal accounts from WWI and WWII.
By Alasdair Buchan
••3 min read
AI
A dramatic, windswept view of Scapa Flow in Orkney, with a hint of a historic naval vessel silhouette in the mist.
The Scapa Flow Museum has launched ‘Voices from Scapa Flow’, an audio project sharing personal accounts from residents and service personnel during WWI and WWII in Orkney.
An ambitious new audio project, ‘Voices from Scapa Flow’, has been officially launched by the Scapa Flow Museum. This initiative aims to reveal the realities of life for residents, service personnel, and workers stationed at one of the world's most significant natural harbours during the First and Second World Wars.
The project is a Highlands and Islands Digital Heritage Network initiative, delivered in partnership with The Space and Museums and Heritage Highland. Funding for the project has been provided by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, supported by National Lottery players.
Through digital storytelling, ‘Voices from Scapa Flow’ connects audiences globally with the experiences of this remote island community. Produced by Adventurous Audio, the collection comprises between 40 and 50 audio stories, each lasting five to 15 minutes. It features newly recorded interviews, digitised archive sound, and readings from personal diaries and letters, some of which are being made public for the first time.
Given the challenging travel conditions and limited annual ferry capacity to Hoy, where the Scapa Flow Museum is located, this project offers a vital new digital avenue for discovering the voices of those who lived and worked around Scapa Flow during the wartime periods. This includes history enthusiasts and descendants of service personnel stationed in Orkney.
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"Launching Voices from Scapa Flow on 14 October is particularly significant, as it coincides with the anniversary of the sinking of HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Flow in 1939. We wanted to honour this important part of Orkney’s history while also bringing to life the personal experiences of those who lived and worked here during the First and Second World Wars."
The interviews encompass a diverse range of accounts, including a salvaged wedding, the story of the first British civilian casualty of the Second World War, and the creation of the Italian Chapel.
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"Among the voices featured is the childhood recollection of eight-year-old islander Alfie Flett, who witnessed the aftermath of the sinking and the devastating loss of more than 800 lives. His story, alongside the many other powerful and deeply personal accounts in the collection, helps us understand the human experiences behind the history. We are delighted that Voices from Scapa Flow will be available to everyone, with remote access, preserving these remarkable memories and making them accessible to new audiences for generations to come."
Key accounts within the series include: the first civilian casualty, James Isbister, whose death on 16 March 1940 is recalled by Susan Leonard and Pat Long following a bombing raid; the story behind Orkney’s Italian Chapel, built by POW Domenico Chiocchetti, shared by John Muir; and archival recordings of diver John Rosie describing dangerous salvage operations of the German fleet in 1938. The collection also features heartwarming memories of salvaged wartime weddings and local traditions.
In addition to its release on major podcast platforms, excerpts from the collection will be integrated into four new listening stations at the museum on Hoy.
