The Battle of Jutland, Scapa Flow and the war at sea . . .

April 30, 2016 at 8:00 am

Part of the summer exhibition at the Orkney Museum is this portrait of The photo attached is a portrait of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, which has loaned to the museum by the Jellicoe family.

Today, Saturday, sees the opening of the Orkney Museum’s summer exhibition – The Battle of Jutland, Scapa Flow and the War at Sea.

The exhibition – part of a county-wide series of exhibitions and events to commemorate the Battle of Jutland and the loss of HMS Hampshire – looks at not only the battle itself but the use of Scapa Flow as a naval base and the wider war at sea. It follows on from last year’s exhibition about the war on land and the Orcadians who were involved in it.

Exhibitions officer, Tom Muir, said: “In this exhibition we give an overview of the war at sea, complimented by first-hand accounts of both the fighting and how life was changing in Orkney because of the presence of the Grand Fleet in Scapa Flow and neutral shipping held for inspection in Kirkwall Bay.

“We have been lucky enough to borrow artefacts for display that relates to both navies, and to share the stories of those who served in the Royal Navy. The Merchant Navy is also represented in the story of a young Sandwick man who was deliberately killed by a U-boat after it had sunk his ship; a most harrowing story.

“In addition, there are model ships on loan and artefacts from the Orkney Museum’s collection that have not been displayed before.

“We have also been most fortunate in being able to show some items loaned to us by Nick Jellicoe, the grandson of the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet at Jutland, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. These pieces are not only of great historic interest and also a lovely reconnection between Orkney and the Jellicoe family.”