Scanned image of gymnasium and cinema, view from North West.

Description Scanned image of gymnasium and cinema, view from North West.

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number SC 645116

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 73164 CN

Scope and Content Cinema and gymnasium, World War II airfield, Skeabrae, Mainland, Orkney Islands In World War II there were four main military airfields in Orkney, two of which were originally operated by the Royal Navy (Twatt and Hatston) and two by the Royal Air Force (Skeabrae and Grimsetter). Designed as a Royal Naval Air Station, Skeabrae was handed over in an incomplete state to the RAF in May 1940, and thereafter operated as their main fighter base, Grimsetter being transferred to the Royal Navy in 1943. This long roadside building of rendered brick is now the only significant structure surviving above ground of the wartime camp which supported operations at RAF Skeabrae. The building served multiple recreational purposes for off-duty personnel as cinema/concert hall and gymnasium. The end block nearest the camera was the projection box for the cinema, while the main entrance and offices were in the side 'aisle' and the gymnasium facilities were at the far end. At the heart of the Orkney archipelago, Scapa Flow was the main fleet anchorage for the Royal Navy during both World Wars. Its vital importance led to the creation of one of the most concentrated defence networks in Britain. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/645116

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap