Treasured Places
Event ID 567402
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Treasured Places
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/567402
In the First and Second World Wars, Scapa Flow was a major strategic base for the Royal Navy. In the First World War, blockships were sunk across the eastern approaches to the Flow and these defences were strengthened during the Second World War following the torpedoing of HMS Royal Oak in October 1939. In 1940-2, following a directive from Winston Churchill, four causeways, built of concrete blocks, were constructed by a workforce of up to 1720 men, 1200 of whom were Italian prisoners-of-war. The causeways subsequently became known as the Churchill Barriers.
Information from RCAHMS (SC) 4 July 2007
Hewison, WS 1995
Gifford, J 1992
