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Vementry, Swarbacks Head, Coast Battery
Coastal Battery (First World War)
Site Name Vementry, Swarbacks Head, Coast Battery
Classification Coastal Battery (First World War)
Alternative Name(s) Swarbanks Head
Canmore ID 72079
Site Number HU26SE 4
NGR HU 28984 61941
NGR Description Centred HU 28984 61941
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/72079
- Council Shetland Islands
- Parish Sandsting
- Former Region Shetland Islands Area
- Former District Shetland
- Former County Shetland
External Reference (1995)
A First World War Coast Battery comprising two gun-emplacements with their 6-inch guns still extant. There is also a sunken magazine for each gun and one observation post. The two 6-inch guns were removed from HMS Gibralter [Gibraltar]. Swarbacks Minn was used as an overflow for Scapa Flow with ships using Busta Voe.
After the First World War the wooden barrack hut was removed and became the first school in Aith.
J Guy 1995; NMRS MS 810/4, 11-18, 27-8.
Publication Account (1997)
It seems extraordinary to come across such an intact fragment of the coastal defences of the First World War in this peaceful seascape. High on Swarbacks Head the gun emplacements are a stark and potent reminder of the role of the Northern Isles in the war effort. Their remote location made it uneconomic to retrieve even the six-inch guns, which still stand on their platforms. Their task was to guard the entry to the sheltered waters of Swarbacks Minn, which acted as a safe haven for ships of the Royal Navy. Bunkers and hut foundations are also still to be seen.
Be sure to visit the fine chambered tomb (no. 71 [HU26SE 1]) on your way across this beautiful island.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Shetland’, (1997).
Project (March 2013 - September 2013)
A project to characterise the quantity and quality of the Scottish resource of known surviving remains of the First World War. Carried out in partnership between Historic Scotland and RCAHMS.
Note
HU26SE 4.00 centred 298984 61941
HU26SE 4.01 HU 2898 6194 and HU 2904 6193 Gun-emplacements; Magazines
HU26SE 4.02 HU c. 2914 6190 Observation Post
HU26SE 4.03 HU c. 2908 6186 Building
(Scheduled as Swarbacks Head, gun emplacements). The monument consists of two guns with their emplacements and magazines, together with a command post, all dating to the First World War. The two 6-inch naval guns on Swarbacks Head were landed from HMS Gibraltar in 1918 to protect the entrance to the deep water anchorage of Swarbacks Minn, which was used as a forward anchorage by cruiser squadrons. The guns survive in excellent condition, with their protective shields intact. They are set within individual circular concrete emplacements, each provided with 2 ready use lockers. Adjacent to each emplacement is a sunken concrete magazine. On the highest point of the headland, some 100m E of the guns, is a stone- built observation post, circular in plan, with a concrete roof.
Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 17 February 1992.
