Fortress Orkney
	During the 2009 Summer term from April, staff from Orkney Museums and Heritage will be working with pupils from Flotta Community School on the Fortress Orkney project. We are one of ten museum services across the country selected to take part in THEIR PAST YOUR FUTURE Scotland, run by Museums Galleries Scotland on behalf of the Big Lottery Fund. The aim of the project as a whole is to increase young people’s knowledge and understanding of the impact and legacy of the Second World War through the collection of oral histories – recorded interviews with people who have memories of this era.
Fortress Orkney will focus on Flotta and Hoy during the period 1939-1957 (the Second World War and post-war period up to the closure of Lyness Naval Base) as experienced in Orkney by those stationed here and by Orcadians living here during the war. We are particularly interested in the impact that the war and its aftermath had on ordinary day-to-day civilian life in Orkney. Recorded interviews will be illustrated by photographs and documents and edited to form a series of mini exhibitions. These will appear on the TPYF Scotland website and form part of a permanent exhibition at the Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum, Lyness. We also plan to create a permanent display for the Flotta community, and are committed with head teacher Fiona Grahame to ensuring that the project is of local importance and remains available in Flotta. Over the Summer term, Rebecca Marr (Project Coordinator) and Jude Callister (Assistant Custodian, Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum) will help pupils develop their oral history skills, assisting them in making recorded interviews. We expect that the interviews which pupils conduct as part of the project will be with family members and the community. We would seek to develop a familiar and comfortable environment for this within the Flotta Community Centre or the school. We also see the project as opening out to the wider Flotta community and encourage involvement in what we hope will be a stimulating and important project. If you would like to become involved or have any materials, such as photographs or letters, please contact us through Fiona at the School or Jude and Rebecca below.
Miss Fiona Grahame: Head Teacher,Flotta Community School Telephone Number 01856 701240
Jude Callister, Assistant Custodian, Scapa Flow Visitor Centre & Museum 01856 791300
Rebecca Marr, Fortress Orkney Co-ordinator 01856 850430 rebecca.marr@btinternet.com
If you are prepared to become involved with the project either through your own personal wartime experience or the experiences of your family or friends please contact any of the above, they would be delighted to hear from you.