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THE NAVY AT SCAPA FLOW

The photographs which follow depict various aspects of the work and play of the Grand Fleet and the Auxiliaries at Scapa, and are more or less self-explanatory. Owing to limitations of space, it is not possible to deal adequately with a subject on which so many volumes have been written, but an effort has been made to include as many types as possible of the varied units of the Grand Fleet, and to depict the various phases of the everyday life and recreations of the personnel of the Fleet. Owing to the strict photographic censorship during the war, it was not practicable to take many subjects which would otherwise have found a place in this record, but those which are shown in the following pages will give the reader some little idea of how the Navy "carried on" during the eventful years 1914-1919.

Imperial War Museum.

Transferring a "Cot Case" from a Battleship to the Hospital Ship Drifter.
(The more serious cases from the Fleet were sent to the Hospital Ships—of which there were generally three or four at Scapa one of which, H.M.H.S. "Agadir," was set aside for infectious cases only. In addition to the drifter "CoryphÆna," shown in the photograph, two other drifters were detached for Hospital Ship duties, named, rather suggestively, the "Golden Harp" and "Elysian Dawn!")

Imperial War Museum.

Dentist at Work on a Battleship (H.M.S. "Collingwood").

H.M.S. "Imperieuse" with Fleet Mail Steamer "St. Ninian" and Mail Drifters from the Fleet alongside.

Mail Boat "St. Ola" coming alongside H.M.S. "Victorious."

(The "St. Ola" took the place of the "St. Ninian" during the last few months of the war, and mails were then distributed by H.M.S. "Victorious.")

For the first three months of the war all mails for the Fleet were landed and distributed at Scapa Pier. In November 1914, a Branch Post Office was opened on H.M.S. "Imperieuse," where the mails and newspapers were sorted and despatched to the Fleet. Some idea of the volume of business transacted to the date of the Armistice can be gathered from the following figures: 42 million letters and parcels sorted and despatched; 85 million letters and parcels delivered; value of postal stamps sold, £275.500.

Imperial War Museum.

Sorting Mails for the Fleet on H.M.S. "Imperieuse."

Imperial War Museum.

Distributing Newspapers for the Fleet (H.M.S. "Imperieuse.")

Dockyard Workmen leaving H.M.S. "Victorious" for Work in the Fleet.

Repairing a Steam Pinnace on the Slipway at Lyness.

School Children's Entertainment on H.M.S. "Victorious."
(The Navy is renowned for its hospitality, and the above shows a group of school children and their teachers who were entertained to a cinema show and tea on board. Many of the children had never seen the "movies" before.)

Three of the Young Orcadian Guests.

Imperial War Museum.

"No Coupons Required."
(The work of victualling the Navy at Scapa was no small task, as the following figures of the monthly Fleet requirements indicate: Meat, 320 tons; potatoes, 800 tons; flour, 6,000 140-lb. bags; sugar, 1,500 120-lb. bags; bread, 80,000 lbs.)

Crew of Drifter "Shalot."
(Attached to the Victualling Store Officer R.F.A. "Ruthenia.")

Lifting Chain Cables.

Mooring Vessel "Recovery" at Scapa Flow.
(The mooring work of the Base was performed under the control of the Admiralty Port Officer, H.M.S. "Imperieuse." Amongst the mooring vessels which did useful work in laying and lifting moorings for the Fleet, in addition to the "Recovery" pictured above, should be mentioned the mooring craft "Strathmaree," "Ben Doran," "Ben Tarbet," and "Bullfrog.")

U.S.S. "Patuxent" and "272" alongside H.M.S. "Victorious" for Repairs.

American Minesweeper in the Floating Dock for Repairs.

A Damaged British Destroyer being repaired in the Dock.

S.S. "Borodino" Junior Army and Navy Stores' Store-Ship with the Grand Fleet.

Interior of Shop on S.S. "Borodino."
(The Junior Army and Navy Stores was one of the most popular "institutions" at Scapa, and from 1914 to 1919 it was the great shopping centre of the Fleet. Almost every variety of article was stocked, from "an elephant to a shirt button," and in addition a hairdressing saloon and a laundry were installed.)

A Corner of an Officer's Cabin.
(An officer's cabin is his exclusive "sanctum," and in this case the occupant appears to have been determined to keep in mind "the girls he left behind him!")

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF LIFE AT SCAPA FLOW

Fishing for Sea-Trout.

A Ship's Picnic.

A Bathing Party.

The Naval Cemetery at Lyness.
(The Naval Cemetery at Lyness is situate on some rising ground overlooking the waters of the Flow. Here lie buried those who died whilst serving at Scapa, those who fell in the Battle of Jutland, and those who perished in the "Hampshire," "Vanguard" and other vessels. Their memory is perpetuated by the memorials which have been erected by their shipmates, some of which are here shown.)

The "Hampshire" Memorial.

An Interesting Stone to the Memory of a Chinaman who died at Scapa.

The "Malaya" Memorial.

The "Vanguard" Memorial.

Making for Home.
(H.M.S. "Victorious" in the Irish Sea on the way to Devonport, March, 1920.)

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