Home to the northernmost point of the British Isles, the Shetland Islands are so far north that culturally, they have much in common with their neighbour Norway.
And during the Second World War, this special relationship came to the fore when Shetland became the headquarters of a mysterious, classified and extremely dangerous operation known as the Shetland Bus.
After Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany in April 1940, the Shetland Bus became a lifeline for refugees to escape from Norway to the UK, and a covert link to transport undercover agents, radio operators, instructors, weapons, ammunition and equipment back in support of the Allied cause and the Norwegian resistance.
Over 350 refugees were saved, most of them fugitives from the Gestapo and many of them Jews, with the Norwegian resistance movement collectively recognised by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.
Despite its name, Shetland Bus, the vessels used for this clandestine operation were humble, inconspicuous fishing boats that the Allies hoped would escape Nazi scrutiny.
The price of capture for the undercover Norwegian fishermen was imprisonment, potential torture and execution, so the Bus ran under the cloak of darkness during the winter months. This ran its own huge risks, setting sail in the most atrocious weather and deadly storms.
Operating first out of Shetland’s capital, Lerwick, later moving to the small, secluded village of Lunna, it finally settled in the larger harbour town of Scalloway on the west coast of Shetland. Here, repairs could be carried out with greater ease and secrecy maintained.
And it’s in Scalloway Museum that the risky history of the Shetland Bus is explained through a mix of artefacts, personal stories and photographs, touching on both tragedy and uplifting human endeavour.
Individual stories from individual sailings bring a human face to a brave, secret expedition. Just one example is the Bus’ first loss, Nils Johansen Nesse.
After dropping an agent in Bømlo, Norway, Nesse’s fishing boat Siglaos started the return journey to Shetland in dreadful conditions. Aboard were seven passengers rescued from Norway, including three children.
After several hours at sea battling the weather, the Siglaos was attacked by enemy aircraft. Nesse, who held his position at the steering wheel, sustained injuries to the leg and the head.
The boat returned safely to Shetland, but Nesse lost the fight for life, aged 23. Today, on a calm day in this picturesque, close-knit harbour town, it’s hard to imagine such heroic endeavours taking place.
But walking from the museum along the waterfront, you find a memorial commemorating the brave souls involved in the Shetland Bus, unveiled in 2003. A small fishing boat daringly rides the crest of a wave, honouring those who risked everything to set sail.
Another unexpected wartime site, located at the southern end of the island, is Sumburgh Head Lighthouse.
Designed by Robert Stevenson, first lighting up the Shetland skies in 1821, visitors learn about the lighthouse itself, the nutrient rich seas attracting orcas, dolphins and seals, and the staggering number of seabirds that nest here (from the iconic puffin to the daring, flightless guillemot chicks that hurl themselves into the sea aged 20-25 days old). It’s also possible to savour a coffee and a cake in a café with possibly the most jaw-dropping views in Scotland.
But Sumburgh is also the location of a radar hut that changed the course of Second World War history.
On 8 April 1940, on the eve of the invasion of Norway, a pack of German bombers set off to destroy the British Home Fleet based at nearby Scapa Flow in Orkney.
It could have been Britain’s Pearl Harbour, but a young man on duty at Sumburgh Radar Station picked up the deadly aircraft, swiftly notified the fleet at Scapa, giving them 25 minutes warning and enabling the Scapa anti-aircraft fire to fight off the attack. The gunfire was apparently heard in Lerwick, 125 miles away.
This small radar station safeguarded countless Allied lives. The radar operator who saved the day, George Clifford Evans, summed it up, “I told my crew that if the station never made any other contribution to the war we had already justified the entire enterprise”.
Not only is Shetland proud of its wartime history, it also revels in older Norse ties, including its ancient Viking heritage.
The most celebrated example of this is the Up Helly Aa fire festival, held every January in the depths of winter. ‘Guizers’ parade by torchlight through the streets, led by the celebrated parade leader ‘Guizer Jarl’ in full Viking dress, followed by his ‘Jarl Squad’.
It’s a raucous day of parades and community visits, culminating in the iconic burning of a Viking longship. Each year a ship is lovingly built and decorated over several months, only to be set alight, brightening the Shetland winter in a triumphant fire ball.
For those who can’t manage a January visit to Shetland, there’s a mix of Norse sights and sounds to discover all year round. Many sights in Shetland are rich in Norse history and storytelling. One example is Mousa Broch on the small island of Mousa itself, just east of mainland Shetland.
Its name comes from Old Norse Mósey, meaning mossy island, and after a 15-minute boat trip, passengers reach an island renowned for diving gannets and storm petrels. Walk in an anti-clockwise route around the island to discover the Broch (a distinctly Scottish building, in the form of a roundhouse or tower).
Mouse Broch features in two historical documents: Egil’s Saga tells the AD900 tale of an eloping couple from Norway, shipwrecked and seeking shelter within the walls of the broch; and the Orkneyinga Saga tells of the abduction of Margaret, the mother of Earl Harold, in AD1153. She was held captive in Mousa Broch, until her son launched an attack to recover her.
As visitors ascend the narrow, dark staircase, clutching torches and watching their step, the Norse tales add atmosphere to any visit.
For a more serene experience drop by the beautiful St Ninian’s Isle. This strip of land is linked to mainland Shetland by a ‘tombolo’: a stretch of perfect, white sand with the tide coming in at both sides.
It’s an eye-catching and tranquil spot, but its beauty belies the anxiety faced by the inhabitants and the precautions they took when the Vikings ruled the seas.
In 1958 a Shetland schoolboy found a hoard of Celtic silverware dating from the 700s.
It’s thought that these valuable, treasured pieces were buried to protect them from Viking raids, which were once a terrifyingly real threat, so far removed from the restfulness of St Ninian’s today.
Today, Shetland’s Norse past and Scottish present comfortably intermix, its multicultural heritage is celebrated across the islands from Viking legends and uplifting wartime legacy to spiritual folklore, rich wildlife, stunning natural beauty and pagan fire.
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