Our P6 pupils were treated to some time out of school on Friday with a trip to Scalloway.  They have been working on personal projects based on ‘Our Place in Time’, with many pupils choosing to find out about events based in the South Mainland, as well as further afield.  Interest has been sparked in the ‘Shetland Bus’ operation and this led us to visiting the Scalloway Museum and waterfront area.

We had a quick snack, sheltering from the mist and rain, before going in.

We met Billy Moore who has a close, family history with the work of the Shetland Bus.  He has submitted many of the artefacts to the Museum over time.  He was so knowledgeable and everyone found something to interest them and learned so many facts and heard fascinating stories!

To begin our tour, Billy talked about Shetland through centuries past – from Neolithic Times, the Bronze and Iron Ages, the Picts and Norse settlers and also Scalloway’s history with the Scottish Earls, which resulted in the building of Scalloway Castle.

In more recent history, we learned about the Haaf Fishing and the herring gutters who followed the path of the fish, starting in Shetland, before following the fleets further south to make a living.

We spent most of our time, listening to the heroic tales of those who travelled across the seas to and from Norway on what became known as the ‘Shetland Bus’.  Agents, weapons and supplies were transported from Shetland to occupied Norway, while Norwegian refugees and resistance fighters were rescued and brought from Norway back to Shetland.

We looked at the map that showed how many journeys were taken from Shetland to Norway.  Billy told us that the boats tried to sail under the cover of darkness, during the winter months.  The longest distance to Tromsø in the north of Norway, would have taken them 5 days to sail in treacherous waters.

We learned about Leif Larsen, who became one of the most highly decorated naval officers of WW2.  He was the skipper of the fishing vessel ‘Arthur’ during an attempt to sink the German battleship Tirpitz in 1942.  The raid failed, but Larsen received a medal for gallantry, the first non-Briton to do so.

We spent time looking at the Memorial to those who lost their lives in the Shetland Bus operation – 44 in all.  We were surprised to see how many were just in their early 20s.

Next, we went to see the reconstruction of the slipway where the boats were taken out of the water to be mended, before being sent on their way again.

Then we walked on to see Norway House.

After a long time listening and learning, we thought we deserved some down-time at Scalloway park and pitch!

After a busy day, we headed back to school but not before we took a photo of our amazing windswept hairstyles!!  Typical Shetland weather for a summer-term, school trip!

What a special day with special people!  With grateful thanks to Mrs Graydon and Ms Stewart for accompanying us.

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