Events – Past and Planned
PAST EVENTS
October 17 2018
Unfortunately I could not make this event in Stromness. The evening featured the unveiling of the Scapa Flow timeline (described as a ‘collaborative project between Scapa 100, Stromness Museum, the National Maritime Museum, the University of Dundee and Huskyan Charters’) and a presentation on UB.116 by Simon Brown.
November 22 2018
Posted on Scapa Flow Wreck Flags by Naomi Watson
On 22 November, flags were placed ‘on each of the seven remaining wrecks as a mark of respect and commemoration’ by divers in Scapa Flow. The flags have been left so that others diving the wrecks might be encouraged to have ‘a moment of reflection and remembrance’.
Historic Scotland was consulted prior to the project and raised no objections. The flags are tied on with 3mm cord to prevent damage to the wrecks should a set be snagged. Periodic maintenance dives throughout 2019 will be held to inspect and replace the rigging if required.
The Scapa Flow Wreck Flags dive team. Posted on Scapa Flow Wreck Flags
November 23-24 2018, Kirkwall, Scapa Flow Naval History Conference
Top L to R: Dr Stephan Huck, Dr Jo Porter, Dr Peter Schenk, myself, Tom Muir, Dr Sebastian Rojek, RADM Sam Cox, USN ret’d), Dr Nat Sims Bottom L to R: Tom Fremantle, Robert Foden, Carl-Johan Hagman, Prof Andrew Lambert, Tom Easop, Andrew Hollinrake, Anna Schneider, Helena Young, Marc von Reuter.
A two-day event was held at Kirkwall Grammar School on November 23-24, 2018 (November 23 was the centenary of the first German ships arriving in the Flow). A number of distinguished speakers attended and presented papers on many aspects of the Flow from its history to its ecology.
It is hoped that papers and presentations from this conference will shortly be available through David Mackie at the Orkney Archives and Library, Kirkwall.
The Orcadian, 29 Nov 2018
| Prof. Andrew Lambert | Securing the National Interest. Seapower 1918-1919 |
| Carl-Johan Hagman | Protecting Maritime Interests Today |
| Rear Admiral Sam Cox USN (ret’d) | US Naval Perspectives |
| Cdr. Dr. David Kohnen (paper given by Dr. Nat Sims) | US Naval Forces in Europe and the American Expeditionary Force – Allied Commands divided by a Common Language |
| Dr. Nat Sims | The role of personalities in the Anglo-American Naval Partnership |
| Dr. Sebastian Rojek | The Apocalyptic obsession of the German Navy 1871-1945 |
| Dr. Stephan Huck | The myth and Reality of the High Seas Fleet |
| Nick Jellicoe | The Scuttle: Context and Impact |
| Tom Muir | The Orcadian Experience |
| Andy Hollinrake | The Defence of the Flow |
| Tom Easop | Diving the Scapa Flow Wrecks |
| Dr. Peter Schenk | October 1939: The Scuttle Avenged |
| Dr. Joanne Porter | The Wrecks of Scapa Flow: Marine Life Legacy |
| Ana-Lena Schneider | Examining Naval History in Museums. An Anglo-German Comparison of the Great War |
| Robert Foden | The Jellicoe Express |
CURRENT EVENTS
May 4 to November 2 2019 , Kirkwall
Opening of the Scuttle Exhibition at the Orkney Museum, Kirkwall (also called Tankerness House Museum).
Details: Broad St, Kirkwall KW15 (opposite St.Magnus Cathedral) Tel +44 1856 873 191
FUTURE EVENTS
June 15 to June 26 2019, Orkney
North Light Gallery, Stromness.
Exhibition opening Scapa Flow: Up Close and Underwater at 18:00. This is an exhibition of oil painting and photographs created underwater by artist Caroline Appleyard and photographer Marjo Tynkkynen.
June 15 2019, Orkney
West Side Cinema, Town Hall, Stromness.
Special screening of With All Flags Flying (1986 documentary) with an introduction from Emily Turton. Doors open 19.15 for 19.45 start,
June 16 2019, Orkney
19.00 Ness Battery, Stromness
Presentation of a theatre piece with music Beneath the Flow by the St. Magnus Players. Tickets £10 incl. transport from 1st May, JB Rosey, Stromness and Ortak, Albert Street, Kirkwall. Bus pick-up 18.00 from Stromness Ferry Terminal. The gates at Ness Battery will open 45 minutes before the show. Wheelchair access to be pre-booked when purchasing ticket. Running time – approximately one hour.
June 18 2019, Orkney
12:00 Scapa 100 Hub, The Royal Hotel, Stromness
An illustrated talk and book signing by author David Meara entitled Witnessing History: The End of the German High Seas Fleet, June 21st 1919.
19:00 Town Hall, Stromness
An underwater tour of the German High Seas Fleet by the Scapa 100 team The German Fleet Today.
June 20 2019, Orkney
11:00 The Orcadian Boosktore, Kirkwall.
Book signing with author Nick Jellicoe who will be presenting two new books on the scuttling of the German Fleet in Scapa Flow.
Nick Jellicoe at the Rolex Sydney-Hobart 29 December 2004. Photo
ROLEX SYDNEY HOBART 2004. Photo Carlo Borlenghi
The Last Days of the High Seas Fleet gives the political and military context of the scuttle, how it was planned and executed and the impact that the scuttling had on future fleet composition of the major powers (341 pages & illustrations £25.00)
From Scuttle to Salvage, the second book, is the story told in 200 photographs, sourced in Orkney, Denmark and Germany. The accompanying text is in English and German. It is published locally by the Orcadian Press (128 pages £19.99).
June 20 2019, Orkney
14:00 The St. Magnus Centre, Kirkwall
Meet the Scuttle descendants and hear a short presentation about the scuttle starting with the context of the German Naval mutiny in Wilhelmshaven and the discussion of what to do with the German fleet at Versailles. The presentation will be followed by a general discussion. Free admission.
June 20 2019, Orkney
STROMNESS COMMEMORATVE EVENTS
18:00 Stromness Town Hall (By invitation only. Tickets will be available from 1st June at the OIC Customer Services in Kirkwall and Stromness.)
- Prof.Dr. Michael Epkenhans, head of the German Bundeswehr’s Centre for Military History, will present an overview of the Scuttling.
- Emily Turton, Scapa100, will outline local Orcadian initiatives for the Centenary and will describe the ships that remain in the Flow.
- Music from the bands of the Federal German Navy and the Royal Navy.
June 21 to June 23 2019, Orkney, Scapa Flow, Centenary of the Scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet
12:00 Cingalee Restoration Display. An exhibition of a 114-year-old Navy and Army Canteen Vessel that supplied the British Fleet through WW1 and WW2. Warehouse Buildings, Stromness from 21st to 23rd June.
June 21 2019, Orkney
Details Have still not been announced by the Orkney Island Council (OIC) but the events planned include the ringing of the salvaged bell from SMS von der Tann which has been brought over from the German Naval memorial at Laboe, Germany.
Source: von der Tann during speed tests. By kind permission Blohm and Voss, Hamburg.
There will be a re-dedication ceremony at the Lyness Commonwealth Graves Commission cemetery focussing on the headstone of Kuno Eversberg, the young engineer from SMS Frankfurt, shot two days after the scuttle while a prisoner on a British battleship.
Descendants from the Flying Kestrel school outing as well as the Fremantle, Reuter and Madden families (shown below) will be present.
Nick Jellicoe (L) with Nat Sims, Tom Fremantle and Marc-Derfflinger von Reuter at the Nov 2018 Naval History Conference, KGS.both the d
June 22 2019, Orkney
11:15 St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall
There will be a Festival Service to mark the role of Orkney in the Great War.
18.00 – 20.00 Warehouse Buildings, Stromness
Explore the wrecks of Scapa Flow with the latest VR technology.
October 17-20 Stromness, Stromness Museum Conference
A conference is planned for October 2019. Details will be posted when known.