Shetland's position at the top of Britain made it one of the most strategically significant places in the country during both World Wars. Remote enough to feel forgotten, close enough to occupied Norway to matter enormously, the islands played a remarkable role in the conflicts of the 20th century, and the physical evidence of that role is still scattered across the landscape.
Lying off the west coast of the Shetland Mainland, Papa Stour’s coastline has been sculpted by the Atlantic Ocean to produce an unrivalled spectacle of cliff scenery, stacks, arches and caves, all supporting a range of marine flora and fauna.
The First World War
Long before the First World War began, military planners understood what Shetland's position on the edge of the North Sea meant. As Britain's most northerly outpost, the islands were the last land before open ocean, critical to any naval campaign or blockade of Germany.
Shetlanders volunteered in large numbers for the Royal Naval Reserve and served in the island's own Territorial Companies, as well as across the wider British and colonial armies. Their maritime skills made them particularly valuable to the war effort, and the human cost was felt deeply across small, close-knit communities.
For a detailed guide to specific First World War sites across Shetland, see our First World War heritage blog post.
Military personnel at the former RAF Catfirth, Shetland. www.cdcn.co.uk
The Second World War and the Shetland Bus
When Germany invaded Norway in April 1940, Shetland's strategic position became immediately, urgently significant. Just 200 miles of North Sea separated the islands from occupied territory, close enough to matter and far enough to be lethal.
Shetland became the base for one of the Second World War's most extraordinary covert operations: the Shetland Bus. From 1940 to 1945, a small fleet of Norwegian fishing boats made repeated crossings of the North Sea in secret, carrying agents, weapons and supplies into occupied Norway, and bringing back refugees, resistance fighters and intelligence. The crossings were made in winter to avoid detection, in brutal conditions and under constant threat of German air and naval patrols. More than 30 men lost their lives on these missions.
The Shetland Bus Memorial on the Scalloway waterfront commemorates the Norwegian crews, and the Scalloway Museum is a short walk away. It houses a dedicated exhibition on the operation, including original artefacts, photographs and personal accounts, and is the principal place in Shetland to learn about the Shetland Bus and the people who ran it.
Scalloway Museum opening times: 1 May to 4 October, Monday to Friday 11am to 4pm, Sunday 2pm to 4pm. Closed Saturdays. October to April by appointment.
Beyond the Shetland Bus, there is much more wartime heritage to find across the islands: former RAF radar stations, anti-aircraft battery sites, the location where the first German bombs fell on British soil, and the remains of airfields central to the defence of the Northern Front. Many of these sites are in open, accessible landscape.
For more on exploring Shetland's wartime past, see our blog posts below.