During the Second World War, thousands of Italian prisoners were brought to Britain. Some worked on farms, others on construction projects, and many found themselves living a long way from the homes and families they had left behind.
Among them were Italian prisoners sent to the Orkney Islands, off the northern coast of Scotland. While they were there, they built a little chapel that still stands today.
To understand why these prisoners were in Orkney, we need to go back to the 14th of October 1939, when a German submarine entered the British naval anchorage at Scapa Flow and sank HMS Royal Oak. A total of 835 men lost their lives as a result of the attack.
Following the sinking, work began on a series of causeways known as the Churchill Barriers. These were designed to close off vulnerable sea passages and protect the naval anchorage from further attacks. They would also eventually provide road connections between several of the islands.
In 1942, Italian prisoners captured during the fighting in North Africa were brought to Orkney to help with the construction. Some were housed at Camp 60 on the small island of Lamb Holm, where they faced the unfamiliar Scottish weather and the restrictions of life as prisoners of war.
Following Italy's surrender in September 1943, life began to change for the Italian men in Orkney. Those who remained to work on the barriers were no longer held as prisoners of war. They received wages and were allowed greater freedom of movement, although returning to their families in Italy was still not possible.
For many of these men, their Catholic faith was an important part of their lives. They wanted somewhere suitable to attend Mass and pray, and in 1943 permission was given for two Nissen huts to be joined together and converted into a chapel.
Among the Italians was a talented artist named Domenico Chiocchetti, who took a leading role in decorating the building. Working alongside other men with skills in metalwork and construction, he set about turning the two ordinary army huts into a proper place of worship.
They had very little in the way of building materials, so they made use of whatever they could find. Concrete left over from the construction of the barriers was used to make the altar, while scrap metal was turned into decorative fittings. The interior walls were carefully painted to give the appearance of brickwork and carved stone.
Chiocchetti also painted a beautiful image of the Madonna and Child above the altar. He based it on a picture by the Italian artist Nicolò Barabino, which appeared on a prayer card his mother had given him before he left Italy.
Here was a man who was far from his family and living through a war, using something his mother had given him to help create a place where he and his fellow Italians could worship.
By September 1944, the men were being transferred away from Orkney. Chiocchetti remained for another two weeks to finish the chapel's font before joining the others in Yorkshire.
After the war, the camp buildings were eventually removed, but the chapel was spared. Local people recognised that it was worth preserving, and in 1958 a committee was established to look after it.
In 1960, Chiocchetti returned to Orkney to help restore the chapel he had worked on during the war. It must have been quite an experience to return to a place where he had once been held as a prisoner and find that something he had created was still being cared for.
Today, the Italian Chapel remains on Lamb Holm, with its painted walls, beautiful altar and decorations still there for visitors to see.
When I think about the Italian Chapel, I think about how much these men managed to achieve with so little. They were far from their families and living through a very uncertain time, yet they used their skills to create a place that is still appreciated today.
We hear a lot about the hardships of prisoners of war, and rightly so, but I think stories like this deserve to be remembered as well.
Had you heard of the Italian Chapel in Orkney, or perhaps even visited it yourself?
Image credit: Interior of the Italian Chapel, Lamb Holm, Orkney. Photograph by Joe deSousa (2018), via Wikimedia Commons. CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication.
No comments:
Post a Comment