Echoes Of Italy

In 1943, Italian prisoners of war built a chapel on Lamb Holm that still inspires awe today

- DANIELLA THEIS

As the world marks 80 years since the end of the second World War, now is an ideal time to visit Orkney and explore its wartime connections.

Among the most poignant is the Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm — one of Orkney’s most visited attractions.

The chapel’s story is rooted in tragedy. In October 1939, a German U-boat torpedoed HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Flow, which was used as a key British naval base, killing 835 people. In response, Winston Churchill ordered the construction of the so-called Churchill Barriers nearby to prevent more attacks.

These concrete causeways were constructed by Balfour Beatty, with labour from around 1,300 Italian POWs who had been captured in North Africa and were held at a camp in Burray, as well as one at Lamb Holm.

It was agreed that the POWs could build a place to worship, and work began on the Italian Chapel in 1943, after the capitulation of Italy.

Leading the project was Italian POW Domenico Chiocchetti, who helped transform two Nissen huts, used as a base for the building, into the ornate chapel using scrap material — concrete, wire, cans and more.