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Orkney Sound Archive/Radio Orkney Collection/4 x 5 inch reels
A walk around Twatt Aerodrome with descriptions of buildings and anecdotes of events
Recorded live on site at Twatt Aerodrome May 18th 1987.
Interviewer: unknown - possibly Brian Flett
Interviewees: their names are not given but one is called Norman on the tape and I have identified him as Norman Brown, Observer in 700 Squadron. The other an unknown rating with Squadron 771.
An aside: Lying by chance on the side in the Archive Sound Room was a 16’’ x 12’’ black and white aerial photograph of Twatt Aerodrone Ref: L4976/3. It was awaiting pick up from Birsay Heritage Society.
March 26th 2010: I listened to these recordings through headphones using a reel to reel player in the Orkney Archive in Kirkwall Library. There is something wonderful the reel to reel tape players. Winding the tapes onto the spool, watching the reels turn, the sound of the end tape flicking round on the spool, the shape and size of the boxes in which they are stored.
Reel One: Reference : OSA/RO5/432 In 8 parts – each part divided by yellow leader tape.
1) The walk begins at the entrance - the Guards House, where you handed in your leave passes.
Gifts of eggs: They exchange stories about going to farms in Sandwick and Birsay to get fresh eggs to send home as there was no shortage of eggs during the war in Orkney.
2) Ablution Blocks
3) (counter no: 115) They walk to the former Cinema, with the stage and projection room still visible
Company Concert Party: Guest performers they remember include Francoise Rose; Tommy Handley and the IPMA Gang ( www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/localhistory/journey/stars/tommyhandley (This website has photos, sound and script archives); Gracie Fields, Dobson and Young (music educationalists www.jstor.org/stable/922277 )
4) (220) Billets; “Where is the Parade Ground?” Sick Bay
5) (310) They go into the auditorium. The sound recording has a different tone/quality here as the space has changed and is enclosed Sound of Birds.
A Charles Boyer film was shown at the cinema. The films changed a couple of times a week.
6) They identify the Ward Room; away from the main huts in the middle of the field’, the
football pitch, hangers, rugby pitch which cows are now on; the canteen; cook house, petit officers mess.
One of the speakers was billeted near the brook.
7) (530)
77 1 Squadron and 700 Squadron
Sick bay – has been demolished it was a wooden type hut. Only the concrete and brick remain of the buildings. They don’t remember the cottage that they can see now.
Ammunition dumps. Two buildings with open arch ways
8) (660)
Mounds are put round the hangers to protect the bottom part of the hangers
In the squadron office there was a board showing the programme of flights for the day including the take off time and the return time.
There was also a Board with a list of serviceable aircraft on it.
Reel Two : OSA/RO5/433) This is a very good tape in terms of sound – lots of live sounds, pauses between dialogue etc.
1) Sense of the size of the site:
771 Squadron is still going somewhere in Cornwall
Talked about the airport at Grimsetter where Kirkwall Airport now is sited. His last flight out of here was May 10th
2) (155) CONTROL TOWER
Perimeter Track. At least 15 hangers, there was tarmac in front of each set of hangers. Spoke about Swordfish planes. Sound of cattle.
3) (232) CONTROL TOWER
“Pill box still standing over yonder look”
Lots of local Orcadians were engaged in the construction of the airfield which was built by Balfour Beattie.
Sounds of clothing, walking, with silence in between the talking.
Sense of the sound of the building as the recording changes as they enter an enclosed area of the tower. General Offices
“The stairs down seen to have vanished”
Heating system , Wireless room/Receiving Room and at the top the main control room. Cows
“Superb view up here” 700 Squadron – referred to as the Walrus Squadron
Norman Brown belongs to this squadron. This is the first time anyone’s name has been mentioned. He points to the main runway which is in the main wind direction.
“All quiet and peaceful now”
Take off direction was East to West (or thereabouts)
Planes would taxi from the hanger to aerodrome and take off into the wind.
It was a good site for the airfield as it was rare that planes couldn’t fly.
Main problem would seem to be misty conditions. In this sense it was better placed than the airfields on the East if the Island. Interviewer : “That’s my tape gone on this again” Reel Three OSA/RO5/434 1) “What can we see from here?”
They are on the edge of the main runway.
Loch Isbister and beyond Kitchener’s Memorial – a good landmark – used many a time. They point out an old wind sock pole. Not tall enough for a flag pole
The walk they would have taken from the Squadron Office round to the north west end of the runway. The landing lights are still to be found in the runway. One still had a light bulb in it “while we’re here and sheltered..” Describing the inside of buildings like the canteen and ward Room – it was always scrubbed clean.
Dress Etiquette: Flying gear was not allowed in the ward room, nor pullovers had to be collar and tie 1) (355) Noticeboards for flying programme take off and return times, who was flying and their roles eg gunner etc Talks about Sule Skerry lighthouse, 30 miles west of Orkney. Always had an uneven number of lighthouse keepers e.g .3 ( an odd number).
Told of machine gunning basking sharks to test the guns
Also flew between the Old Man of Hoy and the cliff face in a Walrus.
Air raid shelters
Passive Defence people: engaged when there was an emergency on the airfield
(518) pretty windy on the tape
There would have been about 10 officers billeted in the Nissan huts
They look at a picture in his flying log book.
“What would that have been down there?
The base of another Nissan hut I think.”
That would hold quite a lot of personnel Reel 4 OSA/RO5/435
There is very little on this reel. It was the tail end of the interview.
It describes a public scrubbing of a rating whose personal hygiene was lacking!
The sound quality is disrupted by the amount of wind
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