Orkney At War: Defending Scapa Flow

Orkney at War: Defending Scapa Flow focuses on the remains of the defences of Orkney during two World Wars and the vital strategic importance of Scapa Flow as a naval anchorage and safe haven for the Royal Navy.

The book tells the story of World War I, and how a remote group of islands off the north of Scotland became 'the principal maritime centre of a world in conflict' and one of the most strongly fortified and most heavily controlled areas in the country.

Geoffrey Stell is an acknowledged expert in military defence and history, and in Orkney at War he has compiled a book which is enhanced with previously unseen photographs, maps and other unpublished material.

Orkney's story during the Great War has tended to be overshadowed by the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow and by the 'Fortress Orkney' development of the islands during World War II. Orkney at War attempts to redress this imbalance, and is intended to complement the classic wartime history book, The Great Harbour Scapa Flow, by W. S. Hewison.