Lamb Holm

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Exterior of the Italian Chapel, on Lamb Holm The chapel was built out of limited materials by Italian prisoners during World War II

The main quarry used by the Italian POWs, since flooded and converted into a fish farm. In the background is barrier no.2 between the islands of Lamb Holm and Glims Holm

Lamb Holm is a small uninhabited island in Orkney, Scotland. It is linked to the Orkney Mainland and to Glimps Holm, Burray and South Ronaldsay by the Churchill Barriers. It is 40 ha in size.

[edit] History

The Churchill Barriers (causeways) were built during World War II, largely by Italian prisoners of war, stationed in camps on Lamb Holm.

Italian prisoners of war also built the highly ornamented Italian Chapel from various available materials, and this is now the island's main attraction.

The quarry that they used to build the Churchill barriers with has now been flooded and converted into a fish farm.

In 1942 some 550 Italian prisoners of war were captured in North Africa and taken to Camp 60, Orkney, where they remained until early 1945. They were put to work building the Churchill Barriers, four causeways created to block access to Scapa Flow that are still used today to connect islands together. In 1943, Major T P Buckland, the Camp's new commandant, and Father Giacombazzi, the Camp's priest agreed that a place of worship was required. Two Nissen huts were joined together to form a makeshift chapel. The prisoners, under the leadership of prisoner Domenico Chiocchetti, did all of the work to transform a simple corrugated iron structure into a work of beauty. The chapel was lined with plasterwork and an altar was made out of concrete. Chiocchetti painted the sanctuary end of the chapel. The beauty that he created led to the prisoners decorating the entire interior and creating a front facade out of concrete that concealed the shape of the hut and made the building actually look like a church. Since the prisoners' departure several residents of Camp 60, including Chiocchetti, made return visits to the chapel that they had created. In 1996 a declaration was jointly signed by officials in Orkney and Chiocchetti's hometown of Moena reinforcing the ties between the two places. The building has been lovingly preserved. It is still used as a chapel.

Coordinates: 58.88968° N 2.89005° W

• Map sources for Lamb Holm

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