Evening star., 1939-11-30
Raided ShetIands
Britain's Farthest
North Islands
Near Top Of World,
100 Miles From
Scottish Mainland

The first bombs to fall on British
soil in the European war blasted g.
foot holes recently in the Shetland
Islands, Britain's northernmost Eu-
ropean possession. In other attacks
over British territory including the
raid on Scapa Flow, in the Orkney
Island group south of Shetland,
German bombs, after damaging
British shipping, landed in the wa
ter.
"A narrow, struggling archipelago
Of more than 100 islands and islets,
the Shetlands, from north to south,
stretch some 10 miles," says bull
letin from the National Geographic
Society. so deeply indented are
their shores that one is never more
than 3 miles away from the sea.
With an area of little more than $50
square miles, the islands have almost
q thousand miles of coast line.
No Night in Summer.
Rugged, barren cliffs rise steeply
from the deep blue waters of the
Atlantic Ocean and North Sea that
wash the islands. A combination of
brilliant colors in sea, sky and earth
there makes for unusually striking
scenery. One factor in the vivid
coloring of the Shetlands is the
amount of light they receive For
nature, in summer, provides the is
lands with no 'blackouts.' During
the warm months there is practical
ly no night there. At the height of
the season one can read, take pic
lures or play outdoor games at mid
night.
Six hundred miles northwest of
Germany's naval base at Wilhelms-
haven, the Shetland Islands are
more than 100 miles from the Scot
tish mainland The Orkney Island
group is so miles to the south. Ler-
wick, chief city and capital of the
Shetlands, is farther north than
Greenland's Cape Farewell. Yet, de-
spite this location near the top of
the world, the climate of the islands
is relatively warm due to the ram
bling of the Gulf Stream. Temper
atures range from a mean of 80 de-
grees in the coolest months of Feb
ruary and March to SO degrees in
August.
The largest island, called Main
land, is 81 miles long Other i'm
portant islands are Yell, INST, Fet-
lar, Bressay and Whalsey. Foula,
one of the more remote islands, off
the west coast of Mainland, was the
scene of the motion picture The
Edge of the World, whose theme was
the gradual depopulation of the
British northern outposts. Less than
80 of the Shetland Islands are in
habited. Mainland has about three
quarters of the total population;
most of the others support only a
few lighthouse keepers and shep-
herds.
In 1911, the population of the
6hetlands was nearly $4,000. BY the
middle of 1898, estimates show that
this figure had shrunk to less than
$1,000. Emigration caused by the
slowing up of a -fourishing her
ring industry, scarcity of good farm
Ing lands and the general attraction
Of urban communities for youth of
the islands we're contributing factors
in the decline.
"On the other hand, the women's
home and later factory industries of
hosiery and other woolen-goods
products have increased since the
World War to an annual value of
some 100000. The new war, too, is
expected to have an economic effect
on the life of the Shetlanders, if. as
during the previous conflict, Lerwick
should again become a subsidiary
base to Scapa Flow in the Orkneys.
Naval Base in 1914 War.
During the first World War the
capital of the Shetland Island was
used not only as an examination sta
ton for ships suspected of hauling
contraband, but also as base for
American and British destroyers.
Innumerable vessels flying foreign
and British flags were brought into
this harbor, and the town was
familiar one to the crews of the
many trawlers on duty as mine
sweepers, as well as to the rescued
sailors and travellers from ships sunk
near by.
I'm normal times the Shetlander
wrests his living from both sea and
land, dual occupation which has
earned for him the name of fisher
man with a croft CThe croft is
Enall patch of inclosed farmland)
Less fertile than the soil of the COM
paratively low-lying Orkneys, the
many Shetland crofts nevertheless
combine to produce such crops as
potatoes, barley, oats and turnips.
The Shetland fisheries still are of
major Importance in the British
herring industry.
The Shetlands' long haired, shag-
gy ponies are famous around the
world. Native sheep furnish much
wool. plucked from the animal in
stead of sheared, that is fine and
warm. And the native cattle, hardy
II small, provide excellent beef and
milk"