The Mairi in Me

An exploration of my Orcadian heritage, the Island of Flotta.

The island of Flotta in Orkney, had been home to my family since at least the mid 1600s. Using screen print, I produced an exhibition of the Island: 4 prints and a poem accompanied by music composed by my Great Grandfather.

Welcome to Flotta, Orkney, population 80 and my Orcadian heritage.

My middle name is Mairi, which has the meaning ‘Of the Sea’,

And so here I share with you the Mairi in Me.

Notice the number of houses on the island?
In 1910, the number of residents on Flotta started to peak, at around 431 people. It was said to be booming with two blacksmiths, four carpenters, three dressmakers, a teacher, a doctor, a minister and a postmaster.
What is my relationship with Flotta?
My Grandad is my link to Orkney, his father's family had been on Flotta since at least the late 1600s and his mother's family moved from Stroma (a now uninhabited Island just off the coast of John O'Groats) to Flotta. My Great Grandparents were also the start of my family's departure off the Island, as they began to leave in search of stable jobs.
Notice the sucker ships, yeah those aren't submarines?
The body of water beside Flotta is called Scape Flow and it became a harbour for the British Navy during both world wars. Importantly, it was the location of The Scapa Flow Scuttling which increased the locations fame.
On 21 June 1919, 52 German war ships, part of the High Seas Fleet sunk their own ships as an act of sabotage once they realised the British Royal Naval would soon seize them. It was the single greatest loss of warships in history. Today, seven wrecks remain sunk. Two of my Great-Great Uncles, that served in WW1, upon returning worked salvaging these very shipwrecks.
What did the war mean for the Island?
The navy needs entertaining, infrastructure began to pop up all around, including a cinema, dance floor, gym and squash courts alongside the military bases.
The number of people on Flotta fluctuated throughout the wars, with plenty of temporary residents on and off the ships. High events were organised like the Grand Fleet boxing Championship outside the YMCA Hut, that was witnessed by as many as 10,000 people. Prince Albert was even present on this occasion.
How did the oil terminal affect the island?
Completed in 1976, the introduction of the oil terminal came with lots of funding for the local community. During the Inauguration of the Flotta Terminal, Tom Rosie (Flotta’s oldest resident at the time) accepted a cheque for £40,000 from Dr Armand Hammer, Head of Occidental to fund the Flotta community centre.
The oil made the island valuable to the UK, which came with the addition of better transport: an airstrip, cars and more boats to and from Flotta and the Orkney Mainland.
What’s Maggie up to?
On Friday 5th September, 1980 the Prime Minister - Mrs Margaret Thatcher and her husband Denis visited Occidental’s Flotta Terminal.
Reactions to the terminal were very mixed by locals on Flotta and around Orkney. As imagined reactions to Mrs Thatchers visit even more so. Local, Esme Tooze who cleaned in prep for Thatchers arrival said: “Even if you don’t agree with her politics and policies, I think it’s exciting to meet our first woman Prime Minister”.
As we begin to get closer to 50 years since the terminal, it is hard to deny how much it has kept the people and ferry’s flowing to and from Flotta.
The question is would Flotta have found its own way to maintain? And how has such a finite dependency affected its future population?
What is the future of Flotta?
My fear is that most communities that no longer exist are often found in a museum, and now Flotta has one. Next door to the post office on Flotta is the Heritage Centre that was opened on the 30th June 2016. The centre, a restored wartime home, is filled with furniture from all the families on the island alongside information about all the stages of the islands life.
How has flotta become more unstable?
In 2003 the resident GP on Flotta passed away. In 2010 the primary school was mothballed due to a lack of young children on the island. In 2019, Flotta’s post woman, Anne Hourston, the last cycling postie in Scotland, retired. Gradually key elements to the community and the islands attraction are being lost and not rebuilt.
How might the oil terminal transform?
There are potential plans for the oil terminal to be transitioned into a green hydrogen hub using offshore wind. This would come with new employment for the current oil workers and investment into the area.
How do we feel?
My closely related family has now left the island, although on the occasional visit my grandad finds a distant cousin! With a population of just 80, the future is hard to see. Having first visited the island when I was less than two, I hope the islands future involves people, life and community.