On 13 December the Battle of the River Plate took place off the coast of Uruguay, when a British naval squadron attacked the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. The Graf Spee was damaged and retreated to Montevideo harbour, but on Sunday 17 December it was forced to put to sea; the captain ordered the ship to be scuttled and the crew was interned. Meanwhile the Soviet Army continued its invasion of Finland, but was largely stalled, or repulsed, along the Mannerheim line.

Over on Orkney, Hetty Munro’s diaries continue to challenge our preconceptions about how people at the time viewed the war: “There was a great flap the other night about the German Fleet leaving its base and the poor Gordon Officers were put up at 5 a.m. to go and fight them. “Och,” said wee Eric, “If I see them coming up Holm Sound I’ll just go and invite them to breakfast. I don’t want to fight them anyway!” Which just about sums up the general feeling about the war.”

On 23 November the British armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi had been sunk when it engaged two of the most powerful battleships in the German fleet, the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau, off the Faroe Islands. 238 men had been killed, and this week news finally arrived that Able Seaman Hugh Macleod, son of Mrs Macleod of 15 Ackergill Terrace, Wick, was among them, after previously being reported missing. (Tragically, the shock of the news put his father, Hugh Macleod of Helmsdale, in hospital.)

Another conscientious objector from Caithness was up before the tribunal this week, Thomas Macpherson of 16 Breadalbane Terrace, Wick, an unemployed clerk aged 20. He said he was a Baptist and opposed to war, but was willing to do non-combatant duty as his “objection [was] to the taking of life”. (When the Sheriff asked him, “What is your father’s view as regards war?” he rather splendidly replied, “I never thought of asking him”.)

Meanwhile the blackout continued to cause problems for the people of Caithness. This week, two farmers from Oldwick were fined £5 each for “showing a light in the byre”; given the fact that the hours of daylight at this time of year run more or less from 9 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., the challenge to farmers of earning a living without showing any light must have been severe.

Food rationing was due to come in at the start of the New Year and must have been on everybody’s minds. One enterprising stationer in Inverness was already advertising a card index system for grocers, provision merchants and butchers to use as Food Ration Registers instead of a book (“THIS SYSTEM has the FULL APPROVAL of Mr T.W. ANDERSON, Chief Assistant to Food Controller”).

Finally, it was reported that there was a shortage of volunteers for the ARP [Air Raid Precautions] services. Questions were asked in the council meeting and “Mr John S Banks, John O’Groats, asked if any explanation could be given as to the low ebb of public spirit among the citizens of Wick and Thurso”. A number of possible reasons were suggested, including that a large number of the original volunteers had gone to Orkney to work for the forces there.

Coming soon! Week 16, 18 - 24 December 1939, will be published on Monday 17 December 2012. To view previous issues please use the menus on the right hand side of the page.

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