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Captured Italian's shipped to Lambholm island in the southern Orkney's in 1943 found themselves in some bleak huts. The 200 prisoners held little chance of escape from the island here in the North Sea so as well as build the Churchill Barriers they built their own temporary POW homes. They put concrete paths between the huts, transformed the bleak interior, and built an Italian Chapel.
A message to the Orkney people:"Before he left Orkney in 1960, Domenico wrote an open letter to the people of Orkney. In it, he said, "The chapel is yours, for you to love and preserve. I take with me to Italy the remembrance of your kindness and wonderful hospitality. I shall remember always, and my children shall learn from me to love you."
The Story of Lambholm and the Italian Chapel by Stuart Crowther
... 'The true miracle of Lambholm came about through a fortunate set of circumstances. The prisoners, who had already demonstrated their willingness to work hard not only on the barriers but to improve their own living conditions, longed for one thing - a chapel. A new camp commandant arrived, Major T P Buckland, who was happy to listen to the plea of the Italian padre, Father Gioachino Giacobazzi. Major Buckland made available two Nissen huts to the prisoners, one to be used as a school and the other as a chapel. Domenico immediately set to work on the chapel with an artistic imagination that was to be an inspiration to all around him. At his command were materials that were to all intents and purposes useless pieces of scrap, but the determined Italian brought together a team of prisoners with particular skills to aid his task. Among them were electricians Primavera and Micheloni; Palumbo, a blacksmith; and Bruttapasta, whose work in cement was renowned.
This small band turned an ugly corrugated iron hut into a thing of consummate beauty. They hid the rough iron behind a plaster-board covering, and moulded in concrete an alter and holy water stoop. At the rear of the alter reaching up to the roof was Domenico Chiocchetti's masterpiece, a portrait of the Madonna and child based on a picture carried by Domenico throughout the war. The portrait was buttressed by two windows of painted glass, one representing St Francis of Assisi, the other St Catherine of Siena. The only items "bought in" for the chapel were gold curtains, placed on the entrances at each side of the chancery, purchased from money held in the prisoner's welfare fund.
Palumbo created two candelabra in iron, while Primavera fashioned four more from brass, while wood from a ship wreck was used to create the tabernacle. Domenico painted two Cherabim and two Seraphim on the sanctuary vault, which he frescoed with the symbols of four evangelists. Such was the dramatic difference between the completed chancel and the rest of the chapel, Palumbo was asked to create a screen to separate the two. Having been a wrought-iron worker in America before the war, he set about the task with amazing skill, completing it in just four months. Today that screen is seen as one of the most beautiful aspects of the chapel.
Over time further refinements were made to the chapel, both interior and exterior. Work was still on-going when the prisoners were released in the spring of 1945, Domenico remained behind however to complete the font. Such were the fortunes of war, the chapel was in actual use for just a very short time, but nevertheless those Orcadians who had watched the amazing developments at Camp 60 were moved to promise that they would care for the chapel when Domenico eventually departed.
Today the "Italian Chapel" stands proudly alongside the statue of St George on the hilltop at Lambholm, a lasting testimony of the faith and artistry of the Italians who created them. These are all that remain to remind Orcadians of the occupants of Camp 60, other than the Churchill Barriers themselves. In 1960, Domenico Chiocchetti returned to Orkney and for three weeks carried out preservation work on the chapel, assisted by Orcadian Stanley Hall. On completion, a service was held at which Domenico was first to receive Holy Communion. Part of the service was broadcast by Italian National radio, to the great pride of the people of Domenico's home town of Moena.
Before he left Orkney in 1960, Domenico wrote an open letter to the people of Orkney. In it, he said "The chapel is yours, for you to love and preserve. I take with me to Italy the remembrance of your kindness and wonderful hospitality. I shall remember always, and my children shall learn from me to love you." Domenico Chiocchetti, and his many colleagues from Camp 60, had left behind a work of art cherished to this day by the people of Orkney, proving that even in the darkest days of war, the goodness of mankind can and does shine through.
The other lasting legacy of the building of the barriers came from the employment here of over 1300 Italian Prisoners of War, captured in North Africa. It is usually forgotten that 800 of these men were housed in camps on Burray. Much better known are the 550 who were housed in Camp 60, on the northern slopes of Lamb Holm.
Today the site of the camp is marked by a statue of St George constructed from barbed wire coated in concrete. And it is also marked by a true masterpiece, the Italian Chapel. This was constructed by prisoners to serve the camp, and remains a lasting monument to the prisoners and to the Orcadians who befriended them.'
Information courtesy of Stuart Crowther
