Darrell's Island, Bermuda facts for kids
Darrell's Island is a small piece of land in the beautiful Great Sound of Bermuda. It's located in the southeastern part of the sound, within Warwick Parish. The government of Bermuda owns this island.
Island's Early Days
The island has an interesting past! Back in 1621, a map made by Richard Norwood showed Darrell's Island. But it wasn't called Darrell's Island then. It was known as Captain Tucker's Island. This name probably came from Captain Daniel Tucker, who was the Governor of Bermuda from 1616 to 1619.
After the American Revolutionary War, the Royal Navy bought many islands in the Great Sound, including Darrell's Island. They used these islands for different things in the 1800s. Darrell's Island was even used as a quarantine station. This meant it was a place where people or animals were kept separate to stop diseases from spreading.
During the Second Boer War, which happened from 1899 to 1902, Darrell's Island was used for another purpose. It became a camp for prisoners of war, along with some nearby islands.
Modern History of Darrell's Island
In 1936, a big airline called Imperial Airways built an air station on Darrell's Island. This station was a very important stop for planes flying across the Atlantic Ocean. Both Imperial Airways and Pan American World Airways used it for their scheduled flights.
When World War II began, the island was taken over by the Royal Air Force. It became known as Royal Air Force Bermuda during the war years.
After the war ended, the island went back to being used for regular flights. However, air services soon moved to a new, bigger airport on land called Kindley Air Force Base (which is now Bermuda International Airport).
After that, Darrell's Island was briefly used for making movies. Today, it remains an important part of Bermuda's history.
