Orkney Wireless Museum facts for kids
The Orkney Wireless Museum in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland, is a special place. It shows off many old radios and communication devices. These items were used both at home and by the military. The museum started from the private collection of Jim MacDonald from St Margaret's Hope. It helps us remember how important wireless communication was in Orkney during World War II.
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About the Museum
The Orkney Wireless Museum is found at Kiln Corner in Kirkwall, Orkney. It is run completely by volunteers. These volunteers help keep the museum open every day from April to September. People from all over the world, called "Friends of the museum," also help raise money for it.
The museum's displays show how important Orkney was during World War II. You can see how wireless radios and Radar helped both soldiers and regular people. Many exhibits also talk about the Home Fleet, which was a big navy group based in Scapa Flow, Orkney.
The museum even has its own Amateur Radio call sign, GB2OWM. During the Orkney Science Festival in September, volunteers use this radio. They talk to other radio stations around the world. They then swap special postcards called QSL cards with the people they talked to.
What You Can See: Museum Exhibits
The museum has a huge collection of old radios for homes and wartime communication gear. Most of these items were made in the UK and the US. You can also see old advertisements and posters. There are many photos showing soldiers during the war. These pictures also show how the Churchill Barriers were built. These barriers were put in place to protect the navy ships in Scapa Flow.
Here are some cool things you might see:
- A No. 19 Tank Set, used in tanks.
- Early recording machines, like the Recordon dictating machine. This machine used flat paper disks to record sound.
- An example of a 1930s Ardent hearing aid.
- A working crystal radio set from around 1912. You can see the crystal and "cat's whisker" part. Visitors can put on headphones and listen to BBC Radio Scotland!
- An original map showing the boom defence in Scapa Flow.
- A radio from a German U-boat submarine.
- A spy radio hidden inside a suitcase.
- Radios used by "Y-service" operators to listen in on enemy messages.
- Many photos showing what life was like in "Fortress Orkney" during the war.
- Old home radios made by companies like Emerson Radio and Philco.
- Radios made in the UK by companies like EKCO.
Museum History
The museum started because of Jim MacDonald's love for radios. He collected many different kinds of radios, both for homes and for the military. In 1983, people convinced him to show his collection. He called it "An Orkney Wireless Museum" and displayed it in his family home in St Margaret's Hope.
Jim MacDonald passed away in 1988. His family then worked to make his dream of a bigger museum come true. In 1990, a special group was set up to run the museum. In 1994, the museum became a member of the Museums and Galleries Commission of Great Britain. The museum also received an award from the Royal Naval Amateur Radio Society. This award was for collecting and showing the history of radio in Orkney and Scapa Flow.
In 1997, the collection moved to Kiln Corner in Kirkwall. This new place was bigger and allowed more items to be shown. The museum has also received many generous donations over the years.
The Founder: Jim MacDonald
James "Jim" MacDonald (1927–1988) grew up in South Ronaldsay, Orkney. He trained to be an electrician and radio repairman. When he was young, radios were changing very fast. He started collecting old and interesting sets that people no longer wanted. This was the start of his amazing collection. It includes rare and expensive radios from famous makers like Marconi and Cossor.
When World War II started in 1939, Jim worked for the War Office. He was a civilian electrician at the big Naval Base in Lyness. He also worked at RAF sites like Netherbutton. This site had one of the world's first working Radar systems. This radar was a special prototype sent from England. It later played a very important part in the Battle of Britain when it was moved to Dover.
After the war, Jim kept collecting as much old equipment as he could. Many of these items were still top secret. It was also hard to collect some items because they were purposely destroyed. This was done to stop too many surplus goods from flooding the market. The equipment Jim collected was very important in battles like the Battle of the Atlantic. All the items in the museum were actually used in active service.
