Orkney Image Library

This field was actually called the "marshy field" the field at the back of Quoybanks Crescent was called the "back field".
[I take your point, but thought of this as a 'back field' too, from the Kirklands Road perspective- though the top bit where the camp was was 'The Logs'. Lindsay- keep me right here!- Steven]

This field was always wet, even on the hottest day. I remember Harry Kerr keeping ponies here.Many a happy day spent playing football, rugby cricket etc and further along was the garages where hide & seek was the number one game.

See also picture #11272

During my seven years at 23 Kirklands Road this area was always known to me as the Back Field. Further up was the area of 'Logs'but this was the reserve of the Quoybanks kids. Known as the logs because there were numerous large square sectioned pieces of wood there. I've no idea what their former use had been. The back field was rather marshy with an area of rushes at the bottom roughly where Garden House is now. I remember walking through these wearing rubber boots and the rushes (segs) being taller than me. Still got soaked though. There was a ditch that ran diagonally down the field and a flat area behind Number 23 where we played football prior to Broadsands Road becoming the place to go. The 'pitch' grass was kept short by Harry Kerr's ponies. I remember also after the construction of the 'gritty road' to access the garages at the rear of Kirklands Road the topsoil was left for a number of years and became known as the 'mound' What fun we had there. At one time the 'bigger boys' hollowed out a section in the middle and roofed it over. This was accessed by a tunnel in from the side! My Dad wouldn't let me near and for obvious safety reasons but at the time I thought it most unfair. It lasted a few days before the whole thing collapsed. Thankfully it was unoccupied at the time. I have a photo of the Kirklands Road 'bus line' kids that I'll post here soon. Sylvia reminds me of playing Hide and Seek among the garages and my mother regularly having to remove tar from my clothes as a consequence. All the garages seemed to be lagered in the stuff, I can still remember the smell. I also have memories of a story regarding two racer bikes and a tin of creosote in one of these garages but that may be best left for another day!.........

Term "Back Field" would have been used as Steven suggests depending where you lived - to me it referred to the area where 1-7 Summerdale Drive is, behind Kirklands Road was the marshes. The whole area from King Haakon St to Broadsands was very territorial, you were in trouble if caught in the wrong street, especially on your own. Had many a chasing from members of the King Haakon Street gang when seen in "their street". Living in Quoybanks Cres had to go to school along Earl Thorfinn Street and up Clay Loan when gang spirits were running high. Recall one Quoybanks v King Haakon Street "gang" confrontation, where Craigie Cres is now, when bows and arrows were used, the arrows had lighted rags attached! During friendly times we arranged "inter street" football matches, some of us even played for Quoybanks Celtic and built changing rooms using those logs referred to by Lindsay. Aye we were never bored and at times could run like the wind!!

The logs were supports from the ww2 boom defence in the flow, there was another pile of them at picky next the peedie sea. I think Bill Squeak originally owned most of them. The seggy field was on the other side of the new (new?) Holm Branch junction, the old pill box is still there. I dont know where these "gangs" and "confrontations" came from, these must have been naughty children who came later. I'm not surprised that they could run like the wind if they had flaming arrows stuck up their[connection timed out]

Thats interesting about the logs, Squeek bought them from Lyness about 1956-7 era. They were bolted together and had galvanised tanks in the middle, we put them in the water at Lyness and Jimmy Newlands towed them to Scapa with the old Chondrus, Squeek dismantled them, I think he sold the tanks to the farmers for drinking troughs, I am fairly sure this is the story of your logs.....

I have a catalogue of Raf aerial Oblique photographs which are held by RCAHMS in Edinburgh. There is a cracker of the back field in 1948 with a lot of the nissan huts still there, you can see the bases of the accomodation huts where Royal Oak Road is now. Because of copyright laws it cant be published here shame! interesting story about the logs tho!