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A very poor picture of what I think was the boat my father was on during the war. She was a Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel based at Lyness, though this looks like Scapa. She had no name, just a letter and a number I think. She was built for Sierra Leone but commandeered at the outbreak of war. The skipper's name was Borwick and I think he lived in Victoria Road in Kirkwall. Maybe some of the folk who know more about ships than I do will know something about her. Date estimated.
Picture added on 21 January 2007
I've received more information on the boat from Sylvia Wishart, whose father was the skipper, and must thank her and Peter Burges who relayed the details on to me. The ship's code was NSO C456, NSO standing for Naval Stores Office. She was 60 feet long with a top speed of 12 knots and plied between the Golden Wharf in Lyness and the Fleet carrying essential supplies, relief personnel etc. The skipper was John (or Jock) Borwick, and the other crew members were James Wylie of Kirkwall, Johnny Findlay of Kirkwall, Tommy Thomson of North Ronaldsay and my father Malcolm Sutherland of Flotta, afterwards Kirkwall. I remember Dad speaking about having delivered sailing orders to the masters of tankers that were about to join convoys and him clambering aboard up a rope ladder with the orders in a sealed waterproof envelope between his teeth.
Added by Paul Sutherland on 12 February 2007
Hoy and Walls
