Orkney Image Library

It certainly housed pupils from the North and South isles for a couple of decades. Initially it was all female, and then boys were included by the 1960s. The building in photo(2) was used as staff quarters, where the matron, Miss Swanson and her dachshund Penny lived.The P.O still retained other buildings on the site at that time.

Council Roads Dept were there for a while in the 70's, and it was the school hostel in the 60's

Originally used as a hostel for the GPO engineers and men digging in the cables around Orkney before and during the war. then used as the school hostel. Lastly and still the youth hostel. The licensing office moved there from Broad St.

What you're looking at in this picture is the "Lower Block" of the School Hostel as it was from the late 40s till the Papdale Halls of Residence were opened. I lived here for 6 years from 1951 to 1957. All the blocks next to the field were hostel accommodation. The window third from the left in this picture was the room I occupied! The "Upper Block", just beyond this part, was much smaller and housed only a few girls. During the war, the building had been a barracks and, while we lived there, it was still very much like a barracks! The furniture was bare plywood, we had camp beds with army blankets on and the black-out curtains were still at the windows. It was primitive, to say the least. But character-building, I guess. It was a tough life, but we all have many happy memories.
The buildings to the right of the Hostel were occupied by GPO employees and there was a high fence between the two parts - just in case, I presume!!

I think they were once the youth hostel, good job Eric Stout (Robertsons) came along and is building houses that look the same as they do across the road.

THe council roads department were there in the seventies and I also think the GPO were there . It was the school hostel in the sixties.

The accommodation was open to all GPO staff (Postal and Engineering), I remember the late Jacky Brodie telling me that he stayed in the Old Scapa Road "Hilton".

I remember Jacky Brodie very well at the Hostel - and Jimmy Innes, who worked on the telephone exchange. As we had the exchange in Stronsay, I had spoken to him frequently before I came to Kirkwall so he sort of knew me. The result was that I got all my phonecalls home free if he was on duty. That meant a great deal in those days!!

thats the orkney youth hostel i use to live there