War Memorials at Lunna
Shetlopedia - The Shetland Encyclopaedia
There are different War Memorials at Lunna.
At Lunna House, there is a plaque beside the main door, dedicated to Leif Larsen and The Shetland Bus.
The memorial reads:
- In memory of
- Leif Andreas "Shetlands" Larsen
- and all concerned with the Shetland Bus
- Unveiled by his dauther Astrid
- 3 August 1981.
Lunna Kirkyard
A plaque is mounted on the kirkyard wall at Lunna Kirk.
The memorial reads:
In memory of the Norwegian seamen lost at sea
during the Second World War
1939-45
interred in this cemetery.
Known only to God.
Til minne de norske sjømenn som mistet livt på havet under den annen verdenskrig
1939-45
begravet på denne kirkegarden.
Kjent bare av Gud.
Placed by the Shetland-Norwegian Friendship Society
One of the wargraves has the insciption :Ein ukjend sjømann -- gravlagt 9-6-1942
The other has the inscription : Ein ukjend norsk sjømann fra D/S "Hop" torpedert 4-2-1940 og gravlagt 15-2-1940.
It has an additional plaque at it's base.
- It Reads :
- HER ER GRAVLAGT 1 AV MANNSKAPET PÅ D/S "HOP" AV BERGEN, TORPEDERT 4.2.1940
LIVBÅT HAVARERT VED MUNESS, UNST 7.2.1940
- ØVRIG MANNSKAP GRAVLAGT PÅ
- BALLIASTA, UNST 8
- EASTING, UNST 3
- FETLAR 3
- HERE IS BURIED 1 OF THE CREW MEMBERS ON S/S "HOP" FROM BERGEN, TORPEDOED 4-2-1940. THE LIFEBOAT WAS WRECKED AT MUNESS, UNST 7-2-1940
- OTHER CREW BURIED AT:
- BALLIASTA, UNST 8
- EASTING, UNST 3
- FETLAR 3
The last memorial on Lunna Kirkyard is not really a war memorial, but it has strong connections to the wartime.
The Memorial is for David Armine Howarth, who ran the Shetland Bus operation from Lunna House and Scalloway.
The Memorial reads :
- IN PROUD AND LOVING MEMORY OF
- DAVID ARMINE HOWARTH
- 28 JULY 1912 - 2 JULY 1991
- NAVAL OFFICER, BOATBUILDER AND AUTHOR WHO FROM LUNNA HOUSE AND LATER FROM SCALLOWAY, RAN THE 'SHETLAND BUS' OPERATION FROM 1941 TO 1945
- WHO LOVED THESE ISLANDS DEARLY
- AND WHOSE ASHES WERE SCATTERED, AS HE WISHED, ON THE WATERS OF LUNNA BAY.
- TAKE HOME HIS NAME IN YOUR HEART: FOR HE WAS "A BRILLIANT WRITER, FULL OF GRACE, AND WIT, AND SOLID COMMON SENSE."
