Fascinating wartime memories of Dalmore Distillery revealed at Invergordon Museum exhibition
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A project investigating wartime activity at Dalmore Distillery launches its exhibition today at Invergordon Museum.
The free exhibition tells the story of activities at the distillery in WWI by the U.S. Navy and in WWII by the RAF.
"It’s a fascinating story," explained Susan Kruse from ARCH, who has helped over 20 people research the activities since January.
"During the First World War, in 1917, the distillery was taken over by the U.S. Navy to assemble mines for laying between Orkney and Norway in the Northern Barrage. The mine components were shipped from the United States to the west coast then transported by rail from Kyle of Lochalsh to Dalmore.
"Mines were assembled in large sheds at Dalmore, then loaded onto U.S. mine-laying ships for deployment. A similar set up was at the Glen Albyn Distillery in Inverness. The story of this U.S. presence in the Highlands, and the Northern Barrage, is an interesting tale which is little known."
The group was fortunate to have access to scans of photographs given to Invergordon Museum by the grandson of a sailor who served at Dalmore. Researchers also uncovered plans, a rare aerial photograph, and other documentation to help tell this story.
There is even a rare survival of a WWI building, the detonator store, which is clearly visible from the A9 as you approach Dalmore from the south.
The mines were deployed from Invergordon, and a special branch line was built along the shore, as well as a new connection from the distillery to the main line. Rails were in such short supply at this time, that they were taken from Aberdeenshire for the line along the shore.
A pier was built in 1918, to allow the mines to be transported directly from the base, but it was completed after the war. It is known today as the Yankee Pier.
The Dalmore and Inverness bases assembled and deployed over 56,000 mines between May and November. After peace was declared the difficult task of retrieving the mines began. Dalmore was handed over to the U.K. Admiralty in 1919, and the U.S. presence came to an end.
In the mid 1920s the land and buildings passed back to Dalmore Distillery. But in 1942 the land to the west of the distillery was again taken over, this time by the RAF who had outgrown the facilities in Invergordon.
The RAF had sites dotted all over Alness and Dalmore, with the distillery land known as the technical area. Detailed plans, some photographs, and blast shelters and foundations of a number of buildings still survive, and we are fortunate to have memories of men and women who served there.
The exhibition is free, and refreshments will be served at this evening's launch. Maps and plans were geo-referenced, with historic details compared to modern remains, and this will be demonstrated during the launch.
Over the summer the display will remain at Invergordon Museum, although it will soon start touring as well. Visitors are advised to phone ahead if coming any distance.
The project was funded by the Cromarty Port Authority and the Orion Group.
