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In the First and Second World Wars, the main Atlantic Operations HQ was set up at the naval base of Lyness on Hoy. Today the naval presence is long gone and modern tankers and oil supply vessels mix with small and large fishing boats in the crowded harbours. But it is what lies beneath the waves of Scapa Flow that makes Orkney a magnet for today’s sports divers.

For seven long months from November 1918, 74 of the finest warships of the Imperial German Navy’s High Seas Fleet had been interned at Scapa Flow as a condition of the Armistice, which halted the fighting that November. The interned Fleet of powerful warships was made up of five battlecruisers, 11 battleships, eight cruisers and 50 torpedo-boat destroyers. Built up over the preceding 20 years in a naval arms race with Britain, the High Seas Fleet had been created at huge cost to the German nation to challenge the traditional naval supremacy of Britain.

The mighty force of the High Seas Fleet had not been surrendered to the British - nor had it been crushed in any sea battle. The German land forces however were however facing defeat and their leaders had pressed for surrender terms with the Allies. The High Seas Fleet, which had not fought against the Royal Nay in any significant fleet action since the Battle of Jutland in 1916, was a pawn in those negotiations. It had survived the War relatively intact and could still pose a significant and potent threat if the Armistice broke down and fighting recommenced.