Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands The Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Orkneys and Shetlands Command; they were charged with the administration of the Orkney and Shetland Islands and operating and defending the fleet base at Scapa Flow that was the main anchorage for both the Home Fleet and Grand Fleet at various times. The Orkney and Shetland command was usually only formed at the outbreak of war to provide for the defence and administration of the main base for the
British occupation of the Faroe Islands and Faroese women; the British Consul, Frederick Mason (1913–2008) also married a local woman, Karen Rorholm. The Faroe Islands suffered occasional attacks by German "Luftwaffe" aircraft in the course of the war, but an invasion was never attempted. Drifting sea mines proved to be a considerable problem and resulted in the loss of numerous fishing boats and their crews. The trawler "Nýggjaberg" was sunk on 28 March 1942 near Iceland; 21 Faroese seamen were killed in the worst single loss of Faroese lives in the war. During the war, Faroese ships had to hoist the Faroese flag and paint FAROES