As part of the national celebration of the Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee, a beacon fire was lit on the slopes of Vaasetter, above Hesswalls at 21:30 on Monday 3rd June. Unfortunately while those baims and adults away in Orkney enjoyed the sight of several beacons on nearby islands, due to the thick mist, our splendid contribution could only be seen by those who made the journey up to the site itself.

There was more to that fire than met the eyes though - it probably had more association with QEII than nearly any other beacon in the country as at the base of it lay the lorry that carried the Queen around on her visit to Fair Isle in 1960, and near the top was at least. part of the hut used by the Isle to celebrate her coronation in 1952. These are their stories...

Both the lorry and the hut arrived on Fair Isle because of the Second World War. The hut was one of the original Navy huts built in 1939 at North Haven, and was about. 33 m (100ft) in length. When no longer needed by the Navy after the war, it was used as a loom shed (with up to 6 looms set up in it) and as a replacement dance hall (as it was much larger than the isle hall at Taft - now the museum). One other advantage of the `Coronation Hall' - as it became known after the Coronation celebrations were held there in 1952 - was the sprung board floor, which according to Georgie gave a 30cm (1 ft) bounce to `The Lancers'! The but was made of about sixteen, approximately 2 m long bolt-together sections and when, around 1960 the hut was sold off, it was easily dismantled and sections of the but were reassembled in several places around the isle. Pieces arrived at Schoolton, Skerryholm, Houll and Barkland, and perhaps also at other crofts on the isle. The Barkland hut (4 of the original 2m sections) was taken by Alec Stout and served as a very useful store for many years before being converted into temporary accommodation in the 1980s and finally a workshop for Michael Stout in the late 1990s - by which time it was in a rapidly decaying state. I flattened it at the end of May and it contributed handsomely to the blaze that temporarily evaporated the gloom on Monday night.
 

Earlier in the evening those watching the film of the Queen's visit will have seen `Leogh Jerry's lorry' having its 15 minutes of fame carrying Her Majesty from South Harbour to Taft (and back), while a couple of hours later the remains of that historic vehicle rose up in celebration of her 50 years on the throne.

The lorry was just one of hundreds that were sold off by the army in the 1950's through newspaper adverts. It was brought to the Shetland from the army depot in Bedfordshire. Once here Leogh Jerry (Stout) repainted it from its khaki brown to a fine Brunswick green, and it was used for all sorts of haulage on Fair Isle. For many years it was the only such vehicle on the island and the only candidate to convey the Queen around at the time. For it's moment of glory it was given a fresh coat of paint, and Alec Warwick from the National Trust (a visiting carpenter) manufactured the steps that probably can still be found lying somewhere at Taft.

When Jimmy Stout moved back to Fair Isle in 1970 he took over haulage operations and the Queen's lorry was laid up.

In 1983 I remember being present at Shirva when the lorry was dragged up the road from Leogh by Dave Wheeler's tractor, and Paul Margetts, an agricultural engineer staying with Dave and Jane at Field, converted the back portion into a fine large trailer. Dave used this for a few years as his main trailer and even after he bought a new silage trailer in 1985 as a stock trailer (because of its large size and wooden floor). It was last used around 1990.

The final move up the hill to the fire at Vaasetter to the Jubilee beacon, seems to be either a fitting or ironic end depending on your point of view.

Glen (with thanks to Georgie and Dave).

THE SILVER JUBILEE BEACON
ON SWEY, FAIR ISLE
6th June 1977