Admiralty Building in 2012

The Admiralty Building was constructed in the period 1955 to 56. It was put to use almost immediately, indeed trials were being carried out by the Admiralty whilst the interior was being decorated. There was a short lull in activities in the late 50’s, followed by further trials under NATO auspices in the early 60’s.

After that there was another lull in activity until 1966. The Admiralty then returned to carry out more trials at intervals until 1977 when the last recorded activity occurred. Throughout the period from 1956 to 1977 an Unst local, Bertie Henderson, had been the caretaker and the building had been shrouded in mystery as far as most RAF servicemen were concerned. The Building was transferred to the RAF in the late 70’s but was not used until the late 80’s. Health & Safety issues, including the lack of an emergency staircase, delayed RAF use. The building was also altered with newly partitioned rooms and other facilities added. During the later part of its life there were changes in functions and I would be interested to hear from anyone who worked in the building at any time.
The photos below were all taken in June 2012. I have not added titles to the rooms as the layout and usage changed over the years. The pictures below show the building as it was when the site was sold in June 2012. (Left click on Pictures to enlarge).
Admiralty Building - Ground Floor

Admiralty Building - Second Floor

Admiralty Building - Third Floor

A hoist was put in as soon as the third storey was added - it was at the south end of the building - it was used by both the Admiralty and the RAF to move equipment up to the top floor.

Admiralty Building – Exterior (the last 3 pictures are from 2011)

 

 

I have previously written 4 sections about the the AdmiraltyBuilding and, because new material is available, I will be writing more in 2013. Links to the previous sections are here:

 

Admiralty Building & Underwater Cables Part 1 (18/9/2011)

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/admiralty-building-and-underwater.htmlAdmiralty

Building & Underwater r Cables Part 2 (2/10/2011)
http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/admiralty-building-and-underwater.htmlAdmiralty

Building & Underwater Cables Part 3 (16/10/2011)
http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/admiralty-building-and-underwater_16.htmlAdmiralty

Building & Underwater Cables Part 4 (30/10/2011)
http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/admiralty-building-and-underwater_30.html





 

CONTENTS LIST
http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/contents-list.html