Domenico Chiocchetti recruited a squad of other craftsmen plasterers, blacksmiths and electricians from among the other prisoners and set to work.

Concrete was also used by the POWs to build a statue of St George and the Dragon (right) outside the Italian Chapel (Picture Orkney Library Archives)

The corrugated iron was hidden by plasterboard an  altar  constructed  and a  huge  mural  of the Madonna and Child  painted.    Ornate iron work created a sanctuary screen.

The   interior  of  the  chapel was  painted  to resemble   brickwork  and  then  outside   an impressive  facade  with  a belfry was built to disguise the Nissen hut.

The most impressive part of the chapel interior is the  beautiful  altarpiece, painted  by  Chiocchetti, depicting the Madonna and Child surrounded by cherubs.    Around  her  is a scroll  which  reads "Regina pacis ora pro nobis"    (Queen of Peace pray for us).

Jesus holds in his hand an olive branch, while the cherub on  the  bottom right is sheathing a sword, both symbols of peace. The cherub on the left holds a shield bearing the heraldic badge of Moena, Chiocchetti's home town.

The main  picture is based on  the painting & Madonna of the Olives by Nicolo Barabina (1832-1891) . This  picture  was on a Christmas card that Chiocchetti received from his mother, which he always carried in his wallet.

The front facade of the chapel is made of concrete, concealing its humble origins.

With the help of Sergeant Pennisi who came across from the other camp, we planned the front, said Signor Chiocchetti.   Bruttapasta worked  on it  and  we erected an  impressive
facade  to  hide the  ugly  outline of the hut. It even had gothic pinnacles cast in clay and finished in cement. The head of Christ was the work of Pennisi.

My commandant wanted to take a photograph of the outside at once, but there was a gap in the facade. There was no bell. I didn't  lose heart but cut one out of cardboard and fixed it in place.    Later we  found a real  bell  from  a ship and the outside was completed with a  new cement roof.

When the Italians left Orkney, Chiocchetti remained behind to finish the chapel. The last thing to be completed was the stoop for the holy water. Once it was finished he left Orkney to  rejoin his  comrades,  leaving behind  him a small piece of Italy on a barren Orkney island. He spent his last  ten  months of  captivity at Kew before returning home to his family in February 1946, six years and eight months after leaving them.

Before he left, a special service was held with a recording of the bells and choir of St Peter's, Rome, playing from the belfry.

The war ended and the camp was dismantled. The chapel might have fallen into ruins and been lost forever, but for the concern of a small group of dedicated Orcadians.

In 1958, a chapel preservation committee was formed. A series of repairs was carried out, financed by the contributions of visitors.

Signor Chiocchetti was traced living in the village of Moena and, in 1960, with the help of the BBC  who  had  broadcast programmes about the chapel in Italy, he returned to Orkney and helped to restore some of the paintwork which his genius had created back in the 1940s.

On Sunday,   April 10,  1960,  a service of rededication in the  chapel  was attended by 200 Orcadians of all denominations. Signor Chiocchetti was the first to receive Holy Communion.

When he returned to Italy the following week, he left a moving message to Orcadians.

The interior of the Italian Chapel (Picture Orkney library Archives)

He said:   The chapel is yours  for you to love
and   preserve.   I take  with  me  to  Italy  the remembrance of your kindness and wonderful hospitality.   I shall remember always, and my children shall learn from me to love you.

In the mid-1990s, the first significant restoration in 30 years was carried out to ensure the Italian Chapel remains open for decades to come.

Under the  supervision of local artist   Mr  Gary Gibson, work was undertaken which should now last well into the 21st century.

The minimum of paintwork was carried out to keep  it  as  original  as   possible but   the depredations of time meant that many of the original nails and plane areas had to be treated. Panelling mainly around the windows had been spoiled by water so they were strengthened by additional wood struts.

It was  discovered  that the  main  iron  structures and  wooden  strapping were sound and although modern materials were used during the repair work, care was taken to ensure that the nearest equivalents to the original fabrics were used.

Domenico Chiocchetti died in Moena on May 7, 1999. His wife and family returned to the little chapel that was so dear to him for a memorial service on June 9, 1999, conducted by Bishop Mario Conti. His daughter Letizia remembered what the chapel meant to her father;

We grew up with this little story. When we grew up we realised it must have been very important for him. Even though he was a prisoner he left a piece of his heart in Orkney.

"As part of a visiting group from the Italian town of Moena, Angela and Letizia Chiocchetti made a return pilgrimage last week to the Italian Chapel of Lamb Holm, created by their father Domenico, during his time in Orkney as a prisoner of war.

They were visiting Orkney as part of a group of singers, instrumentalists,   family  members,   councillors and representatives of the Roman Catholic church. There was a service in the Italian Chapel, during which the visitors from Moena played and sang, and in the evening they gave a performance in St. Magnus Cathedral. Signor Chiocchetti's widow is now 83, and was not able to make the journey to Orkney."

The 60th anniversary exhibition opens on Monday, March 18, at the Stromness Museum
and will run throughout the year. Museum opening times are 10 am to 5 pm seven days a week from  April to September.  From October to March the museum's opening times  are  Monday to Saturday, from 11 am until 3.30 pm.

The Orcadian Limited, Hell's Half Acre, Hatston, Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland

http://www.orcadian.co.uk

E-Mail-sales@orcadian.co.uk

Our grateful thanks to "The Orcadian" and original Author "Tom Muir" for allowing us to re-publish this article

Submitted by Kathy Danby