PERHAPS the new Shetland Bus film Hearts Across The Sea was summed up best at last night’s (Wednesday) premiere to invited guests when Leslie Watt said from the audience that “you were laughing one minute, and crying the next”.
Guests turned out in force to the UHI Shetland campus in Scalloway to get a first glimpse at Claire White and Jonathon Bulter’s impressive new 30-minute documentary.
With interviews featuring wartime memories interspersed with historical footage and modern day clips, it does indeed cover the gamut of emotions – and manages to somehow distil World War II’s Shetland Bus story into just half an hour.
It is also expertly shot by Bulter, with crisp-clear footage allied with impressive drone work; “I never knew Shetland looked so beautiful,” Watt joked.
Leslie’s mother Lexie Watt happens to be one of the stars of the film as she recalled a Norwegian sailor who visited Scalloway – “een o da Shetland Bus boys”. We won’t ruin the story, but it is a heartwarming tale.
Much of the film is anchored by Bill Moore, the Shetland Bus Friendship Society trustee and source of great historical knowledge, who retells the story of the Shetland Bus – the undercover World War II operation between Shetland and the Nazi-occupied Norway, which unfortunately claimed 44 lives.
It is a daring story of wartime solidarity that is well known throughout Shetland, Norway and beyond – particularly in Scalloway, which ended up being the base for the operation.
Hearts Across The Sea is now set to help open up the Shetland Bus story to the next generation, with the video set to go online and a 10-minute edit being made for schools.
The wartime memories come via the minds of Lexi Watt, Tommy Isbister and Douglas Smith, while there are other contributions from a range of voices both local and Norwegian.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
Some of the contributions from Norway include from those taking part in the Liberation Convoy last year to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, and Astrid Larsen, the daughter of famed Shetland Bus hero Leif Larsen.
The convoy saw a flotilla of boats sail from Norway to Shetland, including some of the vessels used in the Shetland Bus operation.
Speaking in a Q&A after the film’s presentation, White said it quickly became clear that the Liberation Convoy – which solidified Shetland and Norway’s bond under sunshine last May – would be a “feast for the senses and emotions”.
The film took around 12 months in total to finish, supported by funding from the Scalloway Museum and Salmon Scotland.
Showing how much the project meant to her, White struggled to hold back the emotions when she spoke about the time her interviewees gave her.
“It was the privilege of the project to speak to that folk,” she said.
Bulter meanwhile said a key challenge was taking the hours of footage and edit it down to make it “digestible”.
All is not lost, however; the pair confirmed that the unedited footage will be made accessible via Scalloway Museum. “It’s over a terabyte,” White said. “It’s mair than a hard drive’s worth!”
Speaking in the college foyer after the screening as folk grabbed some nibbles, Moore – whose father owned Scalloway’s William Moore & Sons shipyard, where repairs were made to Norwegian boats – said White and Bulter had done a “wonderful job”.
“If you consider the interest in the museum,” he added, “it’s astonishing just how much interest there is.
“A lot of folk have never heard of it [the Shetland Bus] before, but it really has a great appeal because I think it was different in many ways to a lot of the wartime activities.”
It is clear that the new film is only going to widen the appeal of the Shetland Bus story, further imprinting it the minds – and hearts – of people not just around these parts, but much further afield.
Anyone wishing to see it for themselves can get a first glimpse at a free public screening at the Scalloway UHI campus next Wednesday (20 May) from 7pm.
Also being shown at that event will be White and Bulter’s Hands Across the Hills, a new short music film documenting Jan Baalsrud’s 1943 escape from occupied Norway when a Shetland Bus mission went badly wrong.
Before that, however, will be a commemoration and wreath-laying at the Shetland Bus memorial in Scalloway on Sunday at 3pm to mark Norway’s Constitution Day.
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
Removal of third-party ads;
Bookmark posts to read later;
Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
Hide membership messages;
Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
