Читать книгу The Isles of Scilly - Rosemary Parslow - Страница 38

During the two World Wars Scilly was host to large numbers of servicemen, and the islands were considered very vulnerable to attack or invasion. In World War I a naval seaplane base was established, first on St Mary’s but later transferred to Tresco, and almost a thousand men were based on the Garrison on St Mary’s. During World War II Scilly became important as a lookout post for German submarines, and additional fortifications were built on St Mary’s, with fighter planes and air-sea rescue launches stationed there. Even so a number of air raids occurred and there was some bomb damage on the islands. It was just prior to World War II that the population of Scilly reached 2,618, the highest yet (excluding temporary summer populations now). This was also the time when the greatest amount of arable land was under cultivation (Lousley, 1971).