R01263

 

13th Nov 1939

Craters of first bombs dropped on British soil on Shetland at Sullom Voe, World War II. An unoccupied house (Houll) and a rabbit were the only casualties.The first German plane spotted over Shetland was on 27th October 1939. It was in Sullom, Northmavine that the first German bomb dropped on British soil landed 13th November. The bombs had been trying to hit flying boats that were sheltering in the voe. It was claimed that the only damage the bombs had done was to kill a rabbit. The event made headline news across Britain and a photograph was taken of a man holding two dead rabbits at the site of the crater. One of the photos shows someone holding up a rabbit: it came from J.C. Herd's butcher shop in Lerwick! A popular myth in Shetland is that the song "Run, Rabbit, Run" commemorated this event, as a skit on the ineffectiveness of the German air force, but this is wrong - the song was released before the event.

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