Two prisoner-of-war nissen huts on the small island of Lamb Holm in the Orkney Isles were linked and converted for use as a chapel by Italians captured in North Africa during World War II. These men had been sent to work on the construction of the Orkney Barriers. A white facade, detailed in red, with a bellcote above and classical portico, provides the entrance to this small chapel. The interior murals were painted by one of the prisoners, Domenico Chiocchetti (1910-99), who also created a statue of St. George slaying the dragon from barbed wire covered with cement. Chiocchetti painted a representation of the Madonna and Child above the altar, based on a famous work by Niccolo Barabino (1832-91). From his home town of Moena in Italy there came the gift of a carved figure of the crucified Christ which was erected as a wayside shrine beside the chapel in 1961. Since the war the chapel has been maintained by a POW Chapel Preservation Committee and is now a popular tourist attraction, with over 100,000 visitors annually. After his return to Italy, Chiocchetti came back twice to view and help restore his chapel. In 2014, three of the Station of the Cross were stolen, but replacement plaques were supplied from Moena. Security measures were installed to prevent further incidents.
