Darrell's Island is a small island within the
Great Sound of
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
. It lies in the southeast of the sound, and is in the north of
Warwick Parish. The island is owned by the Bermuda Government.
Early history
The 1621 version of
Richard Norwood's map of Bermuda shows Darrell's Island at that time appears to have been called ''Captain Tucker's Island'' (''"Ca. Turker Iland"'') presumably for Captain
Daniel Tucker (Governor of Bermuda from 1616 to 1619). What is now known as
Hinson's Island is shown on the same map as Darrell's Island (''"Dorrel Iland"''). The islands of the Great Sound were part of the
Royal Naval land purchases in Bermuda following the
American War of Independence. The Royal Navy used the islands for various purposes in the 19th century. Darrell's Island was also used as a
quarantine station. During the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
, it was used (along with several of its neighbours) as a
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
camp.
Modern history
In 1936,
Imperial Airways built an air station on Darrell's Island. This operated as a staging point on scheduled trans-Atlantic flights by Imperial Airways and
Pan American. The island was taken over as
Royal Air Force Bermuda during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. After the war, it returned to civil operation until air services moved to new land-based facilities at
Kindley Field (now
Bermuda International Airport). Subsequently, Darrell's Island was briefly used for film location work.
See also
*
Royal Air Force, Bermuda, 1939-1945
*
Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda
External links
RAF Darrell's Island
Islands of Bermuda
World War II sites of the United Kingdom
Royal Air Force stations of World War II
Warwick Parish
World War II sites in Bermuda
Royal Air Force stations of World War II in Bermuda
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