Orkney Museum, Tankerness House, Kirkwall
Mon-Sat, 1030-1700
Admission Free

As a little boy in wartime Hoy he sometimes found comic books washed ashore from battleships anchored in Scapa Flow, and he went on to produce cartoon series for 2000 AD and for Eagle and Warrior, for Marvel Comics and D.C. Comics of New York. He spent some years in the RAF and later produced the illustrated series for Star Trek and Dr Who, Thunderbirds and Charlie’s Angels. His wonderfully joyful sense of humour was stimulated from an early age by the Goon Shows on the wireless, and for a time in London he produced publicity material for the programme’s creator, Spike Milligan, and enjoyed much laughter with him. In London too he played guitar in a group that supported The Kinks, and in his last years at Smiddybrae he would delight staff and fellow residents with music and song, and family visits were a time for glasses of wine and laughter.

The story of the remarkable Jim Baikie, and his ability to tackle any challenge with brilliance and flair, is told in this summer exhibition. You can find out more about Jim on the Museum web pages.

Orkney Museum is located in Tankerness House which for three centuries was the home of the Baikie family of Tankerness, hence the name. The north and south wings were originally separate houses for the Cathedral’s sub-chantor, in charge of the music, and the archdean. When the Reformation came, the archdean Gilbert Foulzie became the first Protestant priest and secured both houses and joined them up into the expanded building which we see today, with the arms and initial of him and his wife over the arched gateway.