Rockall. Wikipedia image.

Today marks the 70th anniversary of what was probably the last time that the British Empire grew. On September 18, 1955, Rockall was annexed by the British Crown. It consists of a piece of granite sticking up 56 feet (17 meters) from the ocean.  I assume it’s named because, well, it’s all rock and nothing else.  You can find it on Google Maps at this link.  If you look at the satellite image, there is a little smudge close to (but not directly at) the pin where Google has it located.

Four sailors were hoisted onto the tiny islet by a helicopter and hoisted the Union Jack. In 1972, the tiny island was made part of Scotland, which is the closest land at about 187 miles (301 km) distant.

The annexation was prompted by a test of Britain’s first guided nuclear missile, which was to take place over the North Atlantic. Since it was supposed that the tiny island might serve as a vantage point for the Soviets to monitor the test, it was important to assert sovereignty.

A fairly large percentage of the visitors to Rockall have been amateur radio operators. While the Island does not have DXCC status, it does constitute an Islands On The Air (IOTA) island. One DXpedition is documented at this link, where it is noted that this was only the sixth time in history that humans had stayed overnight on the island.  Another DXpedition ran into trouble, and it was determined that the best course of action was to make a Mayday call and be rescued by the Royal Coast Guard.