This over 80 year old perimeter fence can now be found around the scrapyard at the Industrial estate on the A862, travelling south towards Beauly. But this is no ordinary fence.

During WW2, the harsh winters were causing major headaches for airfields as mud, stones and other winter debris was causing continuous problems for flying. A number of solutions were offered all very similar in their design and material. Several different types of steel matting were created with up to twelve different designs being used.

A lightweight steel wire mesh. mat was adapted from a First World War idea and designed by Austrian Kurt Sommerfeld.

Sommerfeld track was a steel mat that when arrived, was rolled up in rolls 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in) wide by 23 m (75 ft 6 in) long. The wire netting was stiffened laterally by steel rods giving it a load-carrying capacity while staying flexible enough to be rolled up.

It was so well designed that a full track could be laid, by an unskilled force, in a matter of hours. Each section could be replaced easily if damaged, and the entire track could be lifted and transported by lorry, aeroplane or boat to another location and then reused.

The ground was cleared and, if swampy, a layer of coir or coconut matting laid down. The Sommerfeld tracking was unrolled over the ground, pulled tight by a tractor, bulldozer, or similar vehicle, then fastened to the ground with angle-iron pickets.

A typical runway made of Sommerfeld tracking was 3,000 feet (910 m) by 156 feet (48 m)

Often referred to as ‘tin lino’, Sommerfeld track was introduced in 1941 and widely used by all branches of the military throughout World War Two, as track or temporary runways or whenever hard standing was required quickly.

It originally formed the perimeter of Ogilvie’s sawmill.