1.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
Volunteer Force
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The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reforms in 1881, most of the regiments of the present Territorial Army Infantry, Artillery, Engineers and Signals units are directly descended from Volunteer Force units. During the Crimean War, the War Office had been forced to send militia, the situation had been complicated by the fact that both auxiliary forces were under the control of the Home Office until 1855. Tensions rose between the United Kingdom and France following the Orsini affair, an attempt on Emperor Napoleon III on 14 January 1858. It emerged that the assassin, Felice Orsini had travelled to England to have the bombs used in the attack manufactured in Birmingham. On 29 April 1859 war broke out between France and the Austrian Empire, and there were fears that Britain might be caught up in a wider European conflict. Volunteer corps were to be raised under the provisions of the Volunteer Act 1804, alfred Tennyson captured the spirit of the time by publishing his poem Riflemen Form in The Times on 9 May 1859. As a basis for the units, many communities had rifle clubs for the enjoyment of the sport of shooting, Corps were only to be formed on the recommendation of the county’s lord-lieutenant. The force was liable to be called out “in case of invasion, or of appearance of an enemy in force on the coast, or in case of rebellion arising in either of these emergencies. ”While under arms volunteers were subject to military law and were entitled to be billeted. Members were not permitted to quit the force during actual military service, members were to be returned as “effective” if they had attended eight days drill and exercise in four months, or 24 days within a year. The members of the corps were to provide their own arms and equipment, Volunteers were also permitted to choose the design of their uniforms, subject to the lord-lieutenant’s approval. Although volunteers were to pay for their own firearms, they were to be provided under the superintendence of the War Office, the number of officers and private men in each county and corps was to be settled by the war office, based on the lord-lieutenant’s recommendation. Originally corps were to consist of approximately 100 all ranks under the command of a captain, the purpose of the rifle corps was to harass the invading enemy’s flanks, while artillery corps were to man coastal guns and forts. Although not mentioned in the letter, engineer corps were also formed. Stretcher-bearers attached to the rifle corps subsequently formed volunteer medical detachments affiliated to the Army Medical Corps, in a handful of counties, units of light horse or mounted rifles were formed. Two volunteer units whose services had been accepted by Queen Victoria during the early 1850s became the two senior rifle corps of the new force and these were the 1st Rifle Volunteer Corps who became the 1st Devonshire Rifle Volunteers and the Victoria Rifles who became the 1st Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. An order of precedence was established for other counties, depending upon the date of establishment of the first corps in the county. The most senior artillery corps was the 1st Northumberland formed at Tynemouth on August 2,1859, some also compared the initiative, small unit tactics and marksmanship principles of rifle regiments of the Napoleonic Wars compared with the linear tactics of the standing army
3.
Gravesend
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Gravesend /ˌɡreɪvzˈɛnd/ is an ancient town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles east-southeast of Charing Cross on the south bank of the Thames Estuary and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is the centre of the Borough of Gravesham. Its geographical situation has given Gravesend strategic importance throughout the maritime, another theory suggests that the name Gravesham may be a corruption of the words grafs-ham – a place at the end of the grove. Frank Carr asserts that the name derives from the Saxon Gerevesend, in the Netherlands, a place called s-Gravenzande is found with its name translating into Sand belonging to the Count. The s is a contraction of the old Dutch genitive article des, the neighbourhood of Gravesend, Brooklyn in the United States is said by some to have been named for s-Gravenzande. The Domesday spelling is its earliest known record, all other spellings – in the later Domesday Monachorum. A variation, Graveshend, can be seen in a record of 1422, where Edmund de Langeford was parson. The municipal title Gravesham was adopted in 1974 as the name for the new borough, stone Age implements have been found in the locality since the 1900s, as has evidence of an Iron Age settlement at nearby Springhead. Extensive Roman remains have been found at nearby Vagniacae, and Gravesend lies immediately to the north of the Roman road connecting London with the Kent coast – now called Watling Street, Domesday Book recorded mills, hythes, and fisheries here. Milton Chantry is Gravesends oldest surviving building and dates from the early 14th century and it was refounded as a chapel in 1320/21 on the original site of a former leper hospital founded in 1189. Gravesend has one of the oldest surviving markets in the country and its earliest charter dates from 1268, with town status being granted to the two parishes of Gravesend and Milton by King Henry III in its Charter of Incorporation of that year. The first Mayor of Gravesend was elected in 1268, although the first Town Hall was not built until 1573, in 1380, during the Hundred Years War, Gravesend suffered being sacked and burned by the Castilian fleet. In 1401, a further Royal Charter was granted, allowing the men of the town to operate boats between London and the town, these became known as the Long Ferry and it became the preferred form of passage, because of the perils of road travel. On Gravesends river front are the remains of a Tudor fort built by command of King Henry VIII in 1543 and it is not known what caused her death. Her funeral and interment took place on 21 March 1617 at the church of St George. The site of her grave was underneath the chancel, though since the previous church was destroyed by fire in 1727 her exact resting place is unknown. Journeys by road to Gravesend were historically quite hazardous, since the main London-Dover road crossed Blackheath, stagecoaches from London to Canterbury, Dover and Faversham used Gravesend as one of their stages as did those coming north from Tonbridge. In 1840 there were 17 coaches picking up and setting down passengers, there were two coaching inns on what is now Old Road East, the Prince of Orange and the Lord Nelson
4.
Fort Clarence
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Not to be confused with Fort Clarence Fort Clarence is a now defunct fortification that was located in Rochester, Kent, England. The fort was built between 1808 and 1812 to prevent invaders gaining access from Maidstone Road to the River Medway, the work was composed of a long brick revetted dry ditch running between a fortified guardroom on the Rochester-Maidstone Road to a similar tower alongside the Medway. The principal work is a red brick keep, in the style of a medieval castle. In the sides of the tower were embrasures to sweep the ditch with fire, the dry ditch running across St Margarets Street was crossed by drawbridge through a substantial casemated guardhouse in the form of an arch. From the tower ran a series of tunnels to the outlying guardhouses, behind the dry ditch running from the tower down to Maidstone Road was a range of domestic building and barracks. After 1815, the fort served a variety of purposes, including military prison, after nearby Fort Pitt became a military hospital, the patients were moved from Clarence to a new asylum, although the prison remained, with accounts of floggings being given in local newspapers. The fort was used by the garrison throughout the First World War as a recruiting centre. After the war, a large Territorial and Volunteer Reserve centre was built alongside the site, during the Second World War, the Home Guard used Fort Clarence as headquarters and, with the invasion scare, the fort was pressed into service again. During the war, an underground aircraft factory was built under Fort Clarence for use by Short Brothers who had their main factory on the Medway below the fort. After the war, the fort became derelict, then in the mid 1960s the GPO moved in, demolishing all the barracks, filling in a part of the moat. The most substantial remains now are the gun tower and section of ditch from St Margarets Street into the public gardens opposite. Below the gardens — donated to the city of Rochester by former mayor Charles Willis in memory of a son killed in the First World War — is a port with sealed-up door. This connected with tunnel that led to the gun tower and probably to the Medway tower, intruders into the tunnel system would have been greeted by fire from loopholes built into the entrance tunnels walls. The present status of the factory is unknown as the main entrance from the promenade has been built on. The CAV company took over the factory until the late 1980s, the tower was transferred by English Heritage to private developers in the late 1990s and has now been converted to apartments. From the outside, the tower has been restored to pristine condition although there is a contemporary structure added on the roof. On both sides the lowest pair of embrasures appear to be below ground level which indicates that originally the ditch was much deeper and more formidable than it now appears. On the east site, the brow of the hill has also been flattened to allow houses to be built, the tunnel complex is sealed off but maintained by English Heritage
5.
Rochester, Kent
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Rochester is a town and historic city in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, England. It is situated at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles from London, Rochester was for many years a favourite of Charles Dickens, who owned nearby Gads Hill Place, Higham, basing many of his novels on the area. Rochester and its neighbours, Chatham and Gillingham, Strood and a number of outlying villages form a large urban area known as the Medway Towns with a population of about 250,000. These places nowadays make up the Medway Unitary Authority area and it was, until 1998, under the control of Kent County Council and is still part of the ceremonial county of Kent, under the latest Lieutenancies Act. The Romano-British name for Rochester was Durobrivae, later Durobrivis c.730, the two commonly cited origins of this name are that it either came from stronghold by the bridge, or is the latinisation of the British word Dourbruf meaning swiftstream. In later times, the word cæster was added to the name, bede mentions the city in ca.730 and calls it Hrofes cæster, mistaking its meaning as Hrofis fortified camp. From this we get c.730 Hrofæscæstre,811 Hrofescester,1086 Rovescester,1610 Rochester, the Latinised adjective Roffensis refers to Rochester. Neolithic remains have been found in the vicinity of Rochester, over time it has been occupied by Celts, Romans. During the Celtic period it was one of the two centres of the Cantiaci tribe. During the Roman conquest of Britain a decisive battle was fought at the Medway somewhere near Rochester, the first bridge was subsequently constructed early in the Roman period. During the later Roman period the settlement was walled in stone, King Ethelbert of Kent established a legal system which has been preserved in the 12th century Textus Roffensis. In AD604 the bishopric and cathedral were founded, during this period, from the recall of the legions until the Norman conquest, Rochester was sacked at least twice and besieged on another occasion. The medieval period saw the building of the current cathedral, the building of two castles and the establishment of a significant town, Rochester Castle saw action in the sieges of 1215 and 1264. Its basic street plan was set out, constrained by the river, Watling Street, Rochester Priory, the city was raided by the Dutch as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch, commanded by Admiral de Ruijter, broke through the chain at Upnor and sailed to Rochester Bridge capturing part of the English fleet, Rochester has for centuries been of great strategic importance through its position near the confluence of the Thames and the Medway. Rochester Castle was built to guard the crossing, and the Royal Dockyards establishment at Chatham witnessed the beginning of the Royal Navys long period of supremacy. The town, as part of Medway, is surrounded by two circles of fortresses, the line built during the Napoleonic wars consists of Fort Clarence, Fort Pitt, Fort Amherst. During the Second World War, Shorts also designed and manufactured the first four-engined bomber, Rochester and its neighbouring communities were hit hard by this and have experienced a painful adjustment to a post-industrial economy, with much social deprivation and unemployment resulting
6.
Dover
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Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. The town is the centre of the Dover District and home of the Dover Calais ferry through the Port of Dover. The surrounding chalk cliffs are known as the White Cliffs of Dover and its strategic position has been evident throughout its history, archaeological finds have revealed that the area has always been a focus for peoples entering and leaving Britain. The name of the town derives from the name of the river flows through it. There was a barracks in Dover, which was closed in 2007. Although many of the ferry services have declined, services related to the Port of Dover provide a great deal of the town’s employment. Local residents had clubbed together to propose buying it for the community, first recorded in its Latinised form of Portus Dubris, the name derives from the Brythonic word for waters. The same element is present in the towns French and Modern Welsh forms, subsequent name forms included Doverre, The current name was in use at least by the time of Shakespeares King Lear, in which the town and its cliffs play a prominent role. The sight of the cliffs when approaching Dover may have given the island of Britain its ancient name of Albion. Dover’s history, because of its proximity to France, has always been of strategic importance to Britain. Archaeological finds have shown there were Stone Age people in the area. Some Iron Age finds exist also, but the coming of the Romans made Dover part of their communications network, like Lemanis and Rutupiae Dover was connected by road to Canterbury and Watling Street, and it became Portus Dubris, a fortified port. Forts were built above the port, lighthouses were constructed to guide passing ships, Dover figured largely in the Domesday Book as an important borough. It also served as a bastion against various attackers, notably the French during the Napoleonic Wars and it was one of the Cinque Ports during medieval times. Dover is near the extreme south-east corner of Britain between Deal and Folkestone and this led to the silting up of the river mouth by the action of longshore drift, the town was then forced into making artificial breakwaters to keep the port in being. These breakwaters have been extended and adapted so that the port lies almost entirely on reclaimed land. The higher land on either side of the valley – the Western Heights, the town has gradually extended up the river valley, encompassing several villages in doing so. Little growth is possible along the coast, since the cliffs are on the sea’s edge, the railway, being tunnelled and embanked, skirts the foot of the cliffs
7.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
8.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
9.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
10.
Royal Artillery
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The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery, is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name Royal Regiment of Artillery it actually consists of 13 Regular Regiments and 5 Reserve Regiments, the introduction of artillery into the English army came as early as the Battle of Crécy in 1346. Henry VIII made the armys artillery semi-permanent in the sixteenth century, before the 18th century, artillery traynes were raised by royal warrant for specific campaigns and disbanded again when they were over. On 26 May 1716, however, by warrant of George I two regular companies of field artillery, each 100 men strong, were raised at Woolwich. The title Royal Artillery was first used in 1720, in 1741 the Royal Military Academy was formed in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich to provide training for RA and Royal Engineers officers. The regiment expanded rapidly and, by 1757, had 24 companies divided into two battalions, as well as a company formed in 1741. During 1748, the presidential artilleries of Bengal, Madras and Bombay were formed,1756 saw the creation of the Royal Irish Regiment of Artillery. In 1762 the Royal Artillery Band was formed at Minden, by 1771 there were 32 companies in four battalions, as well as two invalid companies comprising older and unfit men employed in garrison duties. During 1782, the regiment moved to the Royal Artillery Barracks on Woolwich Common, in January 1793, two troops of Royal Horse Artillery were raised to provide fire support for the cavalry, augmented by two more in November 1793. The Royal Irish Artillery was absorbed into the RA in 1801, during 1805, the Royal Military Academy moved to Woolwich Common. In 1819, the Rotunda was given to the regiment by the Prince Regent to celebrate end of the Napoleonic Wars, in 1832, the regimental motto, Ubique Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt, was granted. The motto signified that the regiment had seen action in all the conflicts of the British Army. The regiment was under the control of the Board of Ordnance until the board was abolished in 1855, thereafter the regiment came under the War Office along with the rest of the army. The School of Gunnery established at Shoeburyness, Essex in 1859, the third group continued to be titled simply Royal Artillery, and was responsible for ammunition storage and supply. Which branch a gunner belonged to was indicated by metal shoulder titles, the RFA and RHA also dressed as mounted men, whereas the RGA dressed like foot soldiers. In 1920 the rank of Bombardier was instituted in the Royal Artillery, the three sections effectively functioned as separate corps. This arrangement lasted until 1924, when the three amalgamated once more to one regiment. In 1938, RA Brigades were renamed Regiments, during the World War II there were over 1 million men serving in 960 gunner regiments
11.
Port of Dover
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The Port of Dover is the cross-channel port situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. The port has been owned and operated by the Dover Harbour Board, most of the board members are appointees of the Department for Transport. The port has its own police force, the Port of Dover Police. The harbour is divided two sections, the Eastern Docks and the Western Docks, about 1 kilometre apart. There are three services to France operating from the nine docks and associated departure buildings of the Eastern Docks. Up to 29 ferries daily to Calais, DFDS Seaways,3 ships in service. Up to 12 ferries daily to Dunkirk, DFDS Seaways,2 ships in service. Up to 10 ferries daily to Calais, the eastern docks also used to be served by the now defunct MyFerryLink, LD Lines and Sea France. The adjacent freight terminal can be used by a ship of up to 180 metres, Dovers eastern docks were used for ship breaking beginning during World War I when the Admiralty began dismantling ships there. The Stanlee Shipbreaking and Salvage Co. Ltd. took over the ship breaking operation commercially in 1920, many of the ships broken up were naval vessels from the First World War. The company also handled machinery and general scrap, including the dismantling of the Dover Promenade Pier, the yard began to shrink after World War II and was finally forced to close in 1964 to make way for a new car ferry terminal. In 1966 well over 600,000 accompanied vehicles travelled through Dovers eastern docks en route to France or Belgium and this part of the port is formed by the western arm of the harbour, Admiralty Pier, and its associated port facilities. It was initially used as a terminal for the Golden Arrow, the railway station closed in 1994. The Western Docks were also used from 1968 to the early 2000s for a hovercraft service run by Hoverspeed. Hoverspeed also ran services until being declared bankrupt in 2005. Another catamaran service ran from 2004 until November 2008 run by the ship of SpeedFerries, SpeedOne. The Hoverport has now been demolished for re-development, the railway station, with its platforms filled in to create a roofed car park and new buildings added, re-opened as the Dover Cruise Terminal in the 1990s. It can accommodate up to three ships at a time
12.
Western Front (World War I)
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The Western Front or Western Theater was the main theatre of war during World War I. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, the tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. This line remained unchanged for most of the war. Between 1915 and 1917 there were several major offensives along this front, the attacks employed massive artillery bombardments and massed infantry advances. However, a combination of entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire, as a result, no significant advances were made. In an effort to break the deadlock, this front saw the introduction of new technology, including poison gas, aircraft. But it was only after the adoption of improved tactics that some degree of mobility was restored, the German Armys Spring Offensive of 1918 was made possible by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that marked the end of the conflict on the Eastern Front. In spite of the stagnant nature of this front, this theatre would prove decisive. The terms of peace were agreed upon with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, belgiums neutrality was guaranteed by Britain under the 1839 Treaty of London, this caused Britain to join the war at the expiration of its ultimatum at 11 pm GMT on 4 August. Armies under German generals Alexander von Kluck and Karl von Bülow attacked Belgium on 4 August 1914, Luxembourg had been occupied without opposition on 2 August. The first battle in Belgium was the Siege of Liège, which lasted from 5–16 August, Liège was well fortified and surprised the German Army under von Bülow with its level of resistance. German heavy artillery was able to demolish the main forts within a few days. Following the fall of Liège, most of the Belgian field army retreated to Antwerp, leaving the garrison of Namur isolated, with the Belgian capital, Brussels, although the German army bypassed Antwerp, it remained a threat to their flank. Another siege followed at Namur, lasting from about 20–23 August, for their part, the French had five armies deployed on their borders. The pre-war French offensive plan, Plan XVII, was intended to capture Alsace-Lorraine following the outbreak of hostilities, on 7 August the VII Corps attacked Alsace with its objectives being to capture Mulhouse and Colmar. The main offensive was launched on 14 August with 1st and 2nd Armies attacking toward Sarrebourg-Morhange in Lorraine, in keeping with the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans withdrew slowly while inflicting severe losses upon the French. The French advanced the 3rd and 4th Armies toward the Saar River and attempted to capture Saarburg, attacking Briey and Neufchateau, before being driven back
13.
The Blitz
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By September 1940—two months into the battle—faulty German intelligence suggested that the Royal Air Force was close to defeat at the hands of the Luftwaffe. The German air fleets were ordered to attack London, thereby drawing up the last remnants of RAF Fighter Command into a battle of annihilation, Adolf Hitler and commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, sanctioned the change in emphasis on 6 September 1940. From 7 September 1940, one year into the war, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 out of the following 57 days, on 15 September 1940, a large daylight attack against London was repulsed with significant German losses. Thereafter, the Luftwaffe gradually decreased daylight operations in favour of nocturnal attacks, ports and industrial centres outside London were also attacked. The main Atlantic sea port of Liverpool was bombed, the North Sea port of Hull, a convenient and easily found target or secondary target for bombers unable to locate their primary targets, was subjected to raids in the Hull Blitz during the war. More than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged and more than 40,000 civilians were killed, by May 1941, the threat of an invasion of Britain had ended, and Hitlers attention turned to Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The bombing failed to demoralise the British into surrender or significantly damage the war economy, the eight months of bombing never seriously hampered British production and the war industries continued to operate and expand. The German offensives greatest effect was forcing the dispersal of aircraft production, British wartime studies concluded that cities generally took 10 to 15 days to recover when hit severely but exceptions like Birmingham took three months. The German air offensive failed for several reasons, discussions in OKL revolved around tactics rather than strategy. Poor intelligence on British industry and economic efficiency was also a factor, in the 1920s and 1930s, air power theorists Giulio Douhet and Billy Mitchell espoused the idea that air forces could win wars, without a need for land and sea fighting. It was thought there was no defence against air attack, particularly at night, enemy industry, seats of government, factories and communications could be destroyed, taking away their means to resist. It was also thought the bombing of residential centres would cause a collapse of civilian will, democracies, where the populace was allowed to show overt disapproval of the state, were thought particularly vulnerable. This thinking was prevalent in both the RAF and the United States Army Air Corps, the policy of RAF Bomber Command became an attempt to achieve victory through the destruction of civilian will, communications and industry. In the Luftwaffe, there was a view of strategic bombing. OKL did not believe that air power alone could be decisive, contrary to popular belief, evidence suggests that the Luftwaffe did not adopt an official bombing policy in which civilians became the primary target until 1942. The vital industries and transport centres that would be targeted for shutdown were valid military targets and it could be claimed civilians were not to be targeted directly, but the breakdown of production would affect their morale and will to fight. German legal scholars of the 1930s carefully worked out guidelines for what type of bombing was permissible under international law. Wever outlined five points of air strategy, To destroy the air force by bombing its bases and aircraft factories
14.
North African Campaign
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The North African Campaign of the Second World War took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco, the campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had colonial interests in Africa dating from the late 19th century. The Allied war effort was dominated by the British Commonwealth and exiles from German-occupied Europe, the United States entered the war in December 1941 and began direct military assistance in North Africa on 11 May 1942. Fighting in North Africa started with the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940, on 14 June, the British Armys 11th Hussars crossed the border from Egypt into Libya and captured the Italian Fort Capuzzo. Information gleaned via British Ultra code-breaking intelligence proved critical to Allied success in North Africa, victory for the Allies in this campaign immediately led to the Italian Campaign, which culminated in the downfall of the fascist government in Italy and the elimination of a German ally. On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht had started the Battle of France, one month later, it was plain to see that France would have to surrender within two weeks. On 10 June 1940, the Kingdom of Italy aligned itself with Nazi Germany and declared war upon France, British forces based in Egypt were ordered to undertake defensive measures, but to act as non-provocatively as possible. However, on 11 June they began a series of raids against Italian positions in Libya, following the defeat of France on 25 June, Italian forces in Tripolitania—facing French troops based in Tunisia—redeployed to Cyrenaica to reinforce the Italian Tenth Army. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered the Tenth Army to invade Egypt by 8 August, two days later, no invasion having been launched, Mussolini ordered Marshal Graziani that, the moment German forces launched Operation Sea Lion, he was to attack. The battle plan was to advance along the road, while limited armoured forces operated on the desert flank. To counter the Italian advance, Wavell ordered his forces to harass the advancing Italians, falling back towards Mersa Matruh. Positioned on the flank was the 7th Armoured Division, which would strike the flank of the Italian force. By 16 September, the Italian force had advanced to Maktila, around 80 mi west of Mersa Matruh, in response to the dispersed Italian camps, the British planned a limited five-day attack, Operation Compass, to strike at these fortified camps one by one. The British Commonwealth force, totalling 36,000 men, attacked the forward elements of the 10-division-strong Italian army on 9 December, following their initial success, the forces of Operation Compass pursued the retreating Italian forces. In January, the port at Bardia was taken, soon followed by the seizure of the fortified port of Tobruk. Some 40,000 Italians were captured in and around the two ports, with the remainder of the Tenth Army retreating along the coast road back to El Agheila. Richard OConnor sent the 7th Armoured Division across the desert, with a reconnaissance group reaching Beda Fomm some ninety minutes before the Italians. Although desperate attempts were made to overcome the British force at the Battle of Beda Fomm, the Italians were unable to break through, and the remnants of the retreating army surrendered
15.
Italian Campaign (World War II)
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The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. It is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, some 60, 000–70,000 Allied and 60, overall Allied casualties during the campaign totaled about 320,000 and the corresponding German figure was well over 600,000. Fascist Italy, prior to its collapse, suffered about 200,000 casualties, mostly POWs taken in the Allied invasion of Sicily, including more than 40,000 killed or missing. Besides them, over 150,000 Italian civilians died, as did 15,197 anti-Fascist partisans and 13,021 troops of the Italian Social Republic. The campaign ended when Army Group C surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on May 2,1945, the independent states of San Marino and the Vatican, both surrounded by Italian territory, also suffered damage during the campaign. Even prior to victory in the North African Campaign in May 1943, the British, especially the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, advocated their traditional naval-based peripheral strategy. The United States, with a larger army, favoured a more direct method of fighting the main force of the German Army in Northern Europe. The ability to such a campaign depended on first winning the Battle of the Atlantic. There was even pressure from some Latin American countries to stage an invasion of Spain, the British argued that the presence of large numbers of troops trained for amphibious landings in the Mediterranean made a limited-scale invasion possible and useful. A contributing factor was Franklin D. Roosevelts desire to keep US troops active in the European theatre during 1943 and it was hoped that an invasion might knock Italy out of the conflict, or at least increase the pressure on them and weaken them further. A combined Allied invasion of Sicily began on 10 July 1943 with both amphibious and airborne landings at the Gulf of Gela, the land forces involved were the U. S. Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, the original plan contemplated a strong advance by the British northwards along the east coast to Messina, with the Americans in a supporting role along their left flank. The defending German and Italian forces were unable to prevent the Allied capture of the island, but succeeded in evacuating most of their troops to the mainland, the Allied forces gained experience in opposed amphibious operations, coalition warfare and mass airborne drops. Forces of the British Eighth Army, still under Montgomery, landed in the toe of Italy on 3 September 1943 in Operation Baytown, the armistice was publicly announced on 8 September by two broadcasts, first by General Eisenhower and then by a proclamation by Marshal Badoglio. Although the German forces prepared to defend without Italian assistance, only two of their divisions opposite the Eighth Army and one at Salerno were not tied up disarming the Royal Italian Army, on 9 September, forces of the U. S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W, although none of the northern reserves were made available to the German 10th Army, it nevertheless came close to repelling the Salerno landing, due mainly to the cautious command of Clark. As the Allies advanced, they encountered increasingly difficult terrain, the Apennine Mountains form a spine along the Italian peninsula offset somewhat to the east, the rivers were subject to sudden and unexpected flooding, which constantly thwarted the Allied commanders plans. This would make the most of the natural geography of Central Italy, whilst denying the Allies the easy capture of a succession of airfields
16.
Faversham
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Faversham /ˈfævərʃəm/ is a market town and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England. The town is 48 miles from London and 10 miles from Canterbury and lies next to the Swale and it is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British trackway which was used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons, and known as Watling Street. The Faversham name is of Latin via Old English origin, meaning the metal-workers village, there has been a settlement at Faversham since pre-Roman times, next to the ancient sea port on Faversham Creek, and archaeological evidence has shown a Roman theatre was based in the town. It was inhabited by the Saxons and mentioned in the Domesday book as Favreshant, the town was favoured by King Stephen who established Faversham Abbey, which survived until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538. Subsequently, the became an important seaport and established itself as a centre for brewing. The town was also the centre of the industry between the 17th and early 20th century, before a decline following an accident in 1916 which killed over 100 workers. This coincided with a revival of the industry in the town. Faversham has a number of landmarks, with several churches including St Mary of Charity, Faversham Parish Church. Faversham Market has been established for over 900 years and is based in the town centre. There are good road and rail links, including a Southeastern service to the High Speed 1 line at Ebbsfleet International, Faversham was established as a settlement before the Roman conquest. The town was less than 10 miles from Canterbury, and consequently Faversham had become established on this road network by 50 AD following the initial conquest by Claudius in 43 AD. In 2013, the remains of a 2, 000-year-old Roman theatre, the cockpit-style outdoor auditorium, the first of its kind found in Britain, was a style the Romans used elsewhere in their empire on the Continent. There is archaeological evidence to suggest that Faversham was a capital for the Saxon kings of Kent. It was held in royal demesne in 811, and is cited in a charter granted by Coenwulf. Coenwulf described the town as the Kings little town of Fefresham, the name has been documented as meaning the metal-workers village, which may derive from the Old English fæfere, which in turn comes from the Latin faber meaning craftsman or forger. The town had established itself as a seaport by the Middle Ages, the Gough Map of Britain, printed in 1360, shows the Swale as an important shipping channel for trade. The manor was recorded as Terra Regis, meaning it was part of the ancient royal estates. King Stephen gave it to his lieutenant, William of Ypres
17.
Folkestone
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Folkestone /ˈfoʊkstən/ is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20th centuries, there has been a settlement in this location since the Mesolithic era. A nunnery was founded by Eanswith, daughter of Æthelberht of Kent in the 7th century, the harbours use has diminished since the opening of the nearby Channel Tunnel and stopping of local ferry services, but still remains in active use. The area of Folkestone has been occupied since at least the Mesolithic era, in 2010, worked flints were discovered below the remains of the Folkestone Roman Villa. The East Cliff area was excavated in 1924 and most recently from 2010 -2011, on the East Cliff, an extensive Iron Age oppidum existed, which produced quern-stones on an almost industrial scale. These querns, or stones used for grinding cereals into flour, were traded for continental exports such as pottery, a modest Roman style villa was constructed over the Iron Age settlement sometime during the first century AD, followed by a more luxurious one in about 200 AD. The villa was abandoned sometime during the third or fourth century for unknown reasons, in 597 AD, monks led by St Augustine arrived at Ebbsfleet on the Isle of Thanet, on a mission from Pope Gregory to re-Christianise Britain. He was greeted by the Anglo Saxon pagan King of Kent, Ethelbert and his Christian Queen, Augustine was granted land in Canterbury where he built his church and outside the walls founded the monastery of St Peter & St Paul - now known as St Augustines. Ethelbert was succeeded as Anglo-Saxon king of Kent by his son Eadbald, in 630 AD, Eanswythe founded a nunnery on the site of her fathers castle near Folkestone by the present parish Church of St Mary & St Eanswythe. Eanswythe died c 640 AD and was made a saint. Her remains were moved into the chancel of the current church in the 12th century and they became the focus of prayer and pilgrimage such that Eanswythe was quickly adopted as the towns patron. The community grew and developed into a monastery until it was dissolved by Henry VIII and they were rediscovered in June 1885 when workmen, carrying out alterations to the high altar, found a battered lead casket immured in a niche in the north wall of the chancel. Examination by archaeologists at the time and again in 1981 confirmed that the casket was of Anglo-Saxon origin and these relics are still housed in the church close to where they were discovered in the north wall of the chancel flanked by a pair of small brass candlesticks. St Eanswythe is celebrated on 12 September each year - the date on which her relics were moved to the present chancel and she also appears on the towns seal with William Harvey, the Folkestone-born, 17th-century physician who discovered the circulation of the blood. A Norman knight held a Barony of Folkestone, which led to its entry as a part of the Cinque Ports in the thirteenth century, at the start of the Tudor period it had become a town in its own right. Wars with France meant that defences had to be built here, at the beginning of the 1800s a harbour was developed, but it was the coming of the railways in 1843 that would have the bigger impact. Until the 19th century Folkestone remained a fishing community with a seafront that was continually battered by storms
18.
Sheerness Dockyard
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Sheerness Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960, in the Age of Sail, the Royal Navy would often establish shore facilities close to safe anchorages where the fleet would be based in home waters. This was the case when, around 1567, a Royal Dockyard was established at Chatham, Kent, at that time, HM Ships would often lay at anchor either within the river, on Chatham Reach or Gillingham Reach, or beyond it, around The Nore. Chatham Dockyard had its disadvantages, however, at the same time, those who were responsible for supplying warships with their weapons, victuals and equipment were obliged to ferry items to and from The Nore using small boats. Possible locations were explored on both the Isle of Grain and the Isle of Sheppey, the Board decided on a location at the north-west tip of Sheppey alongside a 16th-century blockhouse, Sheerness. In 1665 Samuel Pepys, who was Clerk of the Acts of the Navy Board, the situation was overtaken, however, by the escalating Anglo-Dutch conflict, in order to make the ships in The Nore battle-ready, temporary buildings were hastily erected. Both fort and dockyard were left in flames, along with a significant number of the ships moored in the river, in 1666 Sir Bernard de Gomme had been engaged to strengthen the blockhouse on the northern tip of the promontory. After the Dutch raid the following year, a fort was planned. A gateway through this wall, accessed from the dockyard, provided the entrance to the fort. Sheerness Dockyard initially functioned as an extension to that at Chatham and it was conceived primarily for the repair and maintenance of naval ships, with one small exception, no shipbuilding took place until 1691. Low quality housing, the water supply near the dockyard. The first dry-dock was not completed until 1708, a second was added in 1720, the constricted area of land available to the dockyard caused problems for its operation and development. Several hulks were positioned on the close to the dockyard, initially to serve as breakwaters. The space between the hulks were progressively infilled with soil, with new hulks then being added as part of the process, there was no established settlement in the vicinity of Sheerness, so most of the workers were initially housed in the hulks. By 1738, dockyard workers had built the first houses in Sheerness. The grey-blue naval paint they used on the led to their homes becoming known as the Blue Houses. This was eventually corrupted to Blue Town, the modern town of Sheerness has its origins in Mile Town, which was established later in the 18th century at a miles distance from the dockyard. In 1796, following the development of Blue Town, an area of land was enclosed behind a bastioned trace
19.
Blackheath, London
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Blackheath is an area of south-east London, divided between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham, located east of the town of Lewisham, and south of the town of Greenwich. It is notable for its pubs, village-y feel. The name is recorded in 1166 as Blachehedfeld and means the dark coloured heathland and it is formed from the Old English blæc and hǣth and refers to the open space that was the meeting place of the ancient hundred of Blackheath. The name was applied to the Victorian suburb that developed in the 19th century and was extended to the areas known as Blackheath Park. An urban myth is that Blackheath was associated with the 1665 Plague or the Black Death of the mid-14th century, virtually every part of London has a local tradition about plague pits under, say, a local school or shop. The sheer number of bodies meant that the traditional churchyards became, as one put it. During the seventeenth century Blackheath was, along with Hounslow Heath, in 1673 the Blackheath Army was assembled under Marshal Schomberg to serve in the Third Anglo-Dutch War. The Roman road that became known as Watling Street crosses the northern edge of Blackheath, probably heading for the mouth of Deptford Creek. Blackheath was a point for Wat Tylers Peasants Revolt of 1381. Wat Tyler is remembered by Wat Tyler Road on the heath, after pitching camp on Blackheath, Cornish rebels were defeated in the Battle of Deptford Bridge, just to the west, on 17 June 1497. With Watling Street carrying stagecoaches across the heath, en route to north Kent, in 1909 Blackheath had a local branch of the London Society for Womens Suffrage. The Vanbrugh Pits are on the north-east part of the heath, the site of old gravel workings, Vanbrugh Pits have long been reclaimed by nature and form one of the more attractive parts of the generally rather flat Blackheath. It is particularly attractive in spring when the extensive gorse blossoms, the pits are named after Sir John Vanbrugh, architect of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard, who had a house nearby, adjacent to Greenwich Park, now called Vanbrugh Castle. Mince Pie House built for his family, survived until 1911, the sizeable estate of Blackheath Park, created on lands of Wricklemarsh Manor by John Cator is situated east of Blackheath. The Cator Estate was built on part of the formerly owned by Sir John Morden. The Cator Estate also contains innovative 1960s Span houses and flats by the renowned Span Developments, St Michael and All Angels Church, designed by local architect George Smith and completed in 1830, was dubbed the Needle of Kent in honour of its tall, thin spire. All Saints Church, situated on the heath, designed by the architect Benjamin Ferrey, another Anglican church, St John the Evangelists, was designed in 1853 by Arthur Ashpitel. The Pagoda is an example of a beautiful property situated in Blackheath
20.
Greenwich
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Greenwich is an early-established district of todays London, England, centred 5.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross. The town lends its name to the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich is generally described as being part of South-east London and sometimes as being part of East London. Greenwich is notable for its history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian. The town became the site of a palace, the Palace of Placentia from the 15th century. The palace fell into disrepair during the English Civil War and was rebuilt as the Royal Naval Hospital for Sailors by Sir Christopher Wren and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor. These buildings became the Royal Naval College in 1873, and they remained an establishment for military education until 1998 when they passed into the hands of the Greenwich Foundation. The historic rooms within these buildings remain open to the public, other buildings are used by University of Greenwich and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. The town became a resort in the 18th century and many grand houses were built there, such as Vanbrugh Castle established on Maze Hill. From the Georgian period estates of houses were constructed above the town centre, Greenwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created. The place-name Greenwich is first attested in a Saxon charter of 918 and it is recorded as Grenewic in 964, and as Grenawic in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 1013. It is Grenviz in the Domesday Book of 1086, and Grenewych in the Taxatio Ecclesiastica of 1291, the name means green wic or settlement. An article in The Times of 13 October 1967 stated, East Greenwich, gateway to the Blackwall Tunnel, remains solidly working class, the manpower for one eighth of Londons heavy industry. West Greenwich is a hybrid, the spirit of Nelson, the Cutty Sark, the Maritime Museum, an industrial waterfront and a number of elegant houses, ripe for development. Royal charters granted to English colonists in North America, often used the name of the manor of East Greenwich for describing the tenure as that of free socage, New England charters provided that the grantees should hold their lands as of his Majesty’s manor of East Greenwich. Grants named the castle of Windsor, places in North America that have taken the name East Greenwich include a township in Gloucester County, New Jersey, a hamlet in Washington County, New York, and a town in Kent County, Rhode Island. Tumuli to the south-west of Flamsteed House, in Greenwich Park, are thought to be early Bronze Age barrows re-used by the Saxons in the 6th century as burial grounds, to the east between the Vanbrugh and Maze Hill Gates is the site of a Roman villa or temple. A small area of red paving tesserae protected by railings marks the spot and it was excavated in 1902 and 300 coins were found dating from the emperors Claudius and Honorius to the 5th century. This was excavated by the Channel 4 television programme Time Team in 1999, broadcast in 2000, the Roman road from London to Dover, Watling Street crossed the high ground to the south of Greenwich, through Blackheath
21.
2nd Kent Artillery Volunteers
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The 2nd Middlesex Artillery was a Volunteer unit of Britains Royal Artillery. Often these were drawn from a place of work. The first commissions to the 2nd Middlesex AVC were issued on 26 April 1861, later the artillery grew to six companies and became an independent unit, moving its HQ to the Artillery Barracks in Leonard Street, off Londons City Road. The artillery inventor Sir William Palliser was appointed Lieutenant-colonel in 1875, in 1883,1884 and 1886 the 2nd Middlesex won the Queens Prize at the annual National Artillery Association competition held at Shoeburyness. Under the Haldane Reforms, the former Volunteers were subsumed into the Territorial Force in 1908, the infantry of the division were soon posted away to relieve Regular Army garrisons in the Mediterranean or to supplement the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. By January 1915, only the artillery and other elements remained with the division. Meanwhile, the brigade formed its own 2nd line, the two units being designated 1/III and 2/III London Bdes. In August 1915 the 36th Division was being readied for service, the 1st London Divisional Artillery were therefore attached to the Ulster Division until its own gunners were ready for active service. The London field brigades were re-equipped with 18-pounder guns and accompanied the Ulster Division to France and it was in the front line by the middle of the month. 1/III London Bde served with the Welsh Division from 11 December 1915 to 1 January 1916, by then, 1st London Division was being reformed in France and its divisional artillery was finally able to rejoin at the end of February 1916. The 1/III London Brigade was assigned to support 169th Brigade and went into billets at Bouret-sur-Canches, on 16 April 1916, the brigade was increased to four batteries by the addition of R Battery, formed from sections of the 93rd and 109th Regular Batteries. Two guns of C/CCLXXXIII were concealed in an orchard almost in the British front line, the Peltart group fired almost 24,500 rounds of mainly Shrapnel shell in the days before the attack. By 28 June the Barbed wire in front of the German first and second lines was reported to be satisfactorily cut, the divisions attack on 1 July was a costly failure. The division was pushed back into the German front-line trench and lost very heavily. Afterwards, its commander criticised the plan, especially the artillery preparation. It was relieved on 20 August, after rest and training, 56th Division moved south to take over the line near Ginchy, and prepared to attack again. The attack went in at 16.45 in fading light, further attacks in the night and at dawn established a line of sorts, and the artillery then had to respond to numerous enemy counter-attacks. The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, a new attack, opened on 15 September. Preliminary bombardment started on 12 September and continued steadily until Z-day, lanes were left in the intense bombardment after zero, to allow the new tanks to pass through
22.
3rd Kent Artillery Volunteers (Royal Arsenal)
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The 3rd Kent Artillery Volunteers was a unit of the British Volunteer Force from 1860 to 1920. Originally raised from the workers of Woolwich Arsenal, near London, it became a London unit of the Territorial Force. Formally constituted on 28 February 1860, and designated the 10th Kent AVC, the nearby Royal Dockyards at Deptford and Woolwich also raised an AVC, numbered 14th Kent AVC. However, the closed in 1869 and the 14th Kent AVC was disbanded the following year. Originally raised as eight batteries, the strength of the 10th Kent AVC declined to six batteries during the 1860s, the 9th Kent AVC, formed in 1860 at Plumstead, near Woolwich, was also absorbed by the 10th in 1873. In 1875 the 10th Kent Artillery Volunteers won the Queens Prize at the National Artillery Association annual competition held at Shoeburyness Old Ranges, in 1892 the unit was converted to the role of position artillery, with four batteries. In this role the 3rd Kent did well, winning the Queens Prize for position artillery at the annual National Artillery Association competition held at Shoeburyness, in 1902 the unit was redesignated 3rd Kent Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery. The infantry of the division were soon posted away to relieve Regular Army garrisons in the Mediterranean or to supplement the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. By January 1915, only the artillery and other elements of the division remained in England. The unit was numbered 1/II London Bde and formed a separate 2/II London Bde, in August 1915 the 36th Division was being readied for service. The 1st London Divisional Artillery were therefore attached to the Ulster Division until its own gunners were ready for active service. The London field brigades were re-equipped with 18-pounder guns and accompanied the Ulster Division to France and it was in the Line by the middle of the month. In December, the Ulster Divisions artillery arrived from England, and the London Divisional Artillery was transferred to the 38th Division, 1/II London Bde served with the Welsh Division from 11 December 1915 to 1 January 1916. It was next attached to IV Corps Artillery until the end of February, by now, 1st London Division was being reformed in France and its divisional artillery was finally able to rejoin. In April 1916 a Regular battery, joined 1/II London Bde, in May, TF artillery brigades were numbered in sequence with the Royal Field Artillery, 1/II London became CCLXXXI Brigade, and the batteries became A–D. Shortly afterwards D Battery was exchanged with a battery from the divisional howitzer brigade, Brigade Ammunition Columns were also abolished at this time. And training, until July 1916, when it moved to Salisbury Plain for final training, by then the artillery had received their 18-pounders and 4. 5-inch howitzers. As with the other TF artillery, the brigade was assigned a number, the batteries were redesignated A–C, a howitzer battery was added and became D Battery, and the brigade ammunition columns were abolished
23.
Royal Arsenal
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It was originally known as the Woolwich Warren, having begun on land previously used as a domestic warren in the grounds of a Tudor house, Tower Place. Thereafter its operations were scaled down, it closed as a factory in 1967. Today the area, so long a secret enclave, is open to the public and is being redeveloped for housing and community use. The Board of Ordnance was both a civil and an office of State, independent of the Army, overseen by a high-ranking official. Its main areas of activity developed as follows, The origin of The Warren lies in a domestic warren at Tower Place in Old Woolwich, Tower Place was a Tudor mansion built in the 1540s for Martin Bowes, a wealthy goldsmith and merchant, later Lord Mayor of London. The house with its octagonal tower stood nearby Gun Wharf, where the Henry Grace à Dieu had been built around 1515, when Woolwich Dockyard moved west in the 1540s, Gun Wharf was mainly used for gun storage. In 1671, The Warren was officially established by the Board as an Ordnance Storage Depot and it occupied a 31-acre site, including Tower Place. The Board of Ordnance initially looked on the site as a convenient place for building a storehouse for powder and other stores of war, as at other Ordnance Yards the site was overseen by a Storekeeper, who was based in the old house. He was assisted by a Clerk of the Cheque, Clerk of the Survey, to begin with much of the Warren was preserved as open space with cannons stored in the open air and guns proved on ranges to the east. Gunpowder was stored in a converted dovecote initially, but before long specialist buildings began to appear, an ammunition laboratory was set up at the Warren in 1695, overseen by the Comptroller of Fireworks. The manufacturing process was conducted by hand, overseen by a Chief Firemaster, a pair of pavilions, which once faced each other across the centre of the courtyard, are now the oldest surviving buildings on the Arsenal site, they were being restored for residential use in 2013. The Comptroller, Royal Laboratory, had oversight of the Royal Gunpowder Mills in addition to the Woolwich manufactory, a gun foundry, overseen by a Master Founder, was established in 1717. In Woolwich, the original Royal Brass Foundry building survives and its handsome exterior encloses a space designed for pure industrial functionality, with height to accommodate a vertical boring machine, and tall doors permitting easy removal of newly made cannons. Completed guns could then be taken through what is now Dial Arch into a known as the Great Pile of buildings to be finished and stored. The first Master Founder, Andrew Schalch, served in post for 54 years before retiring in 1769 at the age of 78. In 1770 a revolutionary horse-powered horizontal boring machine was installed in the Foundry by his successor, remarkably, it remained in use until 1843 when a steam-powered equivalent replaced it. From the beginning, gun carriages had been stored at the Warren, by the 1750s manufacture of gun carriages was also taking place on site, overseen by the Constructor of Carriages. This took place around New Carriage Yard, the Board of Ordnance had had, from the early days of the Warren, teams of artillerymen and military engineers on site
24.
Woolwich
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Woolwich is a town in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, south east London, England. Originally in Kent, it has been part of the London metropolitan area since the 19th century, in 1965, most of the former Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich became part of Greenwich Borough, of which it remains the administrative centre. Throughout the 17th, 18th, 19th and most of the 20th century, Woolwich was an important military and it is a river crossing point, with the Woolwich Ferry and the Woolwich foot tunnel crossing to North Woolwich. Woolwich is identified in the London Plan as an opportunity area as well as a centre in Greater London. Woolwich has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age, a path connected the riverside settlement with Watling Street, perhaps also of Iron Age origin. Sandy Hill Road may be a remnant of this early path and it is generally believed that the name Woolwich derives from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning trading place for wool. It is not clear whether Woolwich was a proper -wich town, however, in 2015 Oxford Archaeology discovered a Saxon burial site near the riverside with 76 skeletons from the late 7th or early 8th century. The absence of grave deposits indicates that this was an early Christian settlement, the first church, which stood to the north of the present parish church, was almost certainly pre-Norman and dedicated to Saint Lawrence. It was probably rebuilt in stone around 1100, from the 10th till the mid-12th century Woolwich was controlled by the abbots of St. Peters Abbey in Ghent. As a result of this tenure Woolwich is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, it is thought that the 63 acres listed as Hulviz refer to North Woolwich, medieval Woolwich was susceptible to flooding. In 1236 many were killed by a flood, Woolwich Ferry was first mentioned in 1308 but may be much older. Around Bell Water Gate some private shipbuilding or repair may have existed in the 15th century, a windmill was mentioned around 1450. Woolwich remained a relatively small Kentish settlement until the beginning of the 16th century, in 1512 it became home to Woolwich Dockyard, originally known as The Kings Yard, founded by Henry VIII to built his flagship Henry Grace à Dieu. Many great ships were built here, such as the Prince Royal, the Sovereign of the Seas, the Royal Charles, the Dolphin, the dockyard went through many ups and downs but survived for three and a half centuries, closing down in 1869. His mansion was Tower Place, which was closed in by a ropeyard and warehouses with open-air storage known initially as Gun Wharf or Gun Yard, then The Warren. The arsenal developed from a place of storage into a collection of factories, playing a central role in Britains imperial phase and its military. At wartime, tens of thousands of workers found employment here, other military establishments that were rooted in the arsenal were the Royal Artillery and the Royal Military Academy. They both moved to Woolwich Common in the late 18th century, in the 19th and 20th century several large barracks were built, as well as military schools and hospitals
25.
Sandgate, Kent
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Sandgate is a village in the Folkestone and Hythe Urban Area in the Shepway district of Kent, England. In 2004, the village re-acquired civil parish status, the civil parish shares the boundaries of Folkestone Sandgate ward, at 2.17 km2. It had a population of 4,225 at the 2001 census and it is the site of Sandgate Castle, a Device Fort. H. G. Wells lived at Spade House, and it was also the birthplace of comedian Hattie Jacques, the Morcheeba song The Sea is written about the beachside bar Bar Vasa. Sandgate Hotel appeared on the Channel 4 programme Ramsays Kitchen Nightmares on 27 February 2006, other pubs include The Ship Inn, The Providence Inne, The Clarendon Inn and The Royal Norfolk Hotel. Sandgate was a district from 1894 to 1934. It was added to Folkestone in 1934, the Sandgate branch railway line was opened in 1874 and closed to passengers in 1951. Little of the infrastructure now remains, but it is possible to see the remains of a tall overbridge at the bottom of Hospital Hill. Sandgate has become known for Dave the Dolphin, seen out in the bay between Folkestone and Hythe, Sandgate is the location of the Shorncliffe Redoubt, a Napoleonic era earthwork fort associated with Sir John Moore and the 95th Regiment of Foot, known as the 95th Rifles. St Pauls Church lies next to the Saga building, which is built on the site of Embrook House, Sandgate Primary School lies on Coolinge Lane between the Folkestone School for Girls and Eversley College. The old school building is located in the village on Sandgate Road close to Spade House, Folkestone Rowing Club is in Sandgate. There are a number of pubs in Sandgate, including The Ship, The Providence Inne, Inn Doors opened on Aug 28th 2015. This is a micropub offering local beers and ciders, the Hub bicycle shop closed in 2014. Its premises have now split between the Loaf coffee shop and the Ship Inn. As of Sept 2015, the half now managed by the Ship was undergoing refurbishment, the Brisbane suburb with the same name is named after the town. There is also a Brisbane suburb called Shorncliffe, which is adjacent to Sandgate, Sandgate Website Sandgate Parish Council _
26.
Gillingham, Kent
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Gillingham /ˈdʒɪlɪŋəm/ is a town in the county of Kent in South East England. For local government purposes it is also in the authority of Medway. The town includes the settlements of Brompton, Hempstead, Wigmore, Parkwood, Rainham, Rainham Mark, Gillingham means a homestead of Gyllas family, from Old English ham and ingas, and was first recorded in the 10th century as Gyllingeham. Also referred to in old texts as Jillyingham Water, hence the pronunciation being Gillingham, Gillingham became an urban district under the Local Government Act 1894, gaining municipal borough status in 1903. John Robert Featherby was the first mayor of the Borough of Gillingham, in 1928 Rainham was added to the Gillingham Borough. Under the Local Government Act 1972 it became a non-metropolitan district and it merged with the other Medway Towns in 1998 under the 1990s UK local government reform, to become part of the Medway unitary authority. The Municipal Buildings in Canterbury Street were built as offices for Gillingham Borough Council. They were opened by the Lord Mayor of London, Sir George Broadbridge, the Lord Mayor was received at Gillingham Railway Station by a guard of honour of boys of HMS Arethusa. Before the Second World War, air raid sirens were placed on the Municipal Buildings, in about 1953, Gillingham Borough Control was built underground, beneath part of the car park. Medway Council then moved into the former Lloyds of London headquarters at Chatham Gun Wharf, and they were sold off in 2008 under a contract which turned them into a residential care home. The town grew along the road from Brompton on the great lines, as such it was a linear development. Close by was the road along the line, linking The Strand. Later, communiites developed along the top road- Watling street – turnpike linking Chatham with Dover, all these communities merged into the town that is called today Gillingham. Gillingham experiences a climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom. Due to its southerly, sheltered, marine position near the European continent the climate is among the warmest in the whole of England, the name Gillingham is recorded in the Domesday book of 1086. It is said to have named after a warlord, Gyllingas—from the old English gyllan. He was a man in Kent history as he led his warriors into battle screaming and shouting. At the time of the Norman Conquest, Gillingham was a small hamlet, Gillingham itself, at the time, was a small hamlet, built around the parish church and surrounded by large farm-holdings, of which St
27.
Woolwich Dockyard
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Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard along the river Thames in Woolwich, where a large number of ships were built from the early 16th century until the late 19th century. At its largest extent it filled a 56-acre site north of Woolwich Church Street, the area is now partly residential, partly industrial, with remnants of its historic past having been restored. Woolwich Dockyard was founded by King Henry VIII in 1512 to build his flagship Henri Grâce à Dieu, the ship was built at Gun Wharf in Old Woolwich, east of the area that was later known as Woolwich Dockyard or The Kings Yard, Woolwich. Like its counterpart Deptford Dockyard, Woolwich was probably chosen for its position - on the bank of the tidal River Thames conveniently close to Henrys palace at Greenwich. Initially situated further to the east, past Bell Water Gate, the yard moved in the 1540s to what was to become its permanent site, where a pair of dry docks formed the centre of operations. The two dry docks were rebuilt in the early 17th century when the dock was expanded. As at other Royal Dockyards, the Board of Ordnance maintained a gun wharf at Woolwich for storage and provision of guns, the wharf was sited east of Bell Water Gate. It was here that Woolwich Dockyard was founded in 1512 and the Great Harry was built in 1515, in the 1540s the dockyard moved away from Gun Wharf to an area further west. Gun Wharf continued to be used for storage, later the land was shared with the nearby Ropeyard. From the 1650s the Board of Ordnance began to use of open land further to the east of Gun Wharf, formerly used as a domestic warren, as a site for proving cannons. This was the beginning of what would become the Woolwich Royal Arsenal. In the 1570s a Royal Ropeyard was established in Woolwich, one of the largest in the world at the time, too long to fit within the confines of the Dockyard, its parallel sheds lay along the line of present-day Beresford Street. It remained in service until 1750, by which time similar establishments in other Royal Dockyards had begun to come to the fore, not long afterwards the Ropeyard suffered significant fire damage and its buildings were demolished in 1835. Engineer Samuel Bentham was a shipwright at the dockyard during the 1770s. The yard was expanded westwards in the 1780s, again almost doubling in size. Shipbuilding continued in earnest during the Napoleonic Wars, but, as ships grew still bigger, from 1831, however, Woolwich found a new lease of life as a specialist yard for marine steam engineering. Integral to the creation of the factory was the conversion of two mast ponds into steam basins, where ships could moor alongside the factory while their engines. One of these basins was provided with its own dry dock which, like the basins, was filled in and built over in the 20th century
28.
Royal Garrison Artillery
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The Royal Garrison Artillery came into existence as a separate entity when existing coastal defence, mountain, siege and heavy batteries of the Royal Artillery were amalgamated into a new sub-branch. A royal warrant provided that from 1 June 1899, the mounted and dismounted branches of the Royal Regiment of Artillery shall be separated into two corps. To be named respectively the Royal Horse Artillery and the Royal Field Artillery, the Royal Regiment of Artillery, thenceforth, was divided into four branches. Other than mounted or unmounted dress, the distinction in uniform was by the shoulder title badges, RGA, RFA, RHA. The RGA retained the badge and dress uniform of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, the corps name was discontinued in 1924, when the RGA was re-amalgamated into the Royal Artillery. Prior to the First World War artillery would manoeuvre on the battlefield beside the infantry and cavalry. The field artillery would form part of a line alongside the infantry and, on occasion. Fixed artillery was placed in forts and batteries in locations where they might protect potential targets from attack and this included forts and batteries intended to protect against military forces on the land, and against naval forces on the sea. Coastal artillery relied primarily on high velocity guns, capable of striking out at ships at a great distance, inland defensive batteries might have armament better suited for use against personnel. Mobile artillery pieces were used that could be quickly re-deployed as required between fortifications that were not permanently manned or armed. Fixed batteries were operated in the early 20th Century by the RGA, including its Militia Artillery and Volunteer Force reservists. By the start of the 20th century, the size of the capital ships of the worlds largest navies. The advent of artillery had changed the design of fortifications centuries before, by the 20th century, fortifications were being designed with as much surrounding embankment by earthworks as possible. With the advent of the aeroplane, and the missile, fixed artillery was obsolete and too vulnerable to continue in use. The last coastal artillery was removed from use in the 1950s, with the new long-range small arms available to the infantry in the era before World War I, artillery fighting in the infantry line was increasingly brought under fire. The solution to this was the principle of standing off and engaging the enemy with indirect fire, however, even after this became official military doctrine, field and horse artillery on both sides kept trying to fight in the old way. One instance was a gun duel fought between British and German horse artillery units using open sights during the Retreat to the Marne, in the quagmire of trench warfare that followed it was finally realised that it was not the place for the artillery to be in the infantry line. Henceforth the artillery would be positioned well behind the battle line, firing at unseen targets, at co-ordinates on a map calculated with geometry
29.
Haldane Reforms
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The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the Childers Reforms of the early 1880s, the major element of the reforms was the creation of an expeditionary force, specifically prepared and trained for intervening in a major war. At the same time, the forces were restructured and expanded to ensure that the overseas forces could be efficiently reinforced and supplied with new recruits. To encourage the development of skills, an Officer Training Corps was established in public schools. Finally, the Regular Army itself would be reformed by the development of a new operational and training doctrine, the first wave of reforms was from 1858 to 1860. The second wave was from 1868 to 1872, comprising a collection of administrative changes popularly known as the Cardwell Reforms after the then Secretary of State for War, Edward Cardwell. These measures at an increased the quality of the manpower of the Army. A number of half-hearted attempts were made at reform during the war and in its immediate aftermath, two important Royal Commissions were established in 1902 - the Esher Committee and the Norfolk Commission - and reported in 1904. Some of these reforms were instituted under the Conservative Secretary of State for War, Hugh Arnold-Forster, in 1904-5, but the broad thrust of his reform plans were strongly opposed. Attempts to reorganise the forces into six Army Corps had begun, but only one of these had actually been organised. In December 1905, the Balfour government collapsed, and Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman became Prime Minister, despite this inauspicious beginning, he would become, in the words of Douglas Haig, the greatest Secretary of State for War England has ever had. Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary, had agreed to commit the Army to the aid of France, if attacked. He quickly concluded that there was a need for an expeditionary force. The question now became how to provide this force, and after a short period Haldane settled on a strength of six infantry divisions and their supporting units. They would need to be organised in peacetime and prepared to mobilise in the United Kingdom, once the Regular Army had been organised as a continental Expeditionary Force, it would be necessary to provide forces for home defence. These changes were embodied in the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, the Militia provided the Special Reserve, which would contain men who had not served in the regular Army but agreed to be liable for service with the regular forces in wartime. In November 1906, Douglas Haig was appointed Director of Staff Duties at the War Office, the Esher Report had suggested a new scheme for two sets of training manuals, but these had not been fully implemented. In 1907, the new provisional Field Service Pocket Book was produced, revised the following year, and finally standardised as Field Service Regulations, Part I - Operations in 1909
30.
Chatham, Kent
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Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England. Chatham Dockyard closed in 1984, but major naval buildings remain as the focus for a flourishing tourist industry, Chatham also has military connections, several Army barracks were located here, together with 19th-century forts which provided a defensive shield for the dockyard. Brompton Barracks, located in the town, remains the headquarters of the Corps of Royal Engineers, the town has important road links and the railway and bus stations are the main interchanges for the area. It is the headquarters of Medway unitary authority, as well as its principal shopping centre. The name Chatham was first recorded as Cetham in 880, the Domesday Book records the place as Ceteham. Most books explain this name as a British root ceto plus Old English ham, however, the river-valley situation of Chatham is more consistent with cet being an Old English survival of the element catu that was common in Roman-era names and meant basin or valley. Chatham stands on the A2 road along the line of the ancient Celtic route, which was paved by the Romans, among finds have been the remains of a Roman cemetery. It was established as a Royal Dockyard by Queen Elizabeth I in 1568, initially a refitting base, it became a shipbuilding yard, from then until the late 19th century, further expansion of the yard took place. In its time, many thousands of men were employed at the dockyard, after World War I many submarines were also built in Chatham Dockyard. In addition to the dockyard itself, defensive fortifications were built to protect it from attack, upnor Castle had been built in 1567, but had proved ineffectual, the Dutch Raid on the Medway in 1667 showed that more was required. The threat of a attack from the south during the 19th century led to the construction of even more forts. The second phase of fort-building included Fort Pitt, the 1859 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom ordered, inter alia, a third outer ring of forts, these included Fort Luton, Fort Bridgewood, and Fort Borstal. These fortifications all required military personnel to man them and Army barracks to house those men and these included Kitchener Barracks, the Royal Marine Barracks, Brompton Artillery Barracks and Melville Barracks. In response to the manpower needs, the village of Chatham and other nearby villages. Trams, and later buses, linked those places to bring in the workforce, the area between the High Street and Luton village illustrates part of that growth, with its many streets of Victorian terraces. The importance of Chatham dockyard gradually declined as Britains naval resources were reduced or moved to other locations, the dockyard buildings were preserved as the historic site Chatham Historic Dockyard, which was under consideration as a World Heritage Site the site is being used for other purposes. Part of the St Marys Island section is now used as a marina, under the most recent change, in 1998, and with the addition of the Borough of Gillingham, the Borough of Medway became a unitary authority area, administratively separate from Kent. It remains part of the county of Kent for ceremonial purposes, Medway Council has recently relocated its main administration building to Gun Wharf, the site of the earliest part of the Dockyard, a former Lloyds office building
31.
44th (Home Counties) Division
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The Home Counties Division was an infantry division of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army, that was raised in 1908. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, at the outbreak of World War I it accepted liability for overseas service and was posted to India in 1914 to relieve Regular Army units for service on the Western Front. On arrival in India it was broken up so did not see active service as a complete formation. However, most of its constituent units did serve in theatres, notably Mesopotamia from 1915. Reformed in the Territorial Army in 1920 as the 44th Division, once again, its component units continued to serve, in North Africa, Italy, North-West Europe, and Burma. The division was reformed in the Territorial Army in 1947 before being merged with the Home Counties District in 1961. On formation, the TF contained 14 infantry divisions and 14 mounted yeomanry brigades, one of the divisions was the Home Counties Division. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, two Army Troops battalions of the Royal Sussex Regiment were also attached for training, but were not integral to the division. In peacetime, the headquarters was in Hounslow in Middlesex. However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, therefore, TF units were split into 1st Line and 2nd Line units. 2nd Line units performed the home defence role, although in fact most of these were also posted abroad in due course, the Home Counties Division formed the 2nd Home Counties Division in this manner with an identical structure. The division mobilised on the outbreak of the war, early in September 1914, the division sent two battalions to Gibraltar to relieve regular battalions, 7th and 8th Middlesex left on 4 and 10 September respectively. On 22 September, India agreed to send 32 British and 20 Indian regular battalions to Europe in exchange for 43 partially trained TF battalions, accordingly, the division accepted liability for service in India. The division sailed from Southampton on 30 October 1914 with 13 infantry battalions and 3 artillery brigades, the division arrived at Bombay on 1–3 December 1914, with the Brecknockshire Battalion departing again on 9 December for Aden. The divisional commander, Major-General J. C. Young, accompanied the division to India, on arrival, he handed over the units and returned to England, arriving on 22 December. He took command of the 2nd Line 2nd Home Counties Division on 20 January 1915, the division was effectively broken up on arrival in India in December 1914, the units reverted to peacetime conditions and were dispersed throughout India and Burma. The battalions and batteries moved around the various stations in India, Burma. For example, the 1/4th Buffs moved from Mhow to Aden in August 1915, to Bareilly in January 1916, the 1/4th KSLI went further afield, on arrival in India, it was posted to Rangoon, with a detachment in the Andaman Islands
32.
War Office
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The name War Office is also given to the former home of the department, the War Office building located at the junction of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall in central London. During August 2013 it was announced that the former War Office building would be sold on the open market. The War Office developed from the Council of War, an ad hoc grouping of the King and his military commanders which managed the Kingdom of Englands frequent wars. It was equivalent to the Admiralty, responsible for the Royal Navy, and the Air Ministry, the department had several London homes until it settled at Horse Guards in Whitehall during 1722, where it was to remain until 1858. The first War Office Secretary at War is usually said to have been William Blathwayt and it was, however, a fairly minor government job which dealt with the minutiae of administration rather than grand strategy. Issues of strategic policy during wartime were managed by the Northern and Southern Departments, from 1704 to 1855, the job of Secretary was possessed by a minister of the second rank, although he was occasionally part of the Cabinet. Many of his responsibilities were transferred to the Secretary of State for War after the creation of more senior post during 1794. The job of Secretary at War was merged with that of the Secretary of State for War during 1855, during 1855 the Board of Ordnance was abolished as a result of its perceived poor performance during the Crimean War. This powerful independent body, dating from the 15th century, had directed by the Master-General of the Ordnance. The disastrous campaigns of the Crimean War resulted in the consolidation of all duties during 1855 as subordinate to the Secretary of State for War. He was not, however, solely responsible for the Army and this was reduced in theory by the reforms introduced by Edward Cardwell during 1870, which subordinated the Commander-in-Chief to the Secretary for War. His resistance to reform caused military efficiency to lag well behind that of Britains rivals, the management of the War Office was hampered by persistent disputes between the civilian and military parts of the organisation. The government of H. H. Asquith attempted to resolve this during the First World War by appointing Lord Kitchener as Secretary for War, making him the first, however, this was thought unsatisfactory, during his tenure, the Imperial General Staff was virtually dismantled. Its role was replaced effectively by the Committee of Imperial Defence, the War Office decreased greatly in importance after the First World War, a fact illustrated by the drastic reductions of its staff numbers during the inter-war period. On 1 April 1920, it employed 7,434 civilian staff and its responsibilities and funding were also reduced. During 1936, the government of Stanley Baldwin appointed a Minister for Co-ordination of Defence, when Winston Churchill became Prime Minister during 1940, he bypassed the War Office altogether and appointed himself Minister of Defence. Clement Attlee continued this arrangement when he came to power during 1945, during 1964, the present form of the Ministry of Defence was established, unifying the War Office, Admiralty, and Air Ministry. The records of the War Office are kept by The National Archives with the code WO and it contains about 1,000 rooms across seven floors, linked by 2½ miles of corridors
33.
British Raj
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The British Raj was the rule by the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The rule is also called Crown rule in India, or direct rule in India, the resulting political union was also called the Indian Empire and after 1876 issued passports under that name. It lasted until 1947, when the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two sovereign states, the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The British Raj extended over almost all present-day India, Pakistan and this area is very diverse, containing the Himalayan mountains, fertile floodplains, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, a long coastline, tropical dry forests, arid uplands, and the Thar desert. In addition, at times, it included Aden, Lower Burma, Upper Burma, British Somaliland. Burma was separated from India and directly administered by the British Crown from 1937 until its independence in 1948, among other countries in the region, Ceylon was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. Ceylon was part of Madras Presidency between 1793 and 1798, the kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, having fought wars with the British, subsequently signed treaties with them and were recognised by the British as independent states. The Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861, however. The Maldive Islands were a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965, India during the British Raj was made up of two types of territory, British India and the Native States. In general, the term British India had been used to also to the regions under the rule of the British East India Company in India from 1600 to 1858. The term has also used to refer to the British in India. The terms Indian Empire and Empire of India were not used in legislation, the monarch was known as Empress or Emperor of India and the term was often used in Queen Victorias Queens Speeches and Prorogation Speeches. The passports issued by the British Indian government had the words Indian Empire on the cover, in addition, an order of knighthood, the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, was set up in 1878. At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a Governor or a Lieutenant-Governor, during the partition of Bengal the new provinces of Assam and East Bengal were created as a Lieutenant-Governorship. In 1911, East Bengal was reunited with Bengal, and the new provinces in the east became, Assam, Bengal, Bihar, there were 565 princely states when India and Pakistan became independent from Britain in August 1947. The princely states did not form a part of British India, the larger ones had treaties with Britain that specified which rights the princes had, in the smaller ones the princes had few rights. Within the princely states external affairs, defence and most communications were under British control, the British also exercised a general influence over the states internal politics, in part through the granting or withholding of recognition of individual rulers. Although there were nearly 600 princely states, the majority were very small
34.
Windsor, Berkshire
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Windsor is a historic market town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the residences of the British Royal Family. The town is situated 23 miles west of Charing Cross, London,7 miles south east of Maidenhead and it is immediately south of the River Thames, which forms its boundary with its ancient twin town of Eton. Windlesora is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the name originates from old English Windles-ore or winch by the riverside. By the late 12th century the settlement at Windelsora was renamed Old Windsor, the early history of the site is unknown, although it was almost certainly settled some years before 1070 when William the Conqueror had a timber motte and bailey castle constructed. The focus of royal interest at that time was not the castle, however, from about the 8th century, high status people started to visit the site occasionally, and possibly this included royalty. From the 11th century the sites link with king Edward the Confessor is documented, after the Conquest of 1066 royal use of the site increased, probably because it offered good access to woodlands and opportunities for hunting – a sport which also practised military skills. Windsor Castle is noted in the Domesday Book under the entry for Clewer, although this might seem strange, it occurred because plans for the castle had changed since 1070, and more land had been acquired in Clewer on which to site a castle town. This plan was not actioned until the early 12th century, King Henry married his second wife at Windsor Castle in 1121, after the White Ship disaster. The settlement at Old Windsor largely transferred to New Windsor during the 12th century,1170, under Henry II, following the civil war of Stephens reign. At about the time, the present upper ward of the castle was rebuilt in stone. It had a merchant guild from the early 13th century and, under patronage, was made the chief town of the county in 1277. Somewhat unusually, this gave no new rights or privileges to Windsor. Windsors position as town of Berkshire was short-lived, however. Wallingford took over this position in the early 14th century, as a self-governing town Windsor enjoyed a number of freedoms unavailable to other towns, including the right to hold its own borough court, the right of membership and some financial independence. The town accounts of the 16th century survive in part, although most of the once substantial borough archive dating back to the 12th century was destroyed, probably in the late 17th century. New Windsor was a significant town in the Middle Ages. Its prosperity came from its association with the royal household
35.
Le Havre
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Le Havre is an urban French commune and city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northwestern France. It is situated on the bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux. Modern Le Havre remains deeply influenced by its employment and maritime traditions and its port is the second largest in France, after that of Marseille, for total traffic, and the largest French container port. The name Le Havre means the harbour or the port and its inhabitants are known as Havrais or Havraises. Administratively the commune is located in the Normandy region and, with Dieppe, is one of the two sub-prefectures of the Seine-Maritime department, Le Havre is the capital of the canton and since 1974 has been the see of the diocese of Le Havre. Le Havre is the most populous commune of Upper Normandy, although the population of the greater Le Havre conurbation is smaller than that of Rouen. It is also the second largest subprefecture in France, the city and port were founded by the King Francis I of France in 1517. Economic development in the Early modern period was hampered by wars, conflicts with the English, epidemics. It was from the end of the 18th century that Le Havre started growing, after the 1944 bombings the firm of Auguste Perret began to rebuild the city in concrete. Changes in years 1990–2000 were numerous, the right won the municipal elections and committed the city to the path of reconversion, seeking to develop the service sector and new industries. The Port 2000 project increased the capacity to compete with ports of northern Europe, transformed the southern districts of the city. In 2005 UNESCO inscribed the city of Le Havre as a World Heritage Site. The André Malraux Modern Art Museum is the second of France for the number of impressionist paintings, the city has been awarded two flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom. Le Havre is a major French city located some 50 kilometres west of Rouen on the shore of the English Channel, numerous roads link to Le Havre with the main access roads being the A29 autoroute from Amiens and the A13 autoroute from Paris linking to the A131 autoroute. Administratively, Le Havre is a commune in the Haute-Normandie region in the west of the department of Seine-Maritime, the urban area of Le Havre corresponds roughly to the territory of the Agglomeration community of Le Havre which includes 17 communes and 250,000 people. It occupies the tip of the natural region of Pays de Caux where it is the largest city. Le Havre is sandwiched between the coast of the Channel from south-west to north-west and the estuary of the Seine to the south, Le Havre belongs to the MLG community Paris Basin which was formed in the Mesozoic period. The Paris Basin consists of sedimentary rocks, the commune of Le Havre consists of two areas separated by a natural cliff edge, one part in the lower part of the town to the south including the harbour, the city centre and the suburbs
36.
Battle of the Somme
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The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the reaches of the River Somme in France. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies and was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front, more than one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. The French and British had committed themselves to an offensive on the Somme during Allied discussions at Chantilly, Oise, in December 1915. Initial plans called for the French army to undertake the main part of the Somme offensive, the first day on the Somme was, in terms of casualties, also the worst day in the history of the British army, which suffered 57,470 casualties. These occurred mainly on the front between the Albert–Bapaume road and Gommecourt, where the attack was defeated and few British troops reached the German front line, the battle is notable for the importance of air power and the first use of the tank. At the end of the battle, British and French forces had penetrated 10 km into German-occupied territory, the Anglo-French armies failed to capture Péronne and halted 5 km from Bapaume, where the German armies maintained their positions over the winter. Debate continues over the necessity, significance and effect of the battle, David Frum opined that a century later, the Somme remains the most harrowing place-name in the history of the British Empire. Allied war strategy for 1916 was decided at the Chantilly Conference from 6–8 December 1915, in December 1915, General Sir Douglas Haig replaced Field Marshal Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF. Haig favoured a British offensive in Flanders close to BEF supply routes, to drive the Germans from the Belgian coast, Haig was not formally subordinate to Marshal Joseph Joffre but the British played a lesser role on the Western Front and complied with French strategy. A week later the Germans began an offensive against the French at Verdun, by 31 May, the ambitious Franco-British plan for a decisive victory, had been reduced to a limited offensive to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun with a battle of attrition on the Somme. The Chief of the German General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, intended to end the war by splitting the Anglo-French Entente in 1916, Falkenhayn chose to attack towards Verdun to take the Meuse heights and make Verdun untenable. The British would then have to begin a hasty relief offensive, Falkenhayn expected the relief offensive to fall south of Arras against the Sixth Army and be destroyed. If such Franco-British defeats were not enough, Germany would attack the remnants of armies and end the western alliance for good. Eloi, south of Ypres and reduced the German counter-offensive strategy north of the Somme, to one of passive, the Battle of Verdun began a week after Joffre and Haig agreed to mount an offensive on the Somme. The battle changed the nature of the offensive on the Somme, as French divisions were diverted to Verdun, German overestimation of the cost of Verdun to the French contributed to the concentration of German infantry and guns on the north bank of the Somme. The German offensive at Verdun was suspended in July, and troops, guns, the Brusilov Offensive, absorbed the extra forces that had been requested on 2 June by Fritz von Below, commanding the German Second Army, for a spoiling attack on the Somme. During the offensive the Russians inflicted c. 1,500,000 losses including c. 407,000 prisoners, three divisions were ordered from France to the Eastern Front on 9 June and the spoiling attack on the Somme was abandoned
37.
Attack on the Gommecourt Salient
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To extend the attack front of the Fourth Army, the VII Corps of the Third Army was to capture the Gommecourt Salient, the most westerly point of the Western Front. In the first week of May, the 56th Division and the 46th Division moved into the area for the attack. By 10 May, both divisions had taken over the front on the flank of the 37th Division and begun training for the operation. At 7,30 a. m. on 1 July, the attack on Gommecourt began, troops also reached the third trench but a strongpoint at Nameless Farm held out despite several attacks. The 46th division attack on the side of the salient had even less success. The parties who had got across no mans land were surrounded and destroyed, the 46th Division had the fewest casualties of the 13 British divisions which attacked on 1 July, which got Montagu-Stuart-Wortley sacked on 5 July. After several local truces, the British wounded were got in during 1 and 2 July, the Germans retreated from the Bapaume Salient created by the Battle of the Somme in February 1917 and abandoned Gommecourt, which was occupied unopposed on 27 February. On 28 March, the 41st Division occupied the purple line, the attack failed but a gap between the Australians and the 186th Brigade was closed and the threat to Gommecourt ended. Gommecourt is a village south-east of Foncquevillers and north-east of Hébuterne on the D6 road to Puisieux, the village is 9.3 miles from Albert. From late 1914 to early 1917, the Western Front turned north-east towards Arras and thence northwards to La Bassée and the bend in the line became known as the Gommecourt Salient. The village is atop four low, flat-topped ridges in the shape of a flattened X, the ends pointing towards Essarts, Rossignol Wood, the west side of Hébuterne and the eastern fringe of Foncquevillers. On a 2, 000-yard stretch of the German front line, the area around Gommecourt was taken over by the British in July 1915. Allied strategy for 1916 was decided at the Chantilly Conference from 6–8 December 1915, in December 1915, General Sir Douglas Haig replaced General Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF. Haig was not formally subordinate to General Joseph Joffre but the British played a role on the Western Front. In January 1916, Joffre wanted the BEF to deplete German reserves by an attack north of the Somme, on a 20,000 yd front around 20 April. Haig objected, since partial offensives would appear to be defeats, would not sufficiently reduce German reserves and give the Germans too much time to recover. On 14 February, Joffre dropped the preparatory offensives idea in favour of a combined offensive, a smaller attack from La Bassée to Ypres would take place a week or two earlier and the Tenth Army would be relieved in early June as more British divisions arrived in France. The chief of the Oberste Heeresleitung, Erich von Falkenhayn, intended to end the war in 1916, by splitting the Anglo-French Entente, Falkenhayn chose to attack towards Verdun, to take the Meuse Heights and make the city untenable
38.
Berles-au-Bois
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Berles-au-Bois is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. A farming village located 11 miles southwest of Arras on the D62 junction with the D30 road, the church of Saint-Pierre, rebuilt, like most of the village after the ravages of World War I. Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department INSEE commune file The churchyard extension cemetery at Berles The field cemetery at Berles The CWGC cemetery at Berles Berles-au-Bois on the Quid website
39.
Infiltration tactics
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These were partially adopted on 9 May 1915, the opening day of the Second Battle of Artois, by the French XXXIII Corps which advanced 4.5 kilometres in the first hour and a half of the attack. The problem was reinforcing and holding the gains against German counterattack, a young French infantry officer, Captain André Laffargue, put forward similar ideas in a pamphlet written in August 1915 Étude sur l’attaque dans la période actuelle de la guerre. Laffargue based his proposals in particular on his experiences attacking immediately south of Neuville-Saint-Vaast on 9 May 1915 when commanding a company of 153rd Infantry Regiment. Laffargue was left wounded on the German front line but his regiment advanced another 1.5 kilometres and they would then be encircled and dealt with by successive waves. Had these methods been followed Laffargue suggests that the attack could have resulted in a breakthrough of the German defences. Laffargue put forward the view that the support of the attack in line was necessary to enable men to advance against heavy fire. The French Army published Laffargues pamphlet in 1915 and the year a commercial edition found wide circulation. The British, like all combatants during 1914–1918, made frequent use of wave attacks, the US Infantry Journal published a translation as The Attack in Trench Warfare in 1916. The claim that the Germans translated and used Laffargues pamphlet as a training manual has been refuted by Gudmundsson, the bombardment also targeted enemy rear areas to destroy or disrupt roads, artillery, and command units. This was done to confuse the enemy, and reduce their capability to launch effective counterattacks from secondary defense lines, for maximum effect, the exact points of attack remained concealed until the last possible moment. They would attempt to penetrate weak points to bypass and isolate heavily defended positions in the front line. Infantrymen with heavier weapons would then follow-up and have an advantage when attacking the isolated enemy strong points. Other reinforcements would then enter these breaches, and the enemy line would shortly collapse. The attacks relied heavily on speed and surprise and this tactic initially worked well and saw heavy use. However, because of this implementation, the enemy quickly developed effective defenses. Also, as in the case of the traditional mass attack. One of the problems of World War I was that even when a breakthrough was made, thus, even with the new tactics and their relatively light use of artillery, attacks would tend to bog down sooner or later, and no massive breakthrough was possible. Other parachute battalion and company also used similar tactics during the battle
40.
No man's land
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No mans land is land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms. The same term was used as the name for the piece of land outside the north wall of London that was assigned as the place of execution. The term was applied to an area on ships called the forecastle, a place where various ropes, tackle, block. The British Army did not widely employ the term when the Regular Army arrived in France in August 1914, the terms used most frequently at the start of the war to describe the area between the trench lines included between the trenches or between the lines. The term no mans land was first used in a military context by soldier, Swinton used the term in war correspondence on the Western Front, with specific mention of the terms with respect to the Race to the Sea in late 1914. In World War I, no land often ranged from several hundred yards to in some cases less than 10 yards. The area was devastated by the warfare. It was open to fire from the trenches and hard going generally slowed down any attempted advance. No mans land remained a feature of the battlefield until near the end of World War I. During the Cold War, one example of no land was the territory close to the Iron Curtain. The US Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba is separated from Cuba proper by a called the Cactus Curtain. This was dubbed the Cactus Curtain, an allusion to Europes Iron Curtain, US and Cuban troops placed some 55,000 land mines across the no mans land, creating the second-largest minefield in the world, and the largest in the Americas. On 16 May 1996, Bill Clinton, the President of the United States, the US land mines have since been replaced with motion and sound sensors to detect intruders. The Cuban government has not removed the corresponding minefield on its side of the border, the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and Jordan were signed in Rhodes with the help of UN mediation on 3 April 1949. Armistice lines were determined in November 1948, between the lines territory was left that was defined as no mans land. Such areas existed in Jerusalem, in the area between the western and southern parts of the Walls of Jerusalem and Musrara, a strip of land north and south of Latrun was also known as no mans land because it was not controlled by either Israel or Jordan in 1948–1967. In 1885, the United States Interior Department ruled that what was called The Neutral Strip was public land, the Strip began to be called No Mans Land around 1886 after one official stated no man can own the land
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Royal Artillery Barracks
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The Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, was the home of the Royal Artillery from 1776 until 2007. The Barracks were built between 1776 and 1802 on a site overlooking Woolwich Common to accommodate the nascent Royal Artillery, as originally built the barracks frontage was only half the present length, being the eastern half of the current south elevation, with the pediment and clock positioned centrally. Twenty-five years later, when further expansion was required, it was resolved to double the frontage by building an identical façade to the west, the architect James Wyatt then married the two halves together with a centerpiece triumphal arch. Several of these buildings were altered over time or entirely replaced in a number of refurbishment programmes, in 1973 the barracks were designated as a Grade II* listed building. For many years the 17. 75-ton Bhurtpore gun, captured by Lord Combermere after the 1826 siege of Bhurtpore, to the south, Barrack Field is a cricket ground which has been in use since the mid 18th century. Since the nineteenth century, the appropriateness of Woolwich as a base for the Artillery had been questioned, suggestions of a move came to nothing until a Defence Estates Review in 2003 proposed a move to Larkhill on Salisbury Plain. After very nearly 300 years in Woolwich, the last Artillery regiment left the barracks in July 2007. Two stained glass windows from the regimental chapel – one by Christopher Whall, an Arts & Crafts artist – were moved to St Albans church at Larkhill, the place of the Artillery was taken by the public duties line infantry battalion and incremental companies of the Foot Guards. Soon afterwards, the Second Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment was posted to Woolwich from Cyprus, the shooting events at the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were held at a temporary venue at the Barracks. In May 2013 drummer Lee Rigby was murdered by Islamists just outside the Barracks in a terrorist attack, in November 2016 the Ministry of Defence announced that the site would close in 2028. Woolwich has extensive links with weaponry, besides the Royal Artillery Barracks it was the location of the Royal Arsenal complex, which was the British Governments principal armaments manufacturing facility for over 200 years. The Royal Military Academy which trained officers and engineers from 1741 to 1939 also began in the Arsenal before moving onto Woolwich Common in 1806. Rooms in the Arsenal freed by the Academys move were used to house a Royal Artillery museum, which moved to the Common in 1820. In 2001 the museum returned to the Arsenal site and was renamed Firepower, the eighteenth-century buildings survive as Connaught Mews, an apartment complex off Grand Depot Road. St Georges Garrison Church was built on the edge of the Common in 1863. Romanesque in style with Byzantine detailing, it was destroyed by a V1 flying bomb on 14 July 1944. From 1802, the ground to the west of the Common became a field training ground known as the Repository Grounds. As of 2012 the Repository Grounds were still used for training as well as providing new accommodation and stables for the Kings Troop, a regimental school was opened nearby in 1808, the Royal Artillery School buildings can still be seen in Greenhill Terrace
42.
BL 60-pounder gun
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The Ordnance BL 60-pounder was a British 5 inch heavy field gun designed in 1903-05 to provide a new capability that had been partially met by the interim QF4.7 inch Gun. It was designed for horse draft and mechanical traction and served throughout the First World War in the main theatres. The effective use of heavy field guns by the Boers during the Second Boer War was a revelation to armies in Europe including the British. They were impressed by their mobility and range, Britain used some heavy guns in that war under ad hoc arrangements. In early 1903 their first report dismissed the 4.7 inch, of the three trial guns they accepted the Armstrong design but rejected all three carriage designs. New designs were sought that were easier for detachments to use, the 4.7 inch had many weaknesses as a field equipment, but it had captured the public’s imagination. However, in 1903 a heavy brigade RGA was formed by converting three siege companies and equipping them with 4.7 inch guns, the following year a second brigade was formed from three more RGA companies. These regular army brigades were part of the artillery, although their equipment was an expedient. The 60 pounder gun was used on most fronts during the First World War, at the outbreak of war they equipped, with 4 guns, the heavy battery RGA in each infantry division. In 1916 all batteries on the Western Front started being increased to 6 guns, by this time heavy batteries had ceased to be part of each infantry division and batteries became part of what were eventually called Heavy Artillery Groups with several batteries of different types. After the First World War they equipped medium brigades, later regiments, by the outbreak of war in 191441 guns had been produced,13 being in Canada and India. Armstrong were the supplier, with Vickers and the Ordnance Factory Woolwich also producing complete equipments. Major assemblies including barrels were produced by many other companies. Total wartime production was 1,773 guns and 1,397 carriages, the 60 pounder was a heavy field gun or ‘gun of position’ designed to be towed by either a horse team or mechanical vehicle. It had a quick firing recoil, meaning that the carriage did not move when the gun fired, the barrel was a wire wound A tube in a jacket with a screw breech. The lower carriage comprised a box trail and it was designed for one-man laying with both traverse and elevation sights and controls on the left. Initially the 60 pounder was fitted with tangent sights on a bar with the range scale graduated to 10,400 yards and 22 degrees. This was replaced by the No 3 carrier for the No 7 dial sight, the original 1904 gun and carriage was designed for the gun barrel and recoil mechanism to be moved rearwards on its carriage when traveling
43.
First Army (United Kingdom)
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The First Army was a formation of the British Army that existed during the First and Second World Wars. Despite being a British command, the First Army also included Indian and Portuguese forces during the First World War and American, First Army had the Ist, IVth and the Indian Corps under command. The First Army suffered reverses at Vimy Ridge in May 1916, from 1917, the First Army also included the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps. The First Army took part in the 1918 offensive that drove the Germans back and it was formed to command the American and British land forces which had landed as part of Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa, in Morocco and Algeria on 8 November 1942. It was commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Kenneth Anderson, the First Army headquarters was formally activated on 9 November 1942 when Anderson arrived in Algiers to assume command of the redesignated Eastern Task Force. The First Army initially consisted of American and British formations only, after the surrender of French forces following the German abrogation of their armistice agreement with Vichy France, French units were also added to the First Armys order of battle. It eventually consisted of four corps, the US II Corps, after the landings, Andersons forces rushed east in a bid to capture Tunis and Bizerte before German forces could reach the two cities in large numbers. Following that lack of success, a period of consolidation was forced upon them, the logistics support for the First Army was greatly improved and bases for its accompanying aircraft greatly multiplied. The victory was won in May 1943 in a surrender that, in numbers captured at least, shortly after the surrender, the First Army was disbanded, having served its purpose. Churchills Lions, A biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II, molony, Brigadier C. J. C. with Flynn, Captain F. C. & Gleave, Group Captain T. P. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume IV, The Destruction of the Axis Forces in Africa, history of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK, Naval & Military Press
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