EAW223251 ENGLAND (1972). Chatham Docks, Chatham, from the north-east

Construction underway of the Black Lion Leisure Centre

Royal Engineers training ground

Last resting place for lots of old wooden WW2 patrol boats.

City Way college, now demolished for houses

Chatham Royal Marine cadets Drill hall.

Dockyard pump house

The old Navy swimming pool on St. Mary's island

Site of Strood's first station, 1845 to 1856. This was the terminus of the line from Gravesend which the South Eastern Railway (SER) took over in 1846. The SER filled in the waterway through the canal tunnel to widen the single line to double. The station was named 'Rochester' to 1849, 'Strood, Rochester and Chatham' to 1852 and then just 'Strood' until 1856 when it was replaced by the new Strood station that linked the North Kent Line from Gravesend with the Medway Valley Line to Maidstone. Source: Wikipedia.

Wing Commander N.F. Usborne perished when his aircraft crashed in Strood Station goods yard on the 21st February 1916. Squadron Commander Ireland was thrown out of the aircraft, fell into the Medway and also died. Wing Commander Usborne was the commanding officer of RNAS Kingsnorth, about 5 miles East North East of here. To counter the threat of German Zeppelin raids, he had developed the idea of an aircraft slung under an airship balloon; if a Zeppelin was spotted, the aircraft would already be at an altitude to intercept, thus saving significant time. The aircraft would detach from the balloon and fly to attack. Initial tests in August 1915 worked but further development continued, leading to the fatal accident. The work was then discontinued. Source: 'Kingsnorth Airship Station - In Defence of the Nation' by Tina Bilbe, published by The History Press, 2013, ISBN 978 0 7524 9153 0

Temple Manor, the stone hall of the manor house of the Knights Templar. Per English Heritage: ‘The manor of Strood was given to the Knights Templar by Henry II in 1159. The Knights Templar was a military and religious order that was established at the time of the Crusades to protect pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land and to defend the holy places there. It acquired extensive possessions in Europe and became rich and powerful. Probably no more than two knights of the order would have lived permanently at Temple Manor. A bailiff may have run the estate. The hall was built about 70 years after the Templars had acquired the estate and was designed to provide suitable lodging for dignitaries travelling between Dover and London. A kitchen range and other service buildings would have been part of the complex. The manor house became derelict and was restored by the Ministry of Works after the Second World War.’

'Built in 1838, the immense No. 3 Covered Slip at The Historic Dockyard Chatham was, when built, the largest wide span timber structure in Europe. Today it is home to a vast array of epic objects and vehicles from both the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust and Royal Engineers Museum, Library and Archive collections. No.3 Slip stands at the cusp of technological change, its amazing cantilever roof was built to the design of shipwright Sir Robert Seppings. It stands next to roofs made of cast iron constructed under Captain Bandreth of the Royal Engineers less than 10 years later.' From the Historic Dockyard Chatham website (https://thedockyard.co.uk/explore/3-slip-big-space/)

The eastern portal of the Thames and Medway canal, opened on the 14th October 1824. With a length of 2.2 miles (3.5 km) the tunnel is said to be the second longest in the country, but the largest in terms of width, 21.5 feet (6.6 metres) at the waterline plus 5 feet (1.5 metres) for the tow path, with a height of 35 feet (10.7 metres) from the canal bed to the peak of the arch. The water depth was 8 feet and the canal was built to accommodate Thames sailing barges, not canal narrow boats. Per Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_and_Medway_Canal): 'From 1845 the newly built railway between Gravesend and Strood shared the tunnel with the canal, a single track resting partially on the towpath and partially on wooden stakes in the water... In 1846 the canal company sold the tunnel to the South Eastern Railway company, which filled the canal and laid a double railway track over it. This was part of the North Kent Line. The canal towing contractor's home was converted into the ticket office for Higham railway station...fears of a chalk fall, however, were not unfounded. Over the years, there have been many roof falls, most small. But in December 1999 a fall near Strood derailed a train, fortunately without causing serious injuries (but leaving a hole in the ground in an orchard). Some 60% of the tunnel had by this date been lined: in 2004 it was closed to line the remainder and renew the track, reopening a year later on 17 January 2005.'

Drill Hall 3, HMS Pembroke, Chatham. Over 130 sailors of the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy died as a result of a German air raid here on the 3rd September 1917. The building featured a glass roof and was being used as an overflow dormitory at the time. For further details, see https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/world-war-i-articles/the-air-raid-on-chatham-drill-hall-3-september-1917/ The building now houses the Universities at Medway Library.

Mast Pond - Chatham Dockyard

Medway college of art & design

Rochester Police Station

Possibly HMS Exmouth after gas turbine conversion.

Rothesay class frigate

Leander class frigate

HMS Triumph - repair ship converted from an aircraft carrier.

Gillingham Pier, Eastern Arm.

Gillingham Pier, Western Arm

Site of the Cadets' tragedy, Dock Road, 4th December 1951. A column of 52 Royal Marines Volunteer Cadets aged between 9yrs and 13yrs, were hit by a bus. Twenty four boys were killed and 18 injured. For many, many years, this was the worst road accident in Britain.

Site of Gillingham Municipal Baths

St George's Church

The three bridges over the Medway between Rochester and Strood. Furthest away is the frame of the cast iron road bridge, opened on the 14th May 1914 and still in use for west bound traffic today. In the middle is the east bound road bridge, opened in 1970 and built upon the piles of the first railway bridge, built in 1858 by the East Kent Railway (the London, Chatham and Dover Railway from 1st August 1859). Nearest to the camera is the current railway bridge, built by the South Eastern Railway and opened on the 20th July 1891.

Cuxton

The hamlet of Upper Bush

The original M2 motorway bridge over the Medway. I remember my parents taking me over the bridge on the day the first section of motorway opened from junction 2 to junction 5, on the 29th May 1963. My father then had an old Ford Prefect (E93A) that didn't do much more than 50 mph, happy memories of MKJ 840. Many years later, a friend of mine, a professional photographer for Sloman and Pettit at Maidstone, told me that a colleague of his had been taking official photo's of the construction of the bridge and had accidently dropped an expensive Hasselblad camera from the top of the bridge into the Medway. So if you want a free Hasselblad and can't get to the one left on the Moon, there is another a little nearer.

Upnor Castle, built between 1559 and 1567 to protect Chatham Dockyard and the fleet at anchor in the Medway. It saw action during the Dutch raid on the Medway in June 1667. After then it became a store and magazine for Chatham Dockyard, and for a while was the largest and most important in the country, surpassing the Tower of London. It became a museum and was opened to the public after the Second World War. It is currently an English Heritage property.

Upper Upnor

The rope walk

Strood dock

Frindsbury parish church

Weekes chalk quarry

Rugby Rochester cement plant

Martin Earles lime plant

Rochester Cathedral

Rochester Castle