Medway - Naval and Military History

Naval and Military History

The Royal Navy opened a dockyard during the reign of Henry VIII; it shut in 1984. It was protected by a series of forts including Fort Amherst and the Chatham Lines, Fort Pitt and Fort Borstal. The majority of surviving buildings in the Historic Dockyard are Georgian. It was here that Britain's most famous wooden warship HMS Victory, Admiral Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar, was built and launched in 1765. Sir Francis Drake learned his seamanship on the Medway; Sir John Hawkins founded a hospital in Chatham for seamen, and Nelson began his Navy service at Chatham at the age of 12. The river was further protected by such fortifications as Upnor Castle which, in 1667 in varying accounts says it was partly successful in thwarting the Dutch raid on the dockyard, or the commanding officer fled without firing on the Dutch.

Another warship built at Chatham that still exists is HMS Unicorn (a 46-gun "Leda" class frigate) laid down in February 1822, and launched 30 March 1824. She never saw active service and has been restored and is (as of 2005) preserved afloat in Dundee, Scotland.

There have also been other naval disasters in Medway other than the Raid on the Medway.

On 25 November 1914 the battleship HMS Bulwark was moored at buoy number 17 at Kethole Reach on the River Medway. She was taking on coal from the airship base at Kingsnorth, on the Isle of Grain when an internal explosion (most likely the result of cordite charges stored alongside a boiler room bulkhead and failure to follow guidelines on the storage of shells) ripped the ship apart. In all, the explosion killed 745 men and 51 officers. Five of the 14 men who survived died later of their wounds, and almost all of the others were seriously wounded. There are mass and individual graves in Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham for the Bulwark's dead, who were mostly drawn from the Portsmouth area. The explosion could be heard from up to 20 miles at Southend and Whitstable. In terms of loss of life it remains the second worst explosion in British history.

Less than six months later there was a second explosion. This time it was the Princess Irene. She was a 1,500-passenger liner built at Dumbarton in 1914 for Canadian Pacific. Before she could leave Britain she was commandeered for war service and became HMS Princess Irene, and was used as a minelayer. After several trips she was back in the Medway for a refit when on the morning of 27 May 1915 another huge internal explosion tore through the vessel, shaking the ground for miles around and showering the surrounding villages with remains of bodies and debris. 278 died, including 78 workers from nearby towns and villages. In one Sheerness street there were ten who died. Once again sabotage was suspected, but it would seem that the mine charges were unstable and awaiting replacement.

For a complete history of the dockyard, including its closure in 1984, see Chatham Dockyard

The British Army also established barracks here; and the Royal Engineers headquarters is in Gillingham.

The Royal Marines also have a long association with Chatham. The Chatham Division was based in Chatham until the closure of the Dockyard. A small museum dedicated to the Royal Marines can be found at the dockyard.