NOTHE FORT AND BEYOND…
Which happens to be the title of my first book.
Welcome to my blog about the lives of Victorian soldiers and their stories.
(And so much more)
Weymouth’s Nothe Fort is now a Museum and one that’s well worth visiting…but why not dig a bit deeper to find out what life was really like for those soldiers who came and went, or their wives and families who followed in their marching footsteps.
Their lives were harsh.
In my book you’ll discover the secrets of those spirits who still stalk its musty passages and the stories of many silent spectres who watch your every move as you peer into the dank lobbies.
On my blog I reveal the many more military tales of those who lived on this wind swept peninsular and of course, those who lived in the town down below-Weymouth.
Very much a love-hate relationship.
But the military tales go way beyond the Nothe’s dour grey walls.
Follow in the soldiers footsteps along Barrack Road and you’ll reach the Bloody Red Barracks with the old Territorial blocks stood guard opposite.
Not forgetting the ubiquitous inns and beer houses such as The Military Arms and Nothe Tavern that once served many a quart to our soldiers…while out the back they stored more than a few dead bodies awaiting their inquest.
Spread the Nothe’s story net wider and you’ll cross the enclosed Portland Roads with its massive breakwaters, home to Naval and trading vessels.
Look up to see the mighty Verne Citadel on Portland and the prison with its officers and guards, not forgetting its inmates, those convicts who were made to slave away in government quarries hewing out stone for the fortifications.
They all have their tales to tell.
Their stories reveal all of human nature, from love-affairs to murder, tragic deaths and daring burglaries, marriage and mayhem.
Life was never dull with the army in town.
It may be a history book…but not as you know it.
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Copies of my book are now available in the Nothe Fort shop and Weymouth Museum bookshop.
Also via Amazon at £10
Come on over and see what’s happening on my Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/NotheFortandBeyond/
NOTHE FORT AND BEYOND... 