I love an old book, particularly those from the 19th century period, which not surprisingly is what I tend to write about. Not necessarily military either, but if they contain information all to the good. They are filled with the most glorious illustrations, not just those to enhance the stories or articles but also their…
Why the ‘Nutcrackers’ Are So Called. Stationed at Weymouth’s Red Barracks 1860.
Originally posted on TALES FROM AROUND THE VICTORIAN WORLD.:
(A nice bit of Victorian blood and gore for the littlun’s! ) Taken from ‘Little Folks a Magazine for the Young’ dated 1890. ‘The famous regiment of Buffs, used also to be known as the 3rd Foot, once rejoiced for a while in the nickname of…
When Andromeda and the Naval Fleet went Walkabouts from Weymouth. August 1899.
The assembling of the British naval Fleets had a deadly serious side to it. At the start of August 1899 “A” Fleet and “B” Fleet began a full on game of cat and mouse with each other around the seas and coasts. “Nothing is stranger in the conditions of naval war-as to which this particular respect reality and sham differ not at all-than the suddenness with which crises arise. So rapid are the movements of modern warships that at one moment a vessel may appear to have the ocean to herself, and few minutes later she may be in the midst of the tumult of conflict or of chase.” (Southern Times and Dorset County Herald Sat 26th August)
Weymouth’s Little Known Roles in WWI
As time passes so memories fade. As time passes tales of Weymouth’s involvement in the build up to and part played in WWI get forgotten. Weymouth and Portland once had a large military and naval force based in this area. Men were stationed at the Nothe Fort and Red Barracks and of course not forgetting…
Give a Soldier a Football…History of the British Army and Sport
Sport, especially football, seems to have played a major role in a soldiers life, they took it seriously…and I mean VERY seriously! A snippet here taken from The Navy & Army Illustrated of 1899 gives us a taste of a few British army history facts concerning soldiers and sport. It describes the team of the…
And the Band Played On; History of Music from the British Royal Navy
Someone once asked me why I write posts about the navy when my blog and book were entitled Nothe Fort and Beyond. ‘Beyond’ maybe gives a clue because the Victorian fortifications weren’t built as a stand alone defence. They were not only designed to protect our south coast from invasion but to protect the naval…
On Yer Bike! Victorian Sailors as Cyclists; History of the British Navy and Sport.
I know this article isn’t actually based at Portland, thought it was a large naval base during the Victorian era and men from the torpedo services frequently set up camp on the military area of the Nothe ridge to hone their skills down in Portland harbour. So maybe they brought along with them a couple…
Nothe Fortifications and the 18th corps Royal Engineers; Military history of Weymouth.
The pre 1850’s Nothe headland was a very different place to the one we know nowadays, but it was still very popular with both locals and the visiting elite. Joseph Russell Tompkins in an article from the Dorset Year Book of 1923 builds a wonderful early Victorian image of this headland; ‘the Nothe was quite free…
Military Tarts.
Bev Allen’s Military Tarts. I bet the soldiers on the Nothe would have scoffed these quicker than they could have fired a shell, probably washed down with a quart of ale from the Nothe Tavern. 😁 those down, https://kentishmaid.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/military-tarts/
WEYMOUTH DURING WWI; BRITISH ARMY HUMOUR 1915
Like most institutions, the army developed their own sense of humour. During one of my night time rummages through the online auction sites I came across this little cracker from WWI and my finger just inadvertently hit the ‘buy’ button. It is a tongue in cheek magazine created by those soldiers stationed in the Weymouth…
