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…
Tag: Weymouth
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…
Weymouth’s Nothe Guns, Gardens and Graveyards; Military History in Weymouth.
Here in Weymouth and Portland we are blessed with a bevvy of beautiful parks and gardens, all embracing their own special identity. Unbeknown to many people visiting Weymouth, one hidden gem holds a fascinating history, that of fighting men and fearsome artillery. Though it stands right next to the harbour, it’s secreted beneath a solid green canopy. Up on…
Royal Engineers and Searchlight Displays on Weymouth’s Nothe Fort; Military History in Weymouth.
Sometimes it’s odd where childhood memories pop up from. I have a few as a small child of watching searchlight displays from Weymouth beach. I am almost sure that they had been based on the Nothe and maybe over towards White Nothe? I recall watching as these powerful beams moved out across the waters of the bay and…
Weymouth Receives Evacuated French Troops 1940 WWII;Military History
An extract from my forthcoming book Nothe Fort and Way Beyond … Next to arrive in town were the men of the French army. This little known operation was run along side the more famous Dunkirk evacuation. On the 31st May 1940, Weymouth town mayor Mr Goddard received a phone call from the War Office….
Soldiers, soldiers everywhere…The Military History Weymouth 1808.
Weymouth’s history with the military goes way way back. The further back you go it seems, the more troops there were stationed in our area. So many men and regiments have come and gone from Weymouth’s Red Barracks or Radipole barracks. Oh to have a tardis and travel back in time to witness their lives….
The Drastic Demise of Private Jacob Damon; 51st Reg. 1869. British Military and the Problem of Suicide.
Life was brutal for the lower ranks in the Victorian army, they had much to endure.
One of their biggest issues was their soldier’s mental health and well being, but the powers that be cared little for that.
Sadly, a troubled troopers ultimate act was suicide, a problem that haunted the Victorian military.
Invasion by the Dorset Rifle Volunteers; 1867. Weymouth’s Military History.
A taster of my book soon to be published The Nothe Fort and Beyond… Weymouth was about to be invaded. For the first time, in September 1867, it had been chosen as the training venue for the Dorset Battalion of Rifle Volunteers (DRV). This was the ‘citizen’s army’ hastily set up in response to the…
Naughty Naughty…Knocker Nickers. Crime in the British Army.
Throughout its history, Weymouth’s Red Barracks and Nothe Fort have seen various troops come and go.Some good, some bad, some just plain bored and a few high spirited.
Wounded Soldiers of WWI; Weymouth Military Hospitals.
But Weymouth also played another role.
She took in many of the wounded from the fierce fighting in France.
A piece in the Western Gazette of Christmas Day 1914 gives a glimpse into the world of our not so long ago ancestors of Weymouth, many of whom helped in some way or another.
The article headlines proclaims
MORE WOUNDED ARRIVE AT WEYMOUTH.
NOTHE FORT AND BEYOND... 