The tarring process declined as, Iron Foundry 185561. Bob Chalmers, from Warminster, Wiltshire, was part of the September 1964 intake and he is hoping to organise a reunion. But he said without helping me out in the garage ripping out engines, he wouldnt have a clue.. [20], No 1 Basin was officially opened in 1871, with HMS Invincible being brought into No 5 Dock for repairs, with great ceremony. DavidWent to Navy Days, both as a toddler with my parents and later as 8-10 yr old with school friends. [8], 1567 is generally seen as the date of Chatham's establishment as a Royal Naval Dockyard. [17] In 1686 two new dry docks were built, in addition to the old single and double dry docks; all four were rebuilt and expanded at various points in subsequent centuries (the double dock having been converted into a single dock in 1703). The National Archives has some records of Ordnance employees, mainly within WO 54. In the event, those defences were built in distinct phases, as the government saw the increasing threat of invasion:[126]. [36] dailyinfo[21]=' Lieutenant Colonel John Michell CLARKE Royal Army Medical Corps who died 21/04/1918 BRISTOL (CANFORD) CEMETERY United Kingdom ' Our Education Directory has everything you could possibly need! Plymouth Argyle legend Paul Wotton leads Truro City to promotion, Finley Craske, a loan signing from Argyle, was part of the Truro team which won the Southern League Premier South Play-Off Final, Former winery transformed into idyllic 'private' and 'peaceful' family home, The property has sufficient space to create the 'ideal pony paddock', Doctor warns of nine symptoms of 'silent killer' that women shouldn't ignore, Ovarian cancer is often called a 'silent killer' because warning signs often don't become apparent until the disease is advanced, Peek inside Plymouth's 'secret' tennis club as it opens up for new members, The Stonehouse Lawn Tennis Club has grass courts, gardens, allotments and, Affordable homes to tackle housing crisis to built on former youth club site. At the time the order was given the vessel was entirely unrigged; yet the masts were raised, sails bent, anchors and cables on board, in that time.[3]. In spite of this in June 1981, it was announced to Parliament that the dockyard would be run down and closed in 1984. var daym=mydate.getDate() Brian Clarke, Gillingham. The Great War Forum Limited The building functioned as a "present use store" except for the upper floor, which was a, Sail and Colour Loft 1723. [27] It was partly to address this problem that the Admiralty undertook a huge building programme at Chatham, between 1862 and 1865, which quadrupled the size of the yard and provided specialist facilities for steam-powered ships with metal hulls. The 'old boys' who were recorders in the Dockyard and still meet up for a pint. Twelve houses built for senior officers in the Dockyard. Terry left a secondary school in Hoo with qualifications in metal work and technical drawing and, like many boys of his age, enrolled for apprenticeship at the yard, classed as one of the best in the world. )[119], A plan of 1704 shows (from north to south) a long Storehouse parallel to the river, the Storekeeper's house (the Storekeeper was the senior officer of the Yard) and a pair of Carriage Stores. Elgar Curling, who was 16 at the time, said: We all still get on a like house on fire. Royal Field Artillery who died 10/05/1918 VIEILLE-CHAPELLE NEW MILITARY CEMETERY, LACOUTURE France ' [10], From the very start of the 18th century, however, Chatham began to be superseded in both size and importance, first by Portsmouth, then Plymouth, when the main naval enemy became France, and the Western approaches the chief theatre of operations. Thanks seaJane. Twelve hundred hammerers, measurers, caulkers, armourers, forgers, smiths, shipwrights; twelve hundred dingers, clashers, dongers, rattlers, clinkers, bangers, bangers, bangers![4]. The oldest surviving naval storehouse in any Royal Dockyard. [134], In 1928 Chatham Barracks was taken over by the Royal Engineers and renamed Kitchener Barracks. The chances of finding someone by name within this series are steadily improving as details are added to the online catalogue as part of the Navy Board cataloguing project. Use our catalogue to search within the records series listed below. [48], Chatham Dockyard has become a popular location for filming, due to its varied and interesting areas such as the cobbled streets, church and over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian periods. Three basins were constructed along St Mary's creek, from west to east: No 1 Basin (of 28 acres (110,000m2)), No 2 Basin (20 acres (81,000m2)) and No 3 Basin (21 acres (85,000m2)). The barracks were set to close in 1961 when the majority of naval personnel were withdrawn from Chatham;[142] however, it went on to serve instead as the RN Supply and Secretariat School in succession to HMSCeres, before finally being closed along with the Dockyard in 1984. Also Grade II* listed. I later transfer to The Foundry and on it's closure I was sent to the training school in Kyber Road to train as a Engine Fitter. There was an annual intake of some 300 boys between 15 and 16 years old in two intakes September and January. Accommodating some 1,800 men, Chatham was one of the first large-scale Army barracks in England. The lower terraces are one of the first, Officers' Terrace 172223. [121] Most of the 18th-century buildings were demolished, with the exception of the Storekeeper's House of 1719, which survives as the Command House public house. Has it changed for the better, or were those really the "good old days"? His picture shows most of the apprentices in his year along with a few from other trades who helped build the float. ). - Chris, Cuxton, "I began as a coppersmith apprentice at Chatham Dockyard, and ended up as a Mechanical Design Draughtsman before I left and moved to the USA in 1981. Read the catalogue details for BT 19 to find related correspondence from various departments of the Board. [55], The Captain of the Dockyard's House and flagstaff, Double Ropewalk and Black Yarn House to right, The Victorian Steam Yard was built around three large Basins (wet docks), constructed between 1865 and 1885 along the line of St Mary's Creek (separating St Mary's Island from the mainland). The northern building was used as a fitted rigging house, and a general store for equipment to fit out newly built ships. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. "Without a shadow of a doubt, those were the best years of my life, apart from my married life of course.". Mr Gray, who lives in Portsmouth, remarked on the differences which have taken place at the dockyard over the decades. In the years of peace after 1815 Chatham continued to serve as a major embarkation port for troops serving overseas. Combined Ship Trade Office 1880: now the "Ship & Trades" public house. 'Everything had to be done by 4pm on Fridays', which made Fridays quite manic and stressful at times, they said. The Black Yarn House to store the tarred yarn. Each member of the group was a recorder in the dockyard around fifty years ago, with some joining as young apprentices. His last job was working on the Royal Navy submarine HMS Dreadnought. In 1550, a decree was issued to the Lord High Admiral that: all the Kinges shippes should be harborowed in Jillyngham Water saving only those that be at Portsmouth[5], Even prior to this, there is evidence of certain shore facilities being established in the vicinity for the benefit of the King's ships at anchor: there are isolated references from as early as 1509 to the hiring of a storehouse nearby[6] and from 1547 this becomes a fixed item in the Treasurer's annual accounts. My Grandad had already retired by the time the Dockyard was due to close." One of the boys' favourite moments is the time they bent the new uniform rules. They lived in Chatham, in Old Brompton, some in Rochester and Strood, but by far the greatest number in New Brompton and Gillingham, and the similarity of much of that district to a Midland or Northern industrial town was due to dockyard workers many of whom had come from the North. The first battleship to be built on the new No 8 Slip was HMS Africa, launched in 1905; however it also proved to be the last, as it was announced (controversially) that Chatham Dockyard would be unable to accommodate Dreadnoughts. Although the yard focused mainly on refitting and repairs, some shipbuilding continued to take place. Some Great War periods covered in these newly-transcribed records: https://thedockyard.co.uk/the-collections/ledgers/. The oldest surviving barracks in the Chatham area is in Upnor; dating from 1718, it housed the detachment of 64 men responsible for guarding the gunpowder store in Upnor Castle. who died 02/05/1915 BABY 700 CEMETERY, ANZAC Turkey (including Gallipoli) ' Discovery is a catalogue of archival records across the UK and beyond, from which you can search 32 million records.