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Tag Archives: Historic
The Boom Defences at Sheerness
Estuary Defence System
The Medway Boom was built at the beginning of WW1 about 1914 and consisted of a vast chain attached at one end to Grain Tower Fort (Martello Battery) on Grain Island across to the southern side at Garrison Point Fort on Sheerness.
It was raised and lowered by a winch on the wharf at the Sheerness dockyards. The chain was removed at the end of WW1 and the Grain Tower Fort placed into ‘care and maintenance’. In WW2 the Fort became an active part of the estuary defence system again with twin 6pdr QF guns being installed as a defence against the fast and very manoeuverable German E-Boat. During this time the Grain Tower Fort Battery had 29 Soldiers in residence at any one time.
Grain Tower Battery.
On a misty morning I decided to wander round the Isle of Grain waiting for the mist to burn off and see if any wonderful views or details could be found. Whilst wandering the coastal path I could hear a fog horn in the not too distant mist shrouded area, casting my eyes seaward and peering into the mist I could see a causeway disappear into the mist heading out into the estuary.
Well with my interest peeked and my camera over my shoulder I turned right and headed off down the causeway into the mist and the unknown.
Dodging rock pools and damaged sections of the causeway that where still filled with water I wandered further out onto the flats, then I noticed a structure slowly taking shape within the mist bank that was still hanging round the estuary.
When I was finally close enough this is what I found,
Grain Tower Battery, my first thoughts of the structure was “A modified and updated martello tower for use during the 2nd world war”.
However after some research on the subject I found out that the Tower was built in 1866 as part of the Chatham Maritime Defences, and the design of the Tower was based on the earlier Martello Towers that are dotted along the Kent and Sussex Coastline.
The Tower was built on the Grain Spit which is a sand bank in the Medway Estuary that is exposed at low tide.
This structure was also used as a chain blockade, this was achieved by a massive chain being linked to the Tower and Sheerness which when raised prevented ships from entering the Medway.
In 1910 the original structure was updated to include the accommodation block which was built on the west side. During the 2nd world war this structure was manned by 29 men who were stationed on the battery to operate the antiaircraft battery and other weapons that were in-situ.
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