Appendix Three: Alderney’s Fortifications from Roman ... · Appendix Three: Alderney’s...
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Appendix Three: Alderney’s Fortifications – from Roman times to the Second World War Located at the western end of Longis beach the small fort, once known as Les Murs de Bas, or Lower Fort, and known today as the ‘Nunnery’, is, after recent archaeological investigations, now considered to be almost certainly Roman in origin. Its shape has striking resemblances to the five Roman so‐called signal‐station forts on the Yorkshire coast. This fort is the first evidence of military construction in Alderney. In addition the fort was used during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as a hospital and married quarters in Victorian times and was converted to a German strong point in the Second World War.
Above: View of the ‘Nunnery’, known in the 16th century as Les Murs de Bas, looking south from Longis Common and showing the gate in the north wall. On the hill above is Fort Essex, which was originally built in Tudor times and was known variously as Les Murs de Haut, Upper Fort, and Essex ‘Castle’; during the Victorian era in the 1850s much of this was rebuilt and added to and it became Essex Barracks and Hospital. It too like the ‘Nunnery’ was fortified during the Second World War by the Germans and called by them Burg Essex.
Left: Plans of three so‐called Roman ‘Signal Stations’ and a plan of the ‘Nunnery’ showing its existing layout and the probable location of the Roman central tower. All of the small forts have a similar outline with apparently purposeless half‐rounded ‘bastions’ at the four corners of the partially curved curtain walls. The position of the section of wall which collapsed is marked on the ‘Nunnery’ plan. The Alderney fort was to defend the anchorage and harbour at Longis Bay, and the nearby Roman settlement.
Right: Roman walkway on the southern wall with a Napoleonic carriage store beyond
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By the 1550s the English authorities, realising the importance of Alderney as both a naval base and a haven from privateers, began the construction of a powerful work in 1546 that would dominate the approaches to Longis Bay – then still the island’s main harbour. Originally referred to as the Upper Fort or Les Murs de Haut but later known as Essex Castle, the fort has had a relatively uneventful but chequered history. Of the original structure only the north and west walls remain ‐ incorporated into the later Victorian work known as Essex Barracks and Hospital.
Left: The northern end of Fort Essex showing part of the original 16th century walls; the watchtower was added in the early nineteenth century. The loop holes and observation slits in the watch tower and immediately in front (left) were added or enlarged during the German occupation.
Right: Bastide’s map and recommendations for defending the island in 1739. Throughout the 1600s and early 1700s few fortifications of any note were constructed although from time to time various armaments were dispatched to the island. In the late 1730s, the Board of Ordnance called for a survey of Alderney for the purpose of constructing new batteries. Colonel J.H.Bastide completed the survey in 1739; his map shows the jetty, constructed by Le Mesurier, as the ‘New Peer’ that still exists today and is known as Douglas Quay. Bastide’s map lists the sites for ten proposed batteries mounting 27 guns.
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At the outbreak of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the island’s 18th century defences were in a poor state. In a report on the defences in 1801, it was noted that there were just 48 guns on standing carriages and a further fifteen on field carriages. By the end of the following year, the number of guns mounted in the island’s nineteen batteries had increased to 85. Twenty‐five of these guns were concentrated on the shoreline and slopes of Essex Hill to command the anchorage of Longis Bay. Kent and Clarence Batteries, known as the Queen’s Lines, were halfway up the slope of Essex Hill while Prince of Wales Battery was an extension of Longis Lines above the shoreline on the low cliff. By 1804 the Longis Bay batteries were reorganised: Kent and Clarence Batteries were dismantled and Longis Lines was extended to mount fifteen guns together with the new three‐gun Le Mesurier’s Battery in the centre of the bay. By 1809, after the construction of the semaphore tower (now known as Telegraph Tower) on Beacon Heights, the defences mounted some 93 pieces of ordnance and the Alderney Militia, comprising artillerymen, grenadiers and light infantry, totalled some 384 men.
Above: Built in 1801, the former Longis Barracks housed men for the fifteen guns mounted in the reconstituted Longis Lines and shore area in 1804.
Left: Telegraph Tower, constructed on Beacon Heights in 1809, was used to communicate with the other Islands during the Napoleonic Wars using Mulgrave’s Telegraph system
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At the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, Alderney mounted imposing artillery defences for such a small island, but over the next 25 years there was a steady decay of its defences and those of the other Channel Islands. Even as late as 1840, a report called for by the Inspector General of Fortifications showed the only defences were those remaining from the end of the Napoleonic Wars. At about this time, the French had begun to strengthen Cherbourg and to complete the construction of its harbour. This caused considerable alarm in the Admiralty, which feared for the safety of the naval dockyards of Portsmouth and Plymouth that lay within easy reach of the new steam driven warships. By 1842 plans for ‘Harbours of Refuge and Observation’ were proposed for the three main Channel Islands. However, only Alderney was considered by the Admiralty to be of prime importance as a lookout station for vessels of war. Consequently the original proposal for a harbour at Longis was abandoned with the decision in 1844 to build it at Braye. From here a watch could be kept on the south side of the Channel, particularly on Cherbourg, while the new harbour at Portland could perform a similar function in the north. From 1852 until the early 1860s, the fortification of Cherbourg and the building of its massive breakwaters were completed; it was during this period that the proposed size of Alderney’s harbour increased and the main period of fort construction was underway.
Left: Plan showing the projected increase in size of the Breakwater and Harbour between 1847 and 1859
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Above: Queen Victoria landing in Alderney in 1854 to see the progress on the construction of the forts and harbour; note the type and size of vessels in the harbour at this date. Within ten years the ironclad warship would reign supreme and the proposed harbour would have been far too small and shallow to accommodate a fleet of these modern vessels Alderney’s Victorian fortifications are the most dominant features of the island’s coastal landscape particularly when viewed from seaward where nearly every headland boasts a formidable array of ramparts in the eighteen forts and batteries that would have bristled with more than 220 smooth‐bore, muzzle‐loading cannon; their intended targets were enemy ships, still wooden but often steam‐driven in the 1850s. The landward sides of all the forts ‐ including the hundreds of musketry loopholes ‐ were designed to defend against infantry that might have reached the shore from enemy ships.
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Above: Fort Clonque from the Zig‐Zag path. Left: Western face of Fort Grosnez showing musketry galleries and small machicolation
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Above: Fort Tourgis ‐ part of the west wall of the Citadel with its musketry loopholes. The drawbridge archway from Battery No. 3 to Battery No. 1 can be seen in the right centre of the photograph. The constructions on the left are a German OP and a brick 20mm Flak position.
Above left: Fort Houmet Herbé Above right: Rat Island Fort and the coast of France
Fort Touraille, later to be re‐named Fort Albert following the death of the Prince Consort, was constructed between 1856 and 1859 and was the last of the forts to be built. Its polygonal design shows many features that set it apart from its predecessors on the island with its low profile, polygonal trace, extensive glacis, deep ditch flanked by musketry caponiers, and ramparts designed to mount as many guns as possible. The original plan shows it to have mountings for 35 guns on the ramparts and eight more on the cavalier. With the installation of two 6‐inch BL guns at the turn of the century, a major alteration to the north‐west corner of the fort was carried out. Not even the works associated with the German naval battery during the Second World War had as much impact on the fort's appearance.
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Above: South‐east musketry caponier and flanking gallery above, and entrance to the fort
Above: One of the three 17cm SK L/40 German gun emplacements installed in German Batterie Elsass , Fort Albert Left: Fort Albert as constructed. Note the position of the original cavalier battery and the additional battery (No.1 Battery), rifle gallery, and four guns in casemates to the north‐west. These were all removed or blocked up when the 6‐inch guns were installed at the turn of the 20th century after the cavalier had been lowered by approximately 3.6 metres (after PRO plan)
Fort Albert was a late design and was intended to be not only the strongest coastal defence work, but also to act as the main citadel should the island be overrun by enemy forces. What makes the fort so important in British fortification, apart from its unique history that includes its occupation by the Germans, is that there were only three other polygonal forts in the British Isles at this time. Fort Albert can be considered to be a prototype for the numerous Royal Commission Forts of the 1860s round the main Naval Dockyards in the UK. These latter forts, at the time, represented an advance on any in the world.
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Construction of the western arm of the breakwater began in 1847 and continued until 1864. By 1856 the western arm had reached 900yards (823m) from the shore but from then on the work became much more laborious as the depth of water increased. In 1864 the head of the breakwater had reached 1,600 yards (1463m) from the shore in a depth of 130 feet (38m) at low tide. No further construction was undertaken on the western arm and the eastern arm was never started. This was because the harbour was still not big enough for warships of the tonnage by then contemplated; the era of the Ironclad had arrived. In 1886 it was proposed to revise Alderney’s armament and to concentrate the defence in Fort Albert. The decision by the Joint Naval and Military Committee on Defence that Alderney would be a useful station for torpedo‐craft in time of war, assured its status as a defended port in 1891. At the turn of the century, with the rationalisation of coast defence ordnance, Fort Albert was re‐armed in 1901 with two 6‐inch breach‐loading guns while two 12‐pounder quick‐firing guns were installed at Roselle Battery along with two defence electric lights. Although the rise of German naval power at the beginning of the 20th century resulted in successive schemes for the defences of Alderney and its harbour, the coastal defences were never put to the test during the Great War of 1914–1918, and by 1921 the Admiralty decided the harbour was of little military importance and handed over the maintenance of the breakwater to civilian contractors. By the end of the decade the Alderney Militia was disbanded, the British garrison was withdrawn and the forts were disarmed. In 1940, with the Germans rapidly advancing westwards in June, the remaining British troops were withdrawn from the Channel Islands. The British Government, in their wisdom, refrained from informing the Germans that the Islands had been demilitarised; this led to the bombing of St. Helier and St. Peter Port on 28 June 1940. After officially being informed that the Islands were indeed demilitarised, for all practical purposes the Germans occupied Guernsey on 30 June, Jersey on 1 July, Alderney on 2 July and Sark on 4 July. The occupation of the Islands was of great propaganda value and if Operation Seelöwe (‘Sealion’) – the invasion of Britain – had gone ahead, they would have proved valuable staging posts. Also Hitler, after he had won the war, never intended that the Channel Islands would be returned to Britain; instead he intended to keep them under German control. Hitler firmly believed the British would attempt to recapture the Islands. In fact Mountbatten became a great advocate for the recapturing of Alderney – particularly as there was no civilian population; fortunately no attempts were made, as it is debatable if any of the planned operations would have succeeded.
Left: Co‐ordinated fire plan showing Alderney’s role in the protection of the Cotentin Peninsula, and the in‐shore shipping ‘core‐route’ from Cherbourg south to Granville and St Malo
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After Hitler had indefinitely postponed Operation ‘Sealion’ and with the initial success of the U‐boat campaign against British shipping, Operation ‘Barbarossa’ – the invasion off Russia – commenced in June. After Pearl Harbor and the entry of the USA into the conflict in December 1941, Hitler issued orders for the building of the so‐called Atlantikwall (‘Atlantic Wall’) to defend the whole of the coastline of Europe from Norway to the Spanish border including the Channel Islands, which were to be turned into an impregnable fortress. Throughout 1942 and 1943 the majority of the permanent, fortress standard construction was carried by the Organization Todt (OT) using mostly forced foreign labour. The OT had originally been set up in 1933 under Dr. Fritz Todt to construct Germany’s motorway network and later was given the task of constructing the West Wall defences. After Hitler had decided to construct the Atlantic Wall, the OT was the natural choice to implement the huge fortification programme. In Alderney, the OT labourers were housed in four camps: Lagers Helgoland, Norderney, Borkum and Sylt. The infamous concentration camp Lager Sylt (near Telegraph Tower), under the control of SS Construction Brigade 1 from March 1943, had been previously used by the OT to house Russian and other forced labourers. By 1943, the total number of forced labourers on the island was over 4,000. The German garrison increased from 450 in 1941 to 3,200 by 1944 and, although far smaller than either Guernsey or Jersey, Alderney was fortified to a greater degree, for its size, than the other islands. The island boasted five Coastal Artillery Batteries, 22 Anti‐Aircraft Batteries, 13 Strongpoints, 12 Resistance Nests, three Defence Lines and 30,000 Land Mines.
Left: 15cm gun emplacement in Batterie Annes – one of five artillery batteries on the island. Below: View of the north‐west corner of Fort Tourgis showing part of the German Strongpoint Türkenburg
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Above: Strongpoint Biberkopf – eastern side facing Saye Bay Left: The entrance gates from inside Lager Sylt ‐ the only concentration camp on British soil ‐ looking towards Telegraph Tower on the horizon
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Above left: MP3, 20mm Flak position and trench shelter in 88mm Flak battery Höhe 145 Above right: Searchlight position, Longis anti‐tank wall and MP3 in Resistance Nest Unteressex
Above: 10.5cm gun bunker and 60cm searchlight position above in Strongpoint Türkenburg
Left: German 10.5cm gun bunker in Victorian Fort Grosnez, known to the Germans as Strongpoint Josephsburg
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With the decision of the allies to by‐pass the Islands during the Normandy Invasion in 1944, they were to remain effectively isolated and mostly, but not completely, impotent. However, on 12 August 1944 the British battleship HMS Rodney fired 75 x 16‐inch shells at Batterie Blücher with limited success in an attempt to destroy the battery which had been firing at the American advance on the Cotentin Peninsula.
Above: Large fragment of shell Right: Shell craters from the bombardment by HMS Rodney in August 1944 ‐ traced from aerial photographs On 9 May 1945 Jersey and Guernsey were liberated, but Alderney finally surrendered one week later on 16 May 1945. T.G.Davenport September 2013
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Appendix Four: Visitor numbers to major World War Two sites in Normandy Total visitors (bed nights) in Normandy: 9,002,236 Total bed spaces: 243,879 61% French 39% foreign (62% UK, 15% Dutch, 8% Belgian, 6% German, 3% Italian , 3% US, 1.5% Spanish, 1% Swiss, 0,5% Japanese)
World War Two sites US Cemetery, Colleville sur Mer : 1,400,000 visitors Pointe du Hoc battery: 950,000 visitors Mémorial de Caen : 405,000 visitors (top museum outside Paris) Arromanches : Musée du Débarquement : 330,000 visitors Arromanches: Musée 360°: 232 000 visitors Ste Mère Eglise : US Airborne Museum: 150 000 visitors
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Appendix Five: Tour operators
D‐Day tours
Overlord Tours 9 Hameau de l'Eglise, 50480 Bayeux, France www.overlordtour.com D‐Day Overlord www.dday‐overlord.com Marc Laurenceau, France The D‐Day Tour Company Manoir de Founcroup, Picauville, Manche, France50360 www.dday1944tours.com D‐day Historian Private Tours Mark Woodadge, France http://www.ddayhistorian.com
UK Heritage Tour Operators Alison Weir Tours ‐ Historical Tudor Tours. Experience the Golden Age of English History Alison Weir Tours ‐ Exclusive Historical Tours. Experience the Golden Age of English History. Based Around the Books of Alison Weir. http://www.alisonweirtours.com
Archaeology Safaris Field trips and field schools in parts of Britain that have concentrations of megalithic and other archaeological sites of interest. Small group guided tours led by experienced Archaeologists and lecturers. http://www.archaeology‐safaris.co.uk
British Heritage Bespoke Tours ‐ Chauffeur, tour guide, Concierge and Heritage Tour Planner British heritage and culture ‐ experience a unique tour of Britain or London with your own personal Chauffeur http://www.bhctours.co.uk
Godolphin Heritage Tours Tailor made cultural and heritage tours of England's Westcountry. Walk it, Bike it, or let us drive it http://www.heritage‐tours.co.uk
Hidden History Tours Specialist guiding and tour design services on archaeological themes, researched and guided by archaeologist and Blue Badge Guide Dr Simon Butler. Regional tours and specific sites: Prehistoric Britain; Stone Circles; Ancient Landscapes; Celtic Heritage; Roman Towns and Villas. http://www.hiddenhistory.co.uk
Tours Through Time We offer an array of guided special interest breaks all over the UK including "Tours Through Time" in association with English Heritage. http://www.brooklandtravel.com
Tudor History Tours ‐ Historical Tours of England Guided tours of historical Tudor England. Places where some of the most tumultuous events in English history took place. Elizabeth I and Henry VIII. http://www.tudorhistorytours.com
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Nature tour operators (with acknowledgement to www.travel‐lists.co.uk)
Avian Adventures 01384 372013 Worldwide birdwatching, wildlife and photographic holidays
Biosphere Expeditions 01502 583085
Non‐profit conservation expeditions, often to truly remote places, to help scientists carry out conservation programmes and research. Around two‐thirds of the fee to join an expedition goes directly to the project itself.
Birdfinders 01258 839066 Extensive programme of birding holidays all over the world.
Birdquest 01254 826317 Major bird tour specialist with expert‐guided, small group tours all over the world
Birdwatching Breaks 01381 610495 Small group birdwatching trips all over the world since 1987.
Eagle‐Eye Tours 0800 328 1454 Worldwide bird‐watching tours. US‐based company with UK presence.
Exodus 020 8673 0859 Adventure, wildlife & wilderness tours
Explore! 0845 291 4541
Programme of 32 wildlife & adventure weekends in 28 countries that include tiger tracking in India, gorilla watching in Uganda, brown bear & cheetah encounters, etc.
Footprint Adventures 01522 804929
Tours all over the world aimed at trekkers, walkers, naturalists, wildlife enthusiasts and birders. Conservation and community‐friendly, their mission statement is to leave places better than they found them.
Island Ventures 01227 770419
Bird‐watching, botanical, and wildlife trips in the UK and Europe, particularly to island outposts such as the Orkneys, Hebrides
Kudu Travel 01722 716167 Botanical and bird‐watching tours
Limosa Holidays 01263 578143 A portfolio of around 70 inclusive, escorted, birdwatching (mainly) & wildlife holidays worldwide.
Naturetrek 01962 733051
One of the best known specialist operators in this field, with a spectacular range of wildlife, birdwatching, botany and natural history tours all over the world. Small group tours with expert guides, or tailor‐made tours for groups & individuals.
New Horizons 01773 716550
Husband and wife team operating a programme of birdwatching tours and courses to destinations worldwide.
Oriole Birding 01656 711152 UK based company specialising in birdwatching tours of Norfolk and South Wales, with a wide range of
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other UK destinations as well as a comprehensive programme of international holidays
Papyrus Tours 01302 371 321
Natural history tours to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Southern & East Africa, Australia, India and Eastern Europe.
PlanetWildlife 020 3242 0533 Multinational brand offering wildlife and wildlife photography tours worldwide.
Responsible Travel 087000 52836
Online portal/agency for conservational, environmental and community‐friendly holidays of all types but with a leaning towards adventure and activity holidays.
Steppes Discovery 01285 643333
Small group and tailor‐made nature travel specialists offering everything from whalewatching in California, through safaris in Rwanda, to visiting conservation projects in the wilds of Mongolia on horseback.
Sunbird Tours 01767 682969 One of the top specialist bird‐watching operators with tours throughout the world.
Toucan Tours 01772 787 862 Bird‐watching tours in Latin America
Travelling Naturalist, The 01305 267994 Guided wildlife tours (mainly birds) all over the world.
Ultimate Travel Company, The 020 7386 4646
Wwildlife and nature tours form a separate division within UTC, offering escorted small group tours worldwide.
Why Don't You... 0845 838 6262
Special interest holidays division of WEXAS, the longstanding and well‐known holiday club. WDY has a number of nature & wildlife holidays in its programme each year.
Wildlife & Wilderness 01625 530035 Wildlife‐watching tours worldwide, particularly in dramatic and remote landscapes.
Wildlife Worldwide 020 8667 9158
One of the best‐known operators in this field. Small groups tours and tailor‐made journeys travelling worldwide to see animals in their natural environments.
Wildwings 0117 9658 333
Wildlife holidays worldwide. Their speciality is bird‐watching, also exotic mammals such as puma watching in Chile or Giant pandas in China.