The eight miles of winding Medway from the dockyard Locks at Bull Point down to Sheerness and the Thames always gave us time for reflection. It also required calm concentration in navigating its narrow half mile wide fairways on the way to and from sea. Outbound like a cork from a bottle, we would round Garrison Point and slip past the sunken American wartime munitions ship 'Richard Montgomery' (See Link buttons) - masts visible and broken hull full of explosives -- into the Thames Estuary. Then, in the 1950's, it was the world shipping trade's main artery where you would pass ships from around the world bound in and out of London as well as the great white liners of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company out of Tilbury. There also were the cockle bawleys from Leigh-on-Sea and Whitstable and the unique Thames spritsail barges working their way through both rivers to and from the east and south coast ports laden with anything from grain to scrap iron. It really was like the M25 motorway is today but much less hazardous though not entirely free from accidents as you will see as you read on.

That then gives a feel for where Chatham's Royal Dockyard actually was. Tucked up the marshy and narrow River Medway almost as far as you could navigate and within the sight of the great up-river castles of Upnor and Rochester.

Chatham has always thought of itself as the birthplace of the British Navy and was certainly familiar to Henry VIII. First called Jillingham Water then Jillingham Dockyard it was changed to Chatham in 1567.
The 1600's saw the building of the first drydock, Samuel Pepys visit to inspect St Mary's Island, and then, in the summer of 1667 the Dutch took retribution for the defeats we had forced upon them previously. They attacked our ships and ransacked Sheerness Dockyard before audaciously sailing up the Medway to do the same at Chatham Dockyard. Not content with that they finally set fire to our ships in the river beneath Upnor Castle, built to protect the Fleet, then added insult to injury by taking with them as they left the Duke of York's flagship 'Royal Charles'. Coming, as that did just nine months after London's great fire it would be fair to assume things were not going too well except, that is, for the prospects of those in the building and dockyard trades!

The first half of the 18th century saw major building development of and around the Main Gate including the Commissioner's House, Sail Loft, Officer's Terrace and Hemp House. What is now known as the Clock Tower Building at the head of No.2 Dock also has it origins in the period but the upper floor and clock were added later. The second half of the century saw building continue in the same vein with the most spectacular being the 1140 feet (348M) long Ropery. Completed towards the end of the 1790's ropes are still being made there today in 2007.

Whilst new buildings were going up shipbuilding also continued and one of the ships was named HMS VICTORY. She was laid down on the site of the present day No. 2 Dock in 1759 and commissioned into service in 1778 to lead a fairly uneventful life before being rebuilt in 1803. After that, well, she got involved in a battle or two became famous and was 'stolen' by Portsmouth where she remains to this day HMS VICTORY the Flagship of Commander in Chief, Naval Home Command as well as a unique tourist attraction.
 
 

Within the next thirty years Chatham was building steamships and by 1863 their first iron ship the huge (380ft/116M') 'ACHILLES' (Right). It is also at this time that the creation of the Basins began. 
French prisoners of war were set-to in 1864 extending the dockyard northwards and eastwards by digging out and building the basins, docks and locks along the route of St Mary's Creek. The Basins, numbered 1, 2 & 3 from west to east were secured by a single Lock at the western Upnor end and by two Locks (North & South) at the eastern Gillingham Reach end. The Upnor Lock was subsequently walled up around 1906 thus reducing the risk of a catastrophic emptying. Water security was maintained with a Caisson between each Basin which also provided railway continuity. There was a light lifting bridge alongside both of them. Four new Docks each around 420ft/128M long and numbered 5 to 8 were built off the south side of No.1 Basin. Depths throughout were maintained at 31ft. It took until 1885 to complete the Basins and the erection of Machine and Boiler shops close-by No.1 Basin.

It was then that the accommodation hulks, including HMS Pembroke, were brought in from the river. It is probably true to say their occupants watched with both hope and apprehension when, some three years later, the building of the barracks started (See HMS Pembroke pages). Development inevitably followed on St Mary's Island the most significant of which was the digging out of a new 650ft/190M long No. 9 Dock, again off No. 1 Basin, that started in 1897. Services, training depots and sports facilities in addition to stores, workshops and washrooms etc. followed.

It really was only now, at the turn of the 19/20th century, that 'electricity' became a recognised engineering skill and a major Yard re-organisation was undertaken which brought about  'Construction', 'Engineers' and 'Electrical Engineers' Departments. Chatham was now a much enlarged naval dockyard incorporating the best of the past with up-to-the-minute facilities and an extremely efficient workforce ready to face the future with confidence and pride.
Nowhere was that reflected more than in the building of the submarine C.17. It was early days of submarines and launched in 1908 she was the the first to be built in a Royal Dockyard and the forerunner of a long line of Chatham-built submarines. (Pic. Courtesy Dave Hallas http://www.britsub.net

Following on from C.17 as well as building submarines Chatham was refitting and repairing a huge range of ships as the prospect of war grew stronger year by year.  By the time war was declared in August 1914 they had built a further eleven submarines, three cruisers and four minelayers together with a number of smaller vessels.

Everyone, matelots and dockyard mateys alike, knew they would face some grievous losses but the disastrous sinking of three Chatham ships, in a single hour, just seven weeks into the war was an alarming shock and tragedy. The turn-of-the-century cruisers 'ABOUKIR', 'CRESSY' and 'HOGUE', on patrol together in the southern North Sea on the morning of 22 September 1914, were torpedoed one after the other by the German submarine U.9. The action started at 0620 and by 0720 the ship's companies totalling 2296 - largely Reservists many of whom were Coastguards - were reduced to 837 survivors. (Pic: ABOUKIR).

Two weeks later on 26 November yet another disaster struck the Medway when the twelve year old battleship BULWARK exploded, again at breakfast time, on her moorings in Kethole Reach. Only 12 out of 750 onboard survived the internal accident.

HMS BULWARK & HMS PRINCESS ELIZABETH (IRENE sister ship) (Pics. gwpda.org)

Six months after the BULWARK a third 'local' catastrophe occurred when, just before tot time on 27 May 1915, HMS PRINCESS IRENE exploded at her moorings in Saltpan Reach off Sheerness. A new liner for Canadian Pacific she had been requisitioned by the Admiralty as she completed in Denny's Dumbarton Yard about eight months earlier and converted for mine-laying. In addition to 222 crew she had onboard around 80 dockyard mateys and a similar number of sailors carrying out maintenance and the priming of her full load of mines when the 'internal' explosion occured. Fallout from the explosion reportedly landed as far away as Sittingbourne and Maidstone and when the air cleared there was nothing left but a lone survivor. 
 
There were of course other major losses but these three so close to home and soon into the war brought home the awful truth of what war meant to the Royal Navy, Royal Dockyards and all those connected with them.

By the time war ended in November 1918 Chatham had built another thirteen submarines, three cruisers, four minelayers and a number of smaller vessels and at the same time carried out the many war repairs, refits and maintenance needs that fell to them.

It was not too long before Government and Admiralty decided there were more ships than either wanted. Chatham and Sheerness Dockyards and the River Medway generally was literally packed with them in various states of repair and disrepair. As the number in commission diminished so the list of those 'for disposal' grew and the run-down of the navy accelerated. That inevitably led to a reduction in the number of dockyard employees, then, along came 'The Depression'.

This picture shows a Breeches-Buoy drill from the 6400 ton monitor MARSHALL SOULT in Chatham Dockyard between World War 1 & 2. Built in 1915 at Palmers on the River Tyne she carried  2x15" guns, had a crew of 280 and a speed of 6.6kts! She was being used as a gunnery training ship at Chatham by 1941.  (Thanks to Richard Saywell for the pic.)

Through the austere and difficult 1920's and 30's the workforce kept on building ships and submarines and  before war returned had built fifteen more submarines, the 10000 ton cruiser KENT and another two half her size ARETHUSA and EURYALUS. Many smaller vessels were also built and the 25000 ton battleship CENTURION came to Chatham for conversion.     

Early in 1938 with Germany annexing Austria all the signs were ominously pointing towards yet another war so the Government devoted increasing amounts of money to re-arming and defence. It was not wasted as Germany and Italy became more and more aggresive before the inevitable happened  in September 1939.

Through World War 2 some 13000 people were employed in the dockyard and between them they achieved some 1360 ship repairs, built another 10 submarines, 2 mooring vessels, 1 cruiser, 2 sloops, 2 floating docks and many other jobs. They included major and majority work before and following on from the 1940 Dunkirk Evacuation. (See separate 'Dunkirk' page)
 
They inevitably took losses to German bombers and records indicate there was 107 wounded and 15 killed in the Yard before peace returned again in 1945. As sad as that undoubtedly was it was a relatively small number considering its vital purpose. I'm sure the enemy's lack of success in bombing both Chatham & Sheerness Yards was due in no small part to those who manned our air defences ashore and in the Thames Estuary Forts to the east.

History repeated itself once more at the end of 1945 when suddenly there was ships varying from aircraft carriers to landing ships, cruisers to destroyers, minesweepers to fast patrol boats and many others besides packed three and four deep around the Basins and hanging off trots of buoys in the Medway/Swale. It was a picture repeated around the UK. As sailors left to be demobbed ships paid off and were refitted, placed in reserve or listed for disposal.

As 1950 opened  both sailors and dockyard workers were starkly reminded of the price that sometimes has to be paid at sea, even in peace-time, when the submarine TRUCULENT was lost.
During the afternoon watch on 14 January 1950 HM Submarine TRUCULENT left the Submarine Exercise Area to the east of the Thames Estuary to make her way back into the Medway where she was to land the 18 Chatham Dockyard men onboard. The submarine had just completed a long refit and had left Chatham Dockyard earlier in the day for sea trials prior to going north the next day.
There was a quiet satisfaction onboard that the trials had gone well as she made her way back on the surface through the busy and relatively narrow channels of the Thames Estuary from which the Medway branches wine-bottle like on the south side. The estuary would have had the appearance of a horizontal fireworks display with fixed and flashing lights on the hundreds of buoys intermingling with those on the many vessels vying for space as they made their way in and out of London's Docks and riversides. Of those many channels the one that leads to and from the River Medway is a narrow one some 7 miles long but only 3 cables (1824ft/550M) wide and it was on the threshold of this that things went so swiftly and disastrously wrong for TRUCULENT.

The Commanding Officer, Lieutenant C P Bowers* was on the Bridge with Officer-of-the-Watch Lt. J N H Baker, two other officers and two ratings just before 1900 when decisions were being made regarding a ship's lights ahead of them. Lt Bowers ordered a turn to port but as the submarine's course began to alter it was realised that those lights# had been mis-interpreted. Realising a collision was imminent he ordered those on the Bridge to 'Stations below' but only one had time comply as the bows of a ship loomed over the remaining five casting them into the sea and cutting into the hull on the starboard side forward. Those below were forced aft as the submarine started to flood and sink and in the moments available to them before water also began to enter through the Bridge hatch they, remarkably, managed to make the vessel watertight aft of the Control Room.

The collision occurred soon after 1900 close by the West Oaze Buoy leaving the other vessel the 640 Ton Swedish Tanker SS DIVINA (Captain Karl Hammerberg)(Pilot D W Ellison) to search around to establish what they had collided with and the consequences. They launched a boat, threw lifebuoys and subsequently were able to rescue ten men. Within five minutes of the collision the Dutch ship ALMDYK, inbound for Gravesend, came on the scene and rescued the five hypothermic and incoherent Bridge crew from the cold sea. DIVINA unable to make radio contact with the shore requested ALMDYK to do so and at 1949 the shore authorities learned that the two ships were rescuing persons from the sea. It is believed that by this time all survivors - only ten bodies were later found in the submarine - had escaped in a 'text-book' operation for which four bravery awards, two posthumously, were later made. They exited via the After Escape-hatch believing there would be plenty of rescuers on the surface but tragically, in the darkness, most were swept away by the tide and never found.

It was ALMDYK's next message, received at Chatham at 2031 and prompted by the survivors recovering enough to be able to say they were from a submarine, that activated the navy's well practised submarine rescue procedure (Subsunk). By 2140 the Destroyer COWDRAY had arrived on scene closely followed by CADMUS then came the Trinity House Vessel ALERT, Southend and Margate Lifeboats and soon after midnight the destroyer BICESTER. At daybreak surrounding buoys were checked and aircraft searched the area but no other survivors were found.

TRUCULENT being salvaged in 1950. Launched at Barrow in Furness in 1942 she saw war service in the Arctic (43) and Far East (44) where she sunk a Japanese supply ship and several smaller vessels before refitting in the US in late 1944.

The submarine was subsequently beached and 10 bodies were recovered from inside her. In March she was refloated and towed to Sheerness Dockyard from where she was soon scrapped.
Of the fifteen survivors three were Dockyard workers and five came from the Bridge at the time of the collision. 64 died. In a final twist of fate a further five people died when an RAF plane bringing supplies for the salvage operation crashed.

* Lieutenant Charles Philip BOWERS' Royal Navy service included:- May 1940 Cadet, HMS CORNWALL; April 1941 Sub Lieutenant, HMS P314; May 1950 Lieutenant, HMS INDEFATIGABLE; January 1961 Lieutenant Commander, HMS DRAKE; 1961 made a Member of British Empire (MBE) 1966 Retired.
 
# DIVINA, because of her cargo of paraffin, was required by Port of London (PLA) Byelaws to display an all-round red light whilst within their jurisdiction but not otherwise. That she had just crossed out of their area at the time of the collision was one of the factors highlighted at the Inquiry. Amongst others was that Lt Bowers failed to identify Divina's lights for what they were and altered course to Port when Rules of the Road required and navigation conditions permitted her to maintain her course.
Regardless of the circumstances it was a tragedy for the sailors who where on the threshold of a new commission and for the Dockyard men who had so diligently made the submarine fit for the Fleet.

The process of change from war to peace was still in progress when, with a little warning, as ever, North Korea invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950. Within days RN ships in the Far East were involved while others at home were brought forward as demobbed sailors were recalled to help man them. Once again extra work and commitment became necessary in the Dockyard. 

In the wake of WW2 a relaxation of training gradually took place and a reduction in the number of ships led to a shrinking need for servicemen and dockyard staff. That accelerated towards and beyond the 'Festival of Britain' in 1951. The Festival was designed to take our minds off continuing post-war deprivations, hardships and rationing whilst promoting the country's industrial and cultural skills. H.M.S. CAMPANIA became an exhibition ship and was sent off to tour the coast as part of the Festival. The Royal Festival Hall - reopened in 2007 after a £100 million plus, 2 year refurbishment - was the centrepiece on the Festival's primary exhibition site on London's South Bank between County Hall (London Eye) and Waterloo Bridge and is all that now remains.

'Royal Marine Cadets killed' headlined the bare truth of another accident outside the Dockyard that had tragic consequences for many dockyard, naval and civilian families. On the evening of 4 December 1951 a column of Cadets marching down Dock Road from Brompton towards Pembroke Gate had just dropped below the brow of the hill when it was struck from behind by a Chatham & District bus. Twenty-four young cadets were died.

1953 was special for reasons good and bad! To start with the bad there was the storm since said to have been 'the worst in the 20th century' that first sunk the Fleetwood trawler 'Michael Griffith' off the Outer Hebrides with the loss of all 13 crew then the Stranraer-Larne ferry 'Princess Victoria' in the Irish Sea with the loss of 128 lives both on the 31st of January. From Rothesay that day the Chatham-based destroyer HMS CONTEST sailed in answer to the ferry's Distress call. Two of her crew, Lt Cdr S L McArdle and CPO W Warren late in the afternoon dived into the sea to rescue exhausted survivors for which they later received the George Medal. 

As the day progressed the storm moved around Scotland into and down the North Sea wreaking havoc ashore as well as at sea as it did so. Hurricane force winds from the north forced abnormally high tides to back up in the southern North Sea that resulted in the sea breaching defences from Lincolnshire down to Kent. Coming as it did in darkness more than 300 in the UK - nearly 2000 in Holland - died many of them washed away with their homes. Sheerness Dockyard was badly affected but Chatham escaped the worst. In the aftermath the navy assisted by the dockyard quickly mobilised working-parties to give help out in the affected areas. 

On the good side there was the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth the Second on the 2nd of June followed by a magnificent Naval Review at Spithead on the 15th. The Naval Guard trained in Chatham Barracks and of course a range of ships including OBDURATE, SCOTT, CHEERFUL, SOLEBAY, DEFENDER and SENTINEL immaculately represented Chatham's navy and dockyard at the Review.

What to do with the surplus ships was frequently reviewed and in the mid-1950's a large number were laid up in various states of readiness and preservation away from the naval ports utilising spare capacity at commercial ports. Immingham Docks on the Humber for example held a large number of Algerine Class minesweepers in active reserve.

There is never a right time for an accident but ten days before Christmas must rate as a wrong time! It certainly was for four Dockyard families on 15 December 1954 when the caisson holding back the river from No 3 Dock gave way. Work on the caisson had necessitated the blocking up of the flooding holes and putting water into the bottom however the amount calculated failed to take account of a tide that was three feet higher than normal. That resulted in the caisson floating out of its housing and the docked-down and unmanned submarine TALENT being washed out of the flooding dock and grounding on the opposite bank of the Medway.Dockyard crane driver Edmund Kemp reportedly described the event thus "….for a few seconds when the accident happened the caisson was about 2ft 6in (0.76M) above its usual level. It was on an even keel and water rushed beneath it into the Dock. Then there was a crash. The caisson reared into the air hit the stern of the sub and shot up the side of the dock".
Four dockyard workers died in the accident. They were Stuart Twist, a 48 year old Shipwright from Gillingham, William Ryan, a 65 year old Skilled Labourer from Borstal, Reginald Fisher, a 28 year old Engine Fitter from Rainham and Henry Brooker, a 58 year old Welder from Chatham whose body was not found.
The submarine was made watertight, pumped out and recovered the next day to resume her refit, streamlining and modernisation that had started in May 1954. The event moved her completion date out a couple of months to January 1956 and left the Dock out of action through 1955.
No.3 Dock is, today, within the Heritage Dockyard and contains OCELOT the last submarine built for the Royal Navy at Chatham.

When I arrived in Chatham for the first time in 1955 and joined 'OBDURATE' the Basins were still full of ships. Through the mid-50's they varied from 'SWIFTSURE to 'WOODBRIDGE HAVEN ', 'VIDAL' to 'MESSINA', not to mention those smart new 'Daring' class destroyers. Down by South Lock RFA Ships such as & FORT DUQUESNE & F. BEAUHARNOIS came and went at regular intervals with stores and supplies for our foreign bases. War time destroyers such as ZEST and ULSTER had lumps built on their upper decks and became anti-submarine frigates (See WIZARD picture below). In short the place was a hive of activity and in No. 3 Basin ships were still often two or three deep at times.

Pictures (Left to right): SWIFTSURE (1943-62), WOODBRIDGE HAVEN (1945-65), CAMPANIA (1944-55), MESSINA (1945-80),  TURPIN (As built) (1944-66) (Sold Israel LEVIATHAN 66-73), VIDAL (1954-76).

That reminds me that Christmas, when most were on Leave, was always a time for inter-ship fun! It was Christmas 1955 and from 'OBDURATE', on the south side of Chatham's No.3 Basin, a 'visit' was made by a 'Chaplain' plus one (two of our crew dressed the part one of whom was, I think, one Barry Stone) to 'WIZARD' on the NE side. Their purpose was, however, not to bring Christian comfort and joy but to get to the ship's main electrical supply board and plunge the ship into darkness which they achieved without hindrance. Meanwhile, a boarding party crossed the Basin and successfully boarded the ship to create as much havoc as possible. The deed done all but one escaped to return to 'OBDURATE' and celebrate their victory.
We didn't worry too much at first about the one they captured but the longer he remained 'missing' the more we thought we would have to go back and rescue him. Note the word thought. We were still 'thinking' when onto the mess-deck wandered our 'missing' warrior. He was naked but highly decorated. Caught, he had been decorated in many colours including ships side grey, black boot topping, deck green with a splash of almost every other colour from the 1955 'Ships Paint Locker' range. For Christmas he certainly looked appropriate; all that was missing was his sense of humour. It took a long time for him to recover his natural pink colour but he should be there by now I would think!

HMS WIZARD (1944-1967) at speed in 1954 soon after conversion from destroyer to Type 15 frigate at Devonport Dockyard (Thanks to Laurie Fielder for picture). ZEST and ULSTER were similarly converted at Chatham. 

Anyway the Dockyard continued on its path through history preparing ships for the 1957-8 Christmas Island A-Bomb Tests and de-storing them afterwards aided by HMS NEPTUNE the Chatham Reserve Fleet HQ based on St Mary's Island. Submarine building also continued and in the mid-60's the Yard's 10,000 or so employees were getting through some 45 ship modernisations and refits per year.

How much did all this cost? Well, not too much it seems even when you translate the costs to 2006 values shown in brackets. Chatham Dockyard Costs Estimates for the financial year 1959/60: Labour £5.227million (£85.4), Materials £2.7m (£43.7).

New January 2009

In response to my request above I was delighted to hear from Chris Willing and thank him and his father, Roy, for sending the following:-

'RECOLLECTION OF Roy Willing BEM Shipwright Diver of sinking of the tug TID97 at Chatham Dockyard 29^th December 1962
 
At approx 17:00 hrs the Admiralty police called at house to collect dockyard diver R.Willing to attend tug boat sinking in number one basin at Chatham dockyard. On arrival at the scène, found the diving boat in position, having been towed around from far side of the basin by hand of the diving crew in very heavy weather wind & rain.
Tug boat was under water being suspended beneath the surface by wire hawsers fastened by dockside capstans. The capstans could not lift the vessel or lower it to the basin bottom. The officer in charge said that the diver should go under the tug to investigate the situation. I the diver said that in way would I go under the tug as it was too dangerous as the hawsers were swinging with strain of the weight, & could break at any time.
I dived down to the vessel & searched around the top side surfaces & found a large in the transom of the tug. On surfacing I advised that the wires should be cut, to allow the vessel to settle onto the basin bottom. No further action was taken by the diving team, but during the night the hawsers broke & let the tug settle to the bottom.
The following day (30^th) I again dived on the tug & broke though the bridge glass & found the skipper inside. I informed the surface crew & we secured his body & lifted it out to a waiting ambulance. The next few days the tug was lifted & pumped out by the "Swim" lifting craft.
Then I & A. Cotton searched the tug & found two more bodies, one in the engine room, one in the crews mess. We were told not to touch the bodies until the Doctor had declared them dead, as they had been under water for several days this seemed a bit much. We asked the Doctor to come aboard & carry out the examinations required, he declined & so we set about removing two bodies. The man in the engine room was trapped upside down between the machinery, we had to cut the handrails to get access, he was them secured & sent out by crane to the ambulance, the second man in the mess was recovered & sent out by crane as well..
I would like to say thank you for all the help given to us during this very sad event by the dockyard services & record our commiserations to the bereaved families of the three members of the crew who perished that fatal night 
Shipwright Diver
R.L.Willing B.E.M.           6/9/08
The above remembered 46 years as far as possible, but never forgotten.
 
Ps. My father also said that there should be a coroners report that he also wrote up at the time, but he has not been able to locate it.
This account below courtesy of Chatham Dockyard Historical Society, from booklet No. 14 The Tiddlers by Harold Bennett, edited by Peter Dawson.)'

29.12.1962: Capsized and sank at Chatham Dockyard while assisting the R.F.A. Hebe to berth.
Hebe, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary store ship, entered Chatham Dockyard via the South Lock with a bitterly cold north east wind behind her. Several craft were on duty to assist berthing Hebe in No.3 Basin, among them TID 97 with its crew of five :- skipper, mechanician, stoker and two seamen. The berthing procedure was hampered by the NE wind and Hebe's engines were brought into use; the resulting pull and the wash from her propellers swiftly capsizing the tug. The two seamen took to the water and swam to safety, but the other three men were trapped in the upturned vessel. Heroic efforts by the two seamen Shrimplin and Wollard followed, aided by sailors from HM Ships Diamond and Chichester, together with the Dockyard's own rescue services. But to no avail. TID 97 sank after half an hour, taking with her the skipper, Leslie Savage, Mechanic George Osbourne and Stoker William Gell. Early the following week the Fleet Salvage vessel Swin came up from Dover to raise TID 97 from 30 feet deep. (4.1.1963: Refloated).

A year later the Basins were frozen over and so too was the Medway and many other rivers and harbours when in the third week of December 1963 the temperature plummeted and stayed below freezing almost continuously for more than a month. It was cold, it was disruptive and it offered no indication of the 'global warming' we are 'suffering' 45 years on. 

(L-R) Moored just up-river from Chatham Dockyard, Sheerness Pier & Herne Bay Pier during the big freeze in December 1963/January 1964 

At that time there was also renewed optimism as a new nuclear submarine refit complex was being built adjacent to No's 6 and 7 Docks that would bring further specialised work to Chatham. The first submarine, VALIANT, started her two-year refit at the Nuclear Complex in May1970 when the effects of the 1966 Government Defence Review were beginning to take effect throughout the navy.

Sadly around this time No. 2 Slip, built in the 1770's and covered in 1837, went up in flames so too did a substantial number of figureheads that had been stored there. It was later attributed to a dockyard worker but whether it was a deliberate act or accident seems not to have been clearly established.

On the 8th of August 1969 the workers walked out of Chatham Dockyard on the first ever naval dockyard strike. They wanted more money. What they eventually got of course was a progressive reduction in the numbers employed as work through the 70's declined. On the 25th of June 1981 Chatham's death warrant was signed when the Government announced that 'H.M. Naval Base, Chatham would close in 3 years'.

The run down had begun when we went to war in the Falklands in 1982 and I am sure that gave rise to some thinking their jobs might yet be saved. If there was any optimism it was short-lived as the momentum towards the 31 March 1984 closure again gathered pace. 

The nuclear submarine CHURCHILL (Cdr. Jock McLees) completed her 2 year refit and sailed away on Monday 23 May 1983. She left behind her a great pride in those who had done the work who now faced the despair of redundancy. The short life of the Nuclear Complex was over. 
What remained of the dockyard workforce was also putting the finishing touches to the frigate HMS HERMIONE that had been taken in hand in 1980 to undergo a major refit which included Sea Wolf and Exocet systems fit plus a Lynx helicopter. Some of them saw HERMIONE (Cdr. Robert Howell) recommission on 17 June 1983 and the following week they stood and watched her, the very last warship to be to be refitted at the yard, sail away down the Medway. The end now really was nigh!

There had been 223 ships built here in Chatham during the 19th century and a further 84 up to the end of the Second World War. Thereafter they built seven submarines 'ACHERON', 'OBERON', 'ONSLAUGHT', & 'OCELOT' for the RN and 'OJIBWA', 'ONONDAGA' & finally 'OKANAGAN' - launched September 1966, the 57th submarine built in the yard - for the Royal Canadian Navy. Their last home-made surface ship was the survey ship H.M.S. VIDAL (1951-1974). She was a particularly good-looking ship and retained Chatham as her home port throughout her 22 years service. 

The people of Chatham and Gillingham turned out in force, as they always did, to watch sailors and marines from HMS ENDURANCE and PEMBROKE march through their streets one last time but this 1983 Trafalgar Day Parade was rather more sombre than previous ones had been.

No story of the Royal Navy at Chatham would be complete without mention of the 'Chatham Chest' that dates back to 1625. Mark Huby, a Writer on FO Medway's staff came into direct contact with 350 years of history when it made a brief and final return to Chatham Dockyard in the summer of 1983 as his cutting below shows.  

With the ships now gone Chatham Dockyard had never been a more forlorn nor depressing place. In the ghostly quiet the few remaining dockyard employees completed their tasks and received their 'cards' as the run-down moved to its conclusion. 

Some 4000 people came through the Dockyard Main Gate just before 1800 on Friday the 30th of September 1983. They included Members of Parliament, Mayors, Admirals, other dignitaries, sailors and marines. But most importantly of all there were some of the men and women who had worked in and made the Dockyard function. Together with their families they proudly represented the history of 'Chatham Dockyard'. It was reported that administrative errors/omissions resulted in some being refused admission on the day.

As the music of The Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, Commando Training Centre died away on the Parade Ground outside the Admiral's Offices the closing ceremony began. First Vice Admiral Sir James Kennon, KCB, CBE, Chief of Fleet Support and responsible for all RN Dockyards spoke of "…the very high respect gained by the men in this yard … from before the Spanish Armada to the South Atlantic conflict" and went on to say "…On behalf of the Admiralty Board thank you Men of Kent and Kentish Men and women for all you have done for the Royal Navy".

Flag Officer, Medway and Port Admiral, H.M. Naval Base, Chatham, Rear Admiral W. A. Higgins, CBE in his farewell said "I will not try to disguise the fact that it is sad that the Navy is so reduced that it is leaving Chatham… It would have been easier , I am sure, if we could have faced the future together but that is not to be and I wish you good fortune. We should be grateful of what we have achieved together. I would say over the years Chatham has set the standards by which our dockyards are measured". In conclusion he said "My thanks to the people of Medway. Your record is second to none". He then went on to hand back the Freedom Casket to the Mayor of Rochester upon Medway, Councillor Adrian Crowther. (NB. Adm. Higgins, CB, CBE, RN Ret'd died 20 January 2007 aged 78).

That done the time had come for the RM Band to Beat Retreat which lifted spirits momentarily until the White Ensign began to lower for the last time to be soon followed by the Flag Officer's flag. It was at that point that the Royal Navy had, to all intents and purposes, gone from Chatham Dockyard. It was now left to Dockyard General Manager, Mr. Alan Kettle, to oversee the last few weeks of winding-up the Yard.

Mark Huby was in the forefront once more this time lowering the FO flag. The colour picture, taken in June 2007, shows the same flag hanging in Rochester Guildhall Museum. It is gathering a little dust but has pride of place on the stair-well wall in this Grade 1 listed 17th Century building.

A couple of months later Mark was to the fore again this time as a member of the Colour Party when naval, dockyard and local dignitaries gathered at the closure of HMS PEMBROKE. 

The final seal of closure and severance came, as planned, on the 31st of March 1984 when the Dockyard Gates closed finally behind the departing Royal Navy.  

POST-1984 PRESERVATION AND REGENERATION

After the RN walked away from Chatham in 1984 it fell to English Estates/Partnership both superseded by SEEDA to pilot a way forward that would bring jobs and prosperity back to the thousands of people that had worked in, for and around the Dockyard and Barracks (See HMS PEMBROKE page for barrack story). It was and continues to be a mammoth task.

South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)
 
SEEDA continues development of the area surrounding and including No's. 1 & 2 Basins, two-thirds of St Mary's Island and southwards to where Pembroke Gate stood.  
The first major and significant event was the decision to build the Medway Tunnel. Opened in June 1996 it emerged just south of No.1 Boiler Shop - now a shopping mall - to join a new road that follows roughly the line of the old dockyard/barracks wall east to Gillingham Gate. The latest development is the £62m indoor themed attraction 'Dickens World' which opened in June 2007.
In between those two events Chatham Maritime has arisen with a large part of St Mary's Island having the dwellings and the area south of the Basins the offices etc. In between those you will find the shops, restaurants and other leisure facilities including a Marina in No.1 Basin.
http://www.chatham-maritime.co.uk/pages/index.html
 

Medway Ports

No.3 Basin - 1953 and 2007. (NB. That part of St Mary's Island visible beyond the cruisers in the 1953 picture is part of the commercial docks)

Chatham Historic Dockyard

HMS GANNET                                 HMS CAVALIER                                                   HMS OCELOT

What that left was the oldest part of the yard which was given over to Chatham Dockyard Historic Trust. It extends approximately from the Dock Road wall down to the River Medway and from the Lower Boat House/Mast Pond southwards to the Main Gate, Ropery and Storehouses. If you are interested in architecture, engineering, shipbuilding, warships, lifeboats or just want a fascinating day out I bet it will meet all your expectations and more.
http://www.chdt.org.uk/      (Historic Dockyard)

Within Storehouse No. 3 you will find the Dockyard Museum originated and run by ex-dockyard personnel. It too has an extensive collection of memorabilia, books and records but just as important a wealth of experience in the volunteers who man it. Definitely a place not to be missed. 
http://www.cdhs.org.uk     (Dockyard Museum)