The last invasion of England

[mossie]

Our history books rarely mention the war against the Dutch in the mid 1600's because basically we lost badly, although we did gain New York from them. They had laid siege to the Thames in 1666-7, capturing and sinking several of our ships which had been badly undermanned and laid up. We had had the better of the early phase of the war but had become complacent while peace negotiations dragged on allowing the Dutch to mount a daring raid on the Thames. there are echoes of today in that our navy had been severely reduced to save the government money and so was caught by surprise.

When finally the Dutch retreated from the Thames they mounted a raid aimed at the important naval base at Harwich which was guarded by Landguard Fort on the peninsula at Felixstowe which lays across the Orwell estuary. Landing a force of 2000 they attempted to storm the fort but were repulsed, the peace treaty was signed and they all lived happily ever after.

Here is the fort today as it was rebuilt in the following century



here is the landward side



This damaged sign shows the layout prior to the Port of Felixstowe being created



Of course it became a very important part of the defences of Harwich, which was one of our major naval bases up to the 1950's and many additions and alterations have been made, especially in relation to the two world wars. Some are apparent here



Landguard Point is a long shingle beach as a continuation of the seafront of Felixstowe, but has been preserved as a "site of special scientific interest" as hopefully you can read on this notice



I walked part of it this morning but really need to go back on a better day, autumn has really set in here with quite a bit of wet weather and today promised better but did not reply deliver, there was also quite a stiff breeze which they seagull had to streamline itself against, as it fought to stay on its perch. Those timbers incidentally are the remains of the original landing stage for the fort.



As you see it lays just round the point which protects it from the North Sea and which the Radar stands controlling movements in the estuary



I had entered the reserve by a footpath further up passing another old gun emplacement



It is an important place for bird watchers as many migrating birds pass here



Now the Port of felixstowe intrudes further into the area but has reached its limit in the seaward direction

[onlyMark]

Mossie, London suffered a triple whammy then with the plague, the fire and then the Dutch.

[htmb]

Mossie, I really enjoy visiting places like this. I hope you'll be able to return in better weather so you can add to this interesting group of photos. History lessons like this are always welcome, too!

[mossie]

Indeed Mark, I had intended to say that the country had been seriously weakened by the Plague and the Great Fire.

And htmb, knowing how academe is an integral part of your life, I'm afraid my history lessons ceased before my 16th birthday and I rely on good old Google for most of it. They cover the Second Anglo Dutch War 1665-7 quite comprehensively with Landguard getting a mention near the end. We fought a succession of 4 of these wars, mainly to do with control of world trade and mostly fought at sea.

[htmb]

Life experiences and knowledge for the pleasure of it are much better teachers than anything you could learn at school, Mossie.  

[onlyMark]

mossie, did you ever see the world map made by someone that showed the countries that at one time or another the UK had put 'feet on the ground', i.e. as a hostile force/invaded?
I seem to remember something like 70% or so of them.

[Deleted]

I think it was more than that.

mentalfloss.com/article/13019/there-are-only-22-countries-world-british-haven%E2%80%99t-invaded

i100.independent.co.uk/article/a-map-of-the-world-according-to-the-countries-britain-has-never-invaded--e1eqKTRpQgW

[onlyMark]

Yes, that's it.

[tod2]

That's what I love about England so much - areas where one can walk and poke around in what is left of ancient times.
I hope you do go back in Summer Mossie because this is a very interesting thread.
Especially about the migrating birds. I caught up with some of them in Kruger Park recently...the Swallows and Swifts were very busy with their nest building. Problem is it's always under a bridge so we can never get a photo. I have managed to photograph some while they rest of the edge of the water. Very beautiful birds.

[mossie]

Yes Tod, I intend to go back in the summer when the Museum should be open and hopefully part of the fort as well. It is less than 20 mins drive from home and adjoins the dock viewing area, so it is very remiss of me not to have done that exploration before. The viewing area has a very good cafe and I often get a tea or coffee there.

Kerouac, thanks for the leads to the lists of countries we have not yet invaded. Now 'Our Dave' has decimated our forces I cannot see it happening just yet, in any case he is too chickenhearted to even tackle the radicalising imams and madrassas here.

[mossie]

A visit to Landguard Fort, where the troops who repulsed the Dutch were based so I reopen this thread to show snaps from my recent visit inside the fort.

A useful layout relief, which shows the situation prior to Felixstowe Dock being developed. The old dock and the Pier Hotel, both long gone, are shown at centre left.



One enters across the moat, now filled, and through the tunnel under the outer section.



Paying for entry at the ticket office, you exit into an inner courtyard surrounded by the main fort



The whole site is a jumble of different spaces and I found it impossible to assemble a flow of photos, so what follows are random bits.

here is a typical barrack room from the 18th century



With a typical menu, doesn't look a lot different to the slop served up during my time



I suppose the ladies would love cooking for 50 on this lovely range



A fort was originally built here by Henry VIII to defend the naval port of Harwich from Continental invaders, after he had split from the Catholic church to facilitate a divorce. The current fort was mainly a Victorian adaption from the 17th century predecessor, but has been used and modified to suit all of England's subsequent wars, including as a reserve command centre during the Cold War. It saw considerable action during WWI and WWII, mainly against aircraft and German E-boats attacking the Harwich base. What I didn't know was that the estuary had been sewn with mines which could be detonated by remote control from these lookouts, which also served as control posts for guns used against shipping.



All sorts of weapons had been mounted here over time, including monsters like this



Shown in section



And this Bofors anti aircraft gun



not forgetting the more traditional cannon



here is some ammo for one of the older guns



some typical small arms of WWII



here's a general snap from up on the top where some of the old gun positions were



and here the gun mounting



there is an excellent view back into the dock which shows what a good vantage position this was





What the Red Baron had to do with the place I have no idea, I guess it is an attraction for the kids



I'll wave the Union Jack and hope you have enjoyed this confused ramble

[onlyMark]

"Dinner. (Served at midday)"
And so it should be.
I could live off that menu. I could.

Lovely photos Mossie.
One of the internal curved building photos shows rusty metal flaps, two of, between each two doors. Guesses? Something more than just ventilation methinks. I don't know for sure why but I'm thinking they are openings to relieve air pressure if the doors are shut and the front wall is hit. Could be way off though.

[mossie]

Afraid I have no idea about those doors, but would guess they could be to relieve the pressure frm the guns firing or exhaust the smoke

[bixaorellana]

Sorry for only now responding to this great update, Mossie.

Really cool to see that relief map and compare it to the maps and pictures of present-day Felixstowe you've shown.

Can you imagine feeding a crowd of people from that stove?! It looks as though nutritional needs were mostly covered at dinnertime. I can't imagine that all those hungry young men were satisfied by the evening meal, though.

Looking at the overview of the center courtyard and the closer view from up top, the place resembles a modern motel or apartment building -- but with much nicer construction. Look at that lovely detailing around the doors!

Most interesting, Mossie, & I love the flag picture at the end.

[onlyMark]

Some may see that the flag doesn't quite seem right.
If you did or you didn't, I'm going to tell you anyway as I was previously interested in the door things and forgot for a while about this until Bixa mentioned the flag.
It looks wrong because it doesn't have the red striped in the diagonals. You may have picked that up. If you didn't, scroll back up and have a look.

You know that the flag is a combination of the different countries making up the UK I'm sure. But what is missing from this flag is the Irish cross of St. Patrick. I cheated and looked up the dates but the first flag, this one in the photo, was done in 1606 and it wasn't until 1801 that the cross of St. Patrick was included. It then formed the recognisable one we have today. Thus the flag flown in the photo is from the era the fort was built.

N.b. Bonus question - the Union Jack can be flown upside down, did you know that? How would you know it is?

[questa]

When the officials put the cross of St Patrick (red diagonal on white background) into the the crosses of St George (red squared on white background) and St Andrew (white diagonal cross on blue background) they ran into a problem. If they made it symmetrical, the red diagonal almost covered the white one and left only a strip of it visible. So they offset it so both crosses could be seen. It meant that the white strips were wider above the red on the mast side, and wider under the red stripe on the other side.

Gosh this is hard to explain!

If the flag is upside down the wider white stripe under the red will appear at the mast. This is a signal that the ship or camp etc is in distress and needs help.

This is like doing an oral Rubik's Cube.

[onlyMark]

Correct.
"Wide White Top" - meaning the widest white stripe is above the thinner white stripe at the top of the flag where it attaches to the flag pole.

And we are aware, are we not, that as with a number of flags, e.g. the USAnians, when worn on a uniform sleeve, one side is reversed.

Apologies to Mossie for the diversion/digression.

[mossie]

No need Mark, I have learnt something new, re the date

[questa]

Another piece of trivia. My friend in US military pointed out that in their full uniform the pants are a lighter blue than the coat. This harks back to the Civil War when the officers would be in their camp and had taken off their coats to sit comfortably. The call would go out and they would rush out to battle leaving their coats behind. Thus the coats remained clean but the pants were laundered frequently, causing them to fade until they were noticeably lighter in colour.
As a mark of honour they have kept the mismatched uniforms.