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| Hover over the images for information. Photographs ©Arthur Loosley for Wordsweb Pictorial | |||||
UPDATE IN PROGRESS
Museums - Lifestyle and History
(See also: Railways, Road Transport, World War 2)
Landguard Fort Defending the East Coast since 1543
Felixstowe Museum (external link; use 'close' X button to return here)
Dad's Army The Home Guard and BBC Television series
Old Tube Trains Never Die Strange exhibit in a WW2 museum
Landguard Fort, Felixstowe
Guarding Harwich Harbour
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Landguard Point, Felixstowe, overlooking Harwich Harbour at the mouth of the River Orwell, has
been the site of various forms of fortification since 1543, when Henry VIII had two blockhouses
built there. They deteriorated rapidly and were replaced with a more substantial structure in 1628.
Further buildings were added during the reign of Charles II and in 1677, during the second Dutch
War, it saw action for the first time when 1500 Dutch Marines landed nearby and launched an
attack on the fort from the landward side, which was successfully repulsed. This was the last
recorded attempt at invasion.
Improvements continued throughout the 18th century and the outer walls of the1744 brick
fort, built in the shape of a pentagon, remain today.
The fort was most recently used during World War 2, when two fire control towers were built, with
twin 6-pounder guns to defend the harbour against German E-Boats, together with searchlights to
track approaching shipping. Mines laid in the estuary could be remotely detonated if an enemy ship
was identified.
After the war, the fort was used as an Army/RAF seaward defence HQ until 1956, when it was
abandoned. It suffered deterioration and vandalism until English Heritage funded restoration work,
completed in 1998. It is now open to the public, seven days a week from April - September.
Photographs copyright ©Arthur Loosley, August 2005
Further details: www.landguard.com
Above: a general view of the fort from the seaward side, now a nature reserve. In the background
can be seen the floodlight towers of the modern Port of Felixstowe; Lower left: the commanding
view of the harbour from within the fort; Right: one of the WW2 gun emplacements.
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Dad's Army Museum
Bressingham, Norfolk
A reconstruction of 'Walmington-on-Sea', location for the BBC Television series.
The exhibition is at the Bressingham Steam Museum - originally a small private collection of
steam locomotives attached to a garden centre, but now expanded as a day out with 'something
for everyone.' An extensive collection of authentic mid-20th century household items and WW2
memorabilia can be seen in the Walmington display, together with a number of anachronisms but,
like the programme itself, noted for its hilarious mis-cues, will nevertheless be enjoyed by all who
lived through reality of those times as well as latter-day Dad's Army enthusiasts.
There are several websites devoted to Dad's Army and anyone wishing to recall some of the
bloopers will find more than 150 of them listed HERE
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Top left: An old hand-operated fire engine (and a fireman wearing a modern helmet!); Top right:
sandbags piled in front of a door to protect from blast, and gummed paper strips on the windows
offer minimal protection. Both are authentic but their juxtaposition here is unconvincing!
The other pictures show a printshop of the period using hand-composed metal type - the method
used since the days of Caxton until replaced over recent decades by computer technology.
Photographs copyright © Arthur Loosley, August 2005
MORE DAD'S ARMY
Filming on location on the North Norfolk Railway
"The Royal Train" episode
Photographs displayed at Sherbourne Station.
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