Newhaven Fort News Blog
20th June 2008
Beating Retreat – a great time was had by all!
In the company of “Forces sweetheart”, Dame Vera Lynn, the immaculate band of the Royal Marines gave a splendid performance of Beating Retreat in front of a packed audience of 500 people at the Fort and they loved every minute of it! The event was organised by and in aid of the Seahaven Sea Cadets efforts to find a new home.
South Downs in Conflict
The South Downs Joint Committee is producing a series of themed audio oral history based tours of the South Downs. One of these is “The South Downs in Conflict”. Many of the photographic props were loaned by the Fort. More about the project can be found on http://www.southdownsonline.org/
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16th June 2008
Going Wild
A search was made for an injured kestrel on the cliffs but it seems to have recovered enough to fly away before help arrived. The good news for bird lovers is that this year there are more kestrels surrounding the Fort and judging by what they leave behind, more owls too, so the mice are in for a rough time!
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16th June 2008
Bomb Rack Surfaces
The sea produces a plentiful harvest of finds from the fisherman at Newhaven; the latest find is a large German external bomb rack, most likely from either a JU88 or Ju188 (unfortunately we will never know the exact identity of the aircraft or the circumstances of its loss). Trawled up from Beachy Head the rack, made by Siemens, it is actually in good condition and is undergoing a very careful restoration.
Mystery Solved!
On a positive note, since being trawled up nearly two years ago, a 4 bladed propeller boss from a radial engine, complete with the remains of wooden prop blades, has caused a headache as few aircraft types fitted the bill. Eventually, having identified the engine as a Bristol Centaurus, research could begin into identifying the type of aircraft from which it came.
Following lots of research from Martin Brewer, the aircraft was identified as a Blackburn Firebrand of the Fleet Air Arm and unlike the Ju88 we know the exact identity of the aircraft and the circumstances of its loss. Stationed at RNAS Ford, Firebrand EX724 suffered engine failure and ditched a few miles off of Brighton on 18th April 1952. The pilot, JF Plant, was rescued wet but otherwise unharmed by an RAF high speed launch from Newhaven.
The Firebrand was originally designed as a Fleet Air Arm fighter but a whole host of problems and delays meant that it finally entered service after the Second World War as a long range torpedo carrying strike fighter. It was never a successful aircraft, and only 156 were built, serving with the Fleet Air Arm between 1945 and 1953.
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13th June 2008
Support the Sussex Air Ambulance!
Every season the Fort supports a local charity and for 2008 we are supporting the Sussex Air Ambulance. This charity came into being in June 2007 and in its first month was called out to sixty emergencies.
Many lives have, and will be continue to be saved by the speed and flexibility offered by the Sussex Air Ambulance helicopter, and the Fort is happy to support such a worthy charity. More details of the work of the air ambulance and how you can donate can be found on their web site http://www.sussexairambulance.co.uk/
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9th June 2008
From the conning tower there is a German flag fluttering behind the Royal Navy’s white ensign – so it is obviously in the process of surrendering at the end of the First World War. This is rather an intriguing mystery – can our readers throw any more light on to the ship’s identity?
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8th June 2008
Volunteer Activity
The Fort staff have been busy volunteering recently. Jenny Flood (Fort Volunteer) attended a event at Bodiam to speak on volunteering whilst helping to promote the Fort by distributing leaflets. Ed Tyhurst (Reception) toured Eastbourne and Hastings on the Fort’s delivery bike to publicise the Fort and upcoming events. Ian, Keith and Adrian (Fort Volunteers) have been busy with the Fort’s object cataloguing.
Painting at the Fort is a bit like painting the Forth Bridge – never ending! Fortunately EDF are up to the challenge and continue to volunteer, helping with many essential tasks. A great new display has been added entitled “Women at war” to the section of the Home Front. We have also had our quiz sheets translated into German and a new “citizenship” worksheet has been produced for the many school groups which visit us.
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20th May 2008
Library
Numerous books have now been relocated from the old Fort office to the new one. This ensures ease of access as the archives and library are now located together.
Whilst on the subject of the library, if our readers have any surplus military, naval or aviation books, which they are willing to donate, they would be gratefully received.
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18th May 2008
Improving our Carbon footprint
New low energy, long life light bulbs are being installed throughout the Fort to lower the cost of maintenance, electricity and most importantly reduce our carbon footprint.
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16th May 2008
EDF
EDF have once again been busy volunteering at the fort. Two more teams have visited the fort to paint, move shelves, tidy up and complete many other invaluable tasks. The old naval was painted and now looks resplendent in black with embossed letters picked out in red.
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14th May 2008
Forthcoming Events
Further details can be found on the “events” page of the website but just a little reminder of the events coming up over the next few weeks:
May 28th and 31st - As part of architecture week – mixed media workshops and pre booked tours of the Fort
June 1st - Newhaven Fort day – live music, pre booked tours of the counterscarp galleries, Royal Observer Corps and more
June 20th - Beating the Retreat by HM band of the Royal Marines (evening ticket event)
June 27th - Fort Blitz music event (evening ticket event)
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8th May 2008
New exhibits include a reminder of escape by “a very narrow squeak”
A lady from Leicester has recently donated the base of a burned out German incendiary bomb. It fell through the roof of her home near St Pancras in London and landed on her bed where it burned out.
Other recent objects gifted to the fort have included a Royal Navy ceremonial sword and a deactivated German Mannlicher rifle of First World War vintage.
Whilst on the subject of weapons…. There may be new laws introduced regarding deactivated weapons, so please be careful to follow the law regarding ANY weapons – particularly guns but also ammunition and ordnance (e.g. shells, grenades, bullets, bombs), edged weapons etc.
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5th May 2008
EDF step up for volunteering
Power supplier EDF has a very enlightened view towards volunteering for the community and has been using Newhaven Fort as a volunteering and team building opportunity. This month the company has sent two teams to perform tasks as diverse as painting, light construction work and manual labour. All useful work and more power to their elbow we say.
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8th April 2008
“Our Newhaven” day a success
The local populace took full advantage of a special entry price to turn out and support their local community day at the fort. Craft workshops, a theatre production, church service and stalls run by local organisations such as the local history society were some of the attractions that made the event a great success – even the weather was kind, which was just as well as the only description for the weather next day was “ ‘orrible”!
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2nd April 2008
Making Waves
The wave monitoring buoy in Seaford Bay is now up and running, transmitting data on wave and tide movement to the National Oceanographic Centre at Southampton. Newhaven Fort is involved in this national programme by having the associated aerials and monitoring equipment installed below one of the gun emplacements. The information gleaned will help monitor coastal erosion and give warning of possible flood conditions and, on a different level, will allow surfers to watch for the best surf conditions!
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31st March 2008
Dakota flypast confirmed!
Battle of Britain Day on September the 14th is set to be a good ‘un. Amongst all of the other goings on at Newhaven Fort that day there will be a flypast of a Dakota – from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (weather permitting) - so there is definitely a date for the diary!
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3rd March 2008
New exhibits keep coming in
For the Newhaven Fort Curator, one of the best bits of the job is the arrival of new objects for the collections - he never knows what will turn up next and when something does there can be great excitement - it really can be an interesting life.
When it comes to patience, Bryan Driffell has more than most. Bryan is a keen model ship builder. Over the years he has donated several of his masterpieces to the fort and the latest of these is a three foot long model of HMS Dreadnought. These aren't just any old model kit though - they are made of match sticks - this model took over a thousand to produce - crumbs!
Former Royal Artillery Major, Cliff Mason, has donated his uniforms and a huge collection of cap badges - we are building a special display cabinet to house them all. Major Mason served with the Royal Artillery all over the world and has a fascinating story to go with it.
Documenting Newhaven Fort's history is of key importance and a large amount of archive material dating back to the 19th century has been donated from one source. Also, approximately 200 slides of Newhaven Fort when it was derelict and being restored back in the early 1970s has come from another.
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1st March 2008
Season tickets - Great Value for money
Season tickets are excellent value for money - they are on sale NOW
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20th February 2008
Events are looking great for 2008!
Have you looked at our forthcoming events list? There are 24 major events this year, including...
Back by popular demand - a wartime jazz evening; the band of the Royal Marines will be visiting us for the first time to perform 'Beat the Retreat'; open-air theatre company, Oddsocks are back for another alternative Shakespeare production, 'Much ado about nothing'. Please note that these events will be popular and require separate tickets - so please book early to avoid disappointment
This year we have more community events such as Urban Culture Day - specially aimed at young people across the county with dance, music and urban games and the 'Our Newhaven' community day with amateur dramatics, community stalls and quiz trails. Vehicle enthusiasts will enjoy the Vintage Morris Rally, cars from 1913; Classic English Motorbike show and Down Memory Lane with vintage vehicles and collectors displays and stalls.
An old favourite, Battle of Britain Day will this year see the return of the ever lively 'Brighton Jive dancers' and the nostalgic singing of 'Swingtime Sweethearts' . Don't forget the architecture tours, paranormal events and the horrible Halloween Quiz Trail!!
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8th February 2008
Tracing the ancestors
Since the building of Newhaven Fort back in the 1860s, there have been thousands of soldiers stationed here – even if only for a few days. Not surprisingly we get many enquiries from genealogists trying to trace their ancestors and 2007 was a record year for these. Although we cannot always help everyone, we try and do our best to assist and are always pleased to hear from somebody with a family connection to Newhaven Fort – we learn a lot ourselves in the process! So if you think we can help then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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4th February 2008
Step forward the volunteers
Having mentioned all of the winter work that has been going on - it's only fair to mention that the fort's volunteers have played a major part in it. They have been cataloguing the library and archives, putting together new displays, decorating and generally being useful. We are looking for more volunteers, and we have a volunteer pack which we can post or e-mail, so if you are interested, we'd be happy to hear from you. Check out the Volunteers Page!
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1st February 2008
No time to slumber!
It might be winter and Newhaven Fort is closed to the public, but there’s no time for the fort staff to curl up and slumber – there’s too much to do preparing for the new season that starts on 1st March! As well as painting and decorating the shop and toilets and general maintenance – the fort has two major projects under way. First is a much needed new office space in a formerly disused casemate – at long last there is plenty of room to work and it’s even warm – now there’s a bonus! Secondly is a major new display being built in the “Life in the Fort” casemate; the old metal cage has gone, to be replaced with a purpose built barrack room with adjoining display cabinets. There are also changes to the Sussex Land Sea and Air display.
New website
If you are a regular visitor to the website you will notice that the Newhaven Fort site has changed beyond all recognition and it is, we think, a great improvement and hope that you agree – please feel free to let us know what you think via our Feedback form, which can be found on the Contact Us page.
