Photo Reconnaissance Spitfires
Most Spitfires were blue/green in colour. However, when they were using these planes as photo reconnaissance planes later in the war (having added extra capacity for fuel so they could fly further) they painted them a sky blue colour or pink depending on the time of day the planes were going to be used. Students from Dymchurch Primary school spoke to volunteers at The Romney Marsh Wartime Collection.
More InfoLand Army Girl Hostel
The Romney Marsh Wartime Collection building was originally built as a Land Army Hostel and housed 50 girls with their matron. The 80 year old metal and concrete structure now is a museum with artifacts from before and after the Army that were used during WW2. Chairman of the Trust of the collection Mark Britnell spoke to Dymchurch Primary students about what women did during the war.
More InfoGas Masks
At the outset of the war in 1939 everyone was issued with a gas mask and would carry it around with them in a cardboard box. As gas attacks had been used in WW1, the technology was still there to use these weapons in WW2 and no one was quite sure of the threat. There are special baby gas suits, and one on display at The Romney Marsh Wartime Collection in Brenzett. Chairman Mark Britnell spoke to children from Dymchurch Primary.
More InfoMulberry Harbours
Students from Dymchurch Primary School spoke to volunteers at The Romney Marsh Wartime Collection about aspects of WW2. They had lots of questions. One was 'which would be the hardest place to invade?' During WW2, when the Germans occupied France, it was very difficult to land Allied forces on French soil because the Germans had destroyed the harbours in the towns they occupied - for the very reason of not letting anyone else attack via that route. So the British designed Mulberry Harbours which were lumps of concrete they could put in the sea, put a landing on top and drive their tanks and troops off ships and onto land.
More InfoAverage Age of a Bomber Pilot
Students from Lydd Primary School wanted to know the average age of a bomber pilot during WW2. On a visit to The Romney Marsh Wartime Collection they asked the volunteers there who are incredibly knowledgeable.
More InfoGerman allies
Students at Lydd Primary School had many questions for the volunteers at The Romney Marsh Wartime Collection including who were allies to the Germans during WW2?
More InfoBouncing Bomb
The Bouncing Bombs created and designed by Barnes Wallis were tested in Reculver in Kent. The Romney Marsh Wartime Collection has a prototype, now filled with concrete, for people to see. There is also an area of the museum where they talk about its design and testing period. They were built to skim across the water and sink to the bottom, along the wall of a dam, so they would explode at the bottom of the wall. This would, in theory, structurally damage the wall and the weight of the water would force its way through. The bombs were successful on 2 of the dams. 19 crews from 617 Squadron were briefed and left in their Lancaster Bombers to attack the German dams, only 11 crew returned. The Romney Marsh Wartime Collection volunteers spoke about the bomb.
More InfoTail End Charlie Recording
You can hear part of the recording made in a Lancaster Bomber during a raid in WW2. It's quite difficult to hear the words, but quite distinct rapid fire can be heard. These planes carried vinyl recorders so they could make recordings of what happened inside the planes during raids.
More InfoTail End Charlie
Tail End Charlie was the name given to the bomber sitting in the back bottom carriage of a Lancaster Bomber. It was the most dangerous place to be as most attacks to a plane came from below or behind the plane. The Romney Marsh Wartime Collection has a bomb carriage as an exhibit that used to be in someone's garden and used to growing strawberries. They explained the scene to the students from Lydd Primary School. There's also a recording made from within the plane that you can hear.
More InfoAdvanced Landing Strips
Advanced Landing Strips - ALS's - were laid in different areas on the Marsh during WW2. They enabled planes to land and take off from the area. The strips were quick to put down and kept at right angles this meant that a plane could take off and land in any direction. Students from Lydd Primary School asked volunteers at the Romney Marsh Wartime Collection who laid the strips.
More InfoMorrison Shelter
A Morrison Shelter was an iron table that you had inside your home. In the event of an air raid you would hide underneath one of these and hopefully it would protect you should your house be hit. The idea was that you could be dug out of the rubble as this table would withstand the impact of the house collapsing on top of it. The volunteers at the Romney Marsh Wartime Collection showed one of these Morrison Shelters to the students at Lydd Primary School.
More InfoInvasion of The Romney Marsh
If the Germans had won The Battle Of Britain then their plan was to invade the UK via the Romney Marsh. They would have landed their tanks on the shallow, sea level marsh land and invaded the country. This meant they would have easy access to Folkestone and Dover harbours and be able to commandeer those to bring in ship-loads of their army and supplies. The British had thought of this and had a plan to protect the country which would have involved flooding the Romney Marsh - evacuating everyone on it shortly beforehand. The valuable sheep had already been moved to higher pastures so that the land could be used for farming. Students from Lydd Primary School interviewed volunteers at the Romney Marsh Wartime Collection to find out what would have happened if the Marsh had been invaded.
More InfoThe Romney Marsh Wartime Collection
The Romney Marsh Wartime Collection is a museum of wartime artifacts based in Brenzett on the Romney Marsh. It's well worth a visit. The huts that house the museum were built in 1942 for the Women's Land Army and 50 Land Army girls lived here with their matron. Now it has a wealth of engines, plane parts, and other objects that have been found in the local area and help tell the story of life on the Marsh during WW2
More InfoPLUTO – Pipe Line Under The Ocean
PLUTO was in preparation since 1942 when the Allied Forces realised they would need to invade and cross German-occupied France to attack Berlin. 60% of the supplies needed by the land army was fuel. A series of pipes were laid from the UK, across the Channel, to France to supply the army with the fuel they needed. The first pipeline was called Bambi and left from the Isle of Wight to Cherbourgh. The second line was called Dumbo and came through Lydd and left the country at Dungeness. There are bungalows on the seafront today that were pumping stations disguised as homes for the use of the pipe in 1944. The pipes were used, and continued to be laid on the French side as the troops progressed across France after D Day. Because they were so small (only 3 inches in diameter) they could only supply 8-10% of the fuel needs.
More InfoWrecks on the Goodwin Sands
The Goodwin Sands is a strip of sand to the east of Dover Harbour. It is visible at low tide and just below the surface of the water at high tide. Wrecks get moved around by the tide and the sand and can become buried for years, only to be revealed again later. Dr Andrew Richardson talks to students at the Folkestone Academy about what can be found there.
More InfoWrecks at Sunny Sands
There are shipwrecks all across the English Channel with at least one resting just outside Sunny Sands in Folkestone. Dr Andrew Richardson talks to Folkestone Academy students about the wrecks and where they can be found.
More InfoU Boat and Battleship wrecks
There are wrecks of a U Boat and a Battleship in the Goodwin Sands. The Goodwin Sands is an area to the East of Dover Harbour which is an incredibly dangerous area to sail. The sands are exposed at low tide, and at high tide rest just below the surface of the sea. Dr Andrew Richardson tells the tale of these wrecks now resting on the Goodwin Sands.
More InfoThreat of U Boats
The German U Boats were a new and formidable naval weapon in WW2. The Royal Navy wasn't equipped to battle them and there were able to inflict a lot of damage. Dr Andrew Richardson talks to Folkestone Academy students about this threat and how the Royal Navy coped.
More InfoDover Straits
The Dover Straits was an incredibly dangerous area to be in during WW2. There were shell cannon on each side of the English Channel able to fire at anything going through this choke hold. It's the narrowest point between England and France and so avoiding other ships was also a challenge. It was only after D Day and the Allied troops gaining access of the northern coast of France did this area become safer. That was when the Germans were on the back foot and retreating from the Allied troops. Dr Andrew Richardson talks to Folkestone Academy students about this part of the sea.
More InfoState of the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy was in a good state at the beginning of WW2. It was the largest navy in the world, having the most number of ships, and bolstered by ships from Canada, India, New Zealand and Australia. However, war at sea was changing and with the invention of the U Boat, it was clear that the British ships were not equipped to fight it. Dr Andrew Richardson talks to Folkestone Academy students about how the Royal Navy coped with a new set of problems.
More InfoImplications of the Channel Dash
The Channel Dash was a military operation that happened in February 1942. German battleships and a cruiser needed to get from Western France through the Dover Straits and onto Germany. The British Navy lost a number of key boats in the battle and this had implications on how the British defended this area in the future. Dr Andrew Richardson discusses the situation with students at the Folkestone Academy.
More InfoGerman Invasion Plan
The German Invasion plan of the UK was to land on the Romney Marsh and to make their way to Dover and Folkestone. These would have been key ports to dock their naval ships, supplies and military personnel. Dover and Folkestone would have then become enemy territory to the rest of Britain and as such would have been shelled by the British to prevent the Germans getting a hold on the land. Dr Andrew Richardson talks to students at the Folkestone Academy about this plan.
More InfoDiving wrecks
Local diving clubs send divers down to wrecks in the English Channel. Some dive legally and are very responsible, but others do so illegally and take valuable items from these sites without declaring them in the proper fashion. Dr Andrew Richardson is a police volunteer in his capacity as an archaeologist and has helped recover many items taken illegally.
More InfoGoodwin Sands Hazard
The Goodwin Sands is a shifting body of sand to the east of Dover harbour. It's an incredibly dangerous place for ships as, at low tide it's visible enough to walk on, and at high tide it is hidden but you are still able to run aground here. Many ships have fallen foul of the area. The South Foreland Lighthouse was switched off during WW2 so there were no beacons highlighting the danger to passing ships. Dr Andrew Richardson talks about the hazards.
More InfoConvoy CW7
Convoy CW7 is an early example of convoys of ships being attacked in the Dover Straits during WW2. As Germany was dominant in Europe, and when it took over the northern coast of France, it had a dominance over the English Channel too. It would target convoys of civilian ships that were transporting food and supplies across the world. Dr Andrew Richardson talks about Convoy CW7, an early example of a convoy attack.
More InfoChannel Dash 1942
On 11th February 1942, a major German naval operation was carried out. Squadrons of smaller boats were needed to protect two German battleships and a cruiser from Brest in Western France along the English Channel to dock in Germany. It was a risky mission. This was the shorter route the boats could take to get to Germany, but also the most dangerous. What happened next was to anger Winston Churchill and generate an inquiry as to how such a naval expedition could go so wrong for the British. Archaeologist Dr Andrew Richardson talks to students at the Folkestone Academy.
More InfoRecruiting For The Women’s Land Army
Historian Cherish Watton is researching the Women's Land Army of WW1 and WW2. She was interviewed by CCF cadets at the Folkestone Academy. They asked her how the Government went about recruiting women for the job.
More InfoWearing Briches
Women in the Women's Land Army had a uniform which included briches or trousers. These were much more practical to wear on farm jobs that long dresses or skirts. It was the first time women really wore trousers. They got raised eyebrows from some, and feelings of liberation from others.
More InfoWomen Posted Around UK
Women could be posted anywhere in the UK as part of their work with the Women's Land Army. The Army was in force until 1950 when it was disbanded. Sometimes women worked in groups and were housed in hostels. At other times they were posted individually to specific farms who needed support.
More InfoWomen’s Land Army
The Women's Land Army was set up in 1939 for WW2. It was to supply women to work on crucial agricultural jobs that needed to be done during the war. The men had gone off to fight. Other women had signed up to work in the military forces. The Women's Land Army wasn't actually a military organisation but was made up of civilian girls and women who helped feed the country from 1939 to 1950.
More InfoThe Evacuation of Dunkirk
The evacuation of Dunkirk was a significant moment in WW2. The British Expeditionary Force needed to be rescued from the Germany Army on the coast of northern France. There wasn't enough space on the British Naval ships so they inlisted the help of local fishing boats. Many local fishing families joined in to help rescue thousands of soldiers from France. Dr Andrew Richardson spoke to our students about this event.
More InfoThe English Channel
The English Channel is a dangerous place to work. In peace time it's one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. In war time there were added issues of not wanting to identify your ship to others just in case they were working for the other side. Lighthouses were switched off too. This meant that you had to be really careful in navigating your way through the lanes. You might also be shot at, bombed and blown up. Dr Andrew Richardson talks to our students about how dangerous a place the English Channel was and still is.
More InfoPavement Pounders Memories Bombing of Holy Trinity
Pavement Pounders is a charity in Folkestone who collect memories and aural histories from people living in the town. They came in to talk to our students about what it was like to live in Folkestone during WW2. Our students read out some of the memories. This one is recalling the bombing of Holy Trinity church.
More InfoPavement Pounders Memories Being Evacuated
Pavement Pounders is a local charity that collects memories and aural histories of events that have happened in Folkestone. They came in to talk to our students about their project. Here's one of our students reading out a story about being evacuated from Folkestone during WW2.
More InfoPavement Pounder Memories – Living in Cheriton
Pavement Pounders is a Folkestone-based charity who work collecting people's memories and aural histories of events in the town. They have been making a collection of people's memories of living in Folkestone and the surrounding area during WW2. Our CCF students read out some of these memories. This one is about living in Cheriton and remembering feeding the soldiers tea as they passed on the trains coming down to the harbour.
More InfoAgriculture Was Labour Intensive
Archaeologist Dr Andrew Richardson talks about what agriculture was like at the time of the Second World War. It was incredibly labour intensive and so required lots of people to work on the land, harvest, maintaining equipment etc. When men went off to war, women were recruited to do these jobs.
More InfoJobs In The Women’s Land Army
Historian Cherish Watton has been researching what jobs women did in the Women's Land Army during WW2. There are reports that sometimes the women were told 'go and milk that cow' without any training. It was certainly hard work and the women worked long hours. A lot of the women did enjoy their work and loved their time in the Women's Land Army.
More InfoAuxiliaries and Secret Bunkers
Darran Cowd from Folkestone Museum talks to CCF Cadets at the Folkestone Academy about why the bunkers and other defences needed to be kept secret after WW2.
More InfoArtillery Bunkers and their uses
Darran Cowd from Folkestone Museum talks to CCF Cadets at the Folkestone Academy about why the bunkers and other defences needed to be kept secret after WW2.
More InfoBunkers and Pill Boxes in Folkestone
Darran Cowd from Folkestone Museum talks to CCF Cadets at the Folkestone Academy about where you can find local examples of these defences.
More InfoHow Quickly Could you Build a Bunker or a Pill Box?
Darran Cowd from Folkestone Museum talks to CCF Cadets at the Folkestone Academy about how these defences were built.
More InfoWhat is the difference between a Pill Box and a Bunker?
Darran Cowd from Folkestone Museum talks to CCF Cadets at the Folkestone Academy about the difference between defences.
More InfoWhich areas needed protecting?
Darran Cowd from Folkestone Museum talks to CCF Cadets at the Folkestone Academy about which areas of the country were thought to need more protection from invasion.
More InfoWhy were Pill Boxes and Bunkers needed?
Darran Cowd from Folkestone Museum talks to CCF Cadets at the Folkestone Academy about why Pill Boxes and Bunkers were needed in WW2.
More InfoWhy Put An Airbase At Hawkinge?
Hawkinge Airbase was the closest airbase to continental Europe, but why did they decide to use Hawkinge? David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets.
More InfoWhy are They Named The Few?
The Pilots who flew during the Battle of Britain have a special name – ‘The Few’ - David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets about where this name came from.
More InfoWhat Were Bunkers Used For
Air Cadets from 99 Squadron in Folkestone have been exploring the area, and asked David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust what certain local bunkers were used for during WW2.
More InfoUnexploded Bombs in Hawkinge Airfield
David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust has been involved with the museum for over 42 years. He recovered his first airplane wreck when he was 10 years old. He talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets about the amount of unexploded bombs in the Hawkinge Airfield area.
More InfoThe Role of Women in the Battle Of Britain
David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets about what roles women played during the Battle Of Britain.
More InfoSound Bowls
Dotted along the coastline you will find Sound Bowls or Sound Mirrors that were a pre-curser to radar communications and built in the 1930s. David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets about their short-lived useage.
More InfoSignificant Areas of Hawkinge Still Surviving From WW2
David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets about specific areas in Hawkinge that date back to WW2.
More InfoRAF Marine Rescue Service
David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets about how difficult it was to identify pilots when they’d been shot down in the sea due to their uniform, and how, during the Battle Of Britain, changes were made to make them more easily identified.
More InfoOrigins of 99 Squadron Air Cadets
David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets about the origins of their unit during WW2.
More InfoHawkinge Prime Location Hellfire Corner
Hellfire Corner is a famous name for this area of the coast, and it’s a triangle between Dover, Folkestone and Hawkinge Airfield. David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets about Hawkinge’s prime location.
More InfoDiscovering JU 87 Stuka Dive Bomber
There are many aircraft and ordinance to be discovered even today. David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets about discovering a German JU 87 Stuka Dive Bomber that crashed into Hawkinge Airfield, now the site of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum.
More InfoBenefits of Grass Airfields
Hawkinge was a grass airfield and this has its advantages. David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets.
More Info303 Squadron
There were many air squadrons that were involved in the Battle of Britain. One famous one was 303 Squadron. David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets who wanted to know more about what this famous group of people did during the Battle of Britain.
More InfoHow Close Were We to Losing the Battle of Britain?
David Brocklehurst MBE, Chairman of the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum Trust talks to 99 Squadron Air Cadets and they wanted to know just how close we were to losing the battle.
More Info