Lifeboats of The Downs on the big screen
Having found an old black and white photograph several years ago I didn’t get very far with my research to try and discover that was occurring and taking place in …
Having found an old black and white photograph several years ago I didn’t get very far with my research to try and discover that was occurring and taking place in …
On the 21st October 1940, the South Goodwin lightship disappeared from her station close to the South Sand Head. Fortunately the crew had been taken off a few days prior …
Over hundreds of years, the 10 mile stretch of sand called the Goodwins has been the demise of thousands of ships and their crews. This natural hazard has trapped and …
It is a little known fact that there are at least twenty Hull and Grimsby deep sea fishing vessels sunk within eyesight of the Goodwin Sands. It has not been …
At the beginning of the Second World War the anchorage in the Downs was full to overflowing with ships awaiting inspection from naval officers of the Contraband Control. Neutral vessels …
Within ten minutes of the maroons being fired the Walmer lifeboat Charles Dibden was launched from the steep beach. The weather was starting to deteriorate with an increasing southerly breeze …
In the latter part of the First World War, German submariners were feeling the effect of the diligent Royal Navy and losses of U-boats were mounting up. Volunteers for the …
On 26th May 1944, the B17 Miss Lollipop, so named because one of the manufactures employee’s felt she would be a ‘good ship’, had just received her new American crew …
With a fresh south westerly wind blowing on the 22nd of November, 1703, a British naval fleet comprising of large first, second and third rate ships-of the-line limped into the …
Many years ago a television company was filming a pilot programme about a Goodwin Sands shipwreck, the U-16, in our local maritime museum. Although one of the presenters of this …
Writer Deborah Moggach discusses with Ivan Wise of the Better Known Show, six things which should be better known. Top of her list is the Goodwin Sands. Deborah has written …
If you didn’t get our February 2021 newsletter, you can read it here.
In January, we were invited to join a webinar at the University of Kent’s Centre for Heritage entitled ‘Preserving Underwater Heritage: Perspectives and Challenges’. The discussion focused on the issues …
We are delighted that Dan Pascoe of Pascoe Archaeology and the University of Bournemouth has agreed to be our first retained archaeologist. We are really looking forward to working with …
GAD 23 is the remains of a wooden merchant sailing vessel carrying a cargo of coal. Ship’s equipment and its design and construction suggest that it dates to around …
An unidentified sail-powered collier that sank on the Goodwin Sands has been granted national legal protection by the government. It is one of two wrecks added to Historic England’s list …
Read ITV Meridian’s report on making a mockery of marine conservation status. Dover Harbour Board’s claim that the project will create hundreds of new jobs is disingenuous to say …
We hope many of you will be amongst the 165,000 to have read this excellent article by Karen McVeigh of The Guardian about the problems facing the Goodwin Sands MCZ …
Britannia was an East India Company ship that was in convoy with the Admiral Gardner and the Carnatic when she sank on the Goodwins during a storm on 24th / 25th …
Following the Benyon Report published earlier this year, the government has now launched a Call for Evidence giving the public the opportunity to express their opinion regarding the five proposed …
Introduction In 1674 Samuel Pepys, MP and Secretary of the Admiralty convinced King Charles II to begin the building of 30 ships to improve the performance of the Royal Navy …
Introduction In the late 18th Century the Dutch East India Company, or VOC as it was known, was one of the most powerful commercial companies across the globe. It had …
Historical background HMS Restoration was a 70 gun third-rate Man of War built in 1678 by Betts at Harwich and subsequently rebuilt at Chatham in 1702. She weighed 1,055 tons …
Historical background HMS Northumberland was one of three of Samuel Pepys ‘Thirty Great Ships’ that foundered on the Goodwin Sands during the Great Storm of November1703. She was a 70 …
Archaeological interest GAD 8 or the ‘Goodwins cannon site’ is the closest of the Protected Wrecks to the Kent coastline. It lies in 11m of water in The Downs and …
HMS Mary is not officially listed as a Protected Wreck but we would like to include her here as historically she was a significant ship that is thought to share …
Historical background The Admiral Gardner was an 813-ton English East Indiaman built on the River Thames and launched in 1797. At 415 feet long and 36 feet wide, she had …
The Conservation Trust has received grants from Kent County Council, the Roger de Haan Charitable Trust, Walmer Parish Council, and Deal Town Council to install a unique double-sided Historic Information …