Now that we are truly heading towards Winter and the balmy days and long, light evenings of a few months ago seem so far in the past, I thought you might like to know about a major new re-enactment event which took place last August. The event was held at Crownhill Fort, Plymouth on the weekend of 4/5th August. We did not feature the event in our newsflash section at the time because I did not attend this event as I was elsewhere on escort duty for HM Queen Victoria. Consequently I am still not able to give a first hand account, but I am attaching below the account of the weekend as written by James Breslin,the administrator of Crownhill Fort,. The fort has its own Victorian Artillery unit and had invited other Victorian re-enactment groups to take part, notably the 24th (1879 Group); the 80th South Staffordshires and the Portsdown Artillery Volunteers from Fort Nelson, Portsmouth.
James Breslin’s account below and the accompanying pictures clearly demonstrate that the event was a huge success and a date has already been fixed for the same weekend next year – make a note in your diaries now!!
Further information about Crownhill Fort may be found on our Links Page
Keith Perks
August 2001 saw the Fort come back to life during the Grand
Victorian Garrison Weekend. The event, started last year, now looks like
becoming the biggest and best Victorian event of its type in the country with
the Garrison weekend set to form the finale to a week long festival of Victorian
events next year. This years event was attended by members of No 1 Depot
Company, 7th Western Division RA (Crownhill Fort’s own gun crew), the
Portsdown Artillery Volunteers (the uniformed wing of the Palmerston Forts
Society from Fort Nelson in Portsmouth), the 24th Regiment of Foot (The 1879
Group ) and the 80th Regiment of Foot (The South Staffordshires). Unfortunately
circumstances were not to allow the Royal Malta Artillery from Fort Rinella in
Malta to attend this year but we hope that we will be able to once again welcome
our overseas friends next year.
The tented encampment, set up by the infantry behind the
Officers’ Quarters, was a very impressive sight with all the bell tents, field
kitchens and ‘Slasher’ Morgan’s surgeons tent. The smoking fires and
stoves with the smell of cooking also added to the atmosphere enormously. Its a
bit galling for those of us in the Artillery but to the general public nothing
sums up the Victorian military more than the red tunics! I’m sure that the
holiday makers staying in the flat at the Fort will not forget waking up to the
sight of a full blown Victorian Army encampment outside their windows!
The Artillery were represented by our own team and the
Portsdown Artillery Volunteers who gave fantastic artillery displays on the
Moncrieff Disappearing Gun, the 32-pdr blocked up ‘C’ pivot and the 32-pdr
SBBLs in the North Caponier.
The weekend was a great opportunity to meet old friends
from the Palmerston Forts Society, newer friends from the 24th Regiment and of
course brand new friends from the 80th Regiment.
For me the weekend had many ‘highlights’:
The
smoking stoves in the encampment
The
appalling sight of ‘bum boxing’ in the barrack (ask any welshman for
more details)
Radio
Devon proving to David Moore that not all reporters ask stupid
questions
Duncan
leaving the barrack on Saturday night through the window as if the most
natural way to exit the room
The
Sunday afternoon firings in the North Caponier with the two artillery teams
firing together with the 24th and 80th providing additional Martini Henry
fire from the rifle loops. The sound was truly amazing and I am led to
believe that tears were shed by some.
? Jim Buckle (I think) inspecting the Fort on Friday evening in his red long-johns and pillbox hat
Not
falling over this year
at the Seven Stars
The
24th and 80th singing traditional welsh songs in the barrack (if Tom Jones
counts as traditional)
The
screams from the Queens Head as Alan Gibbon exited with a woman slung over
his shoulder
Seeing
a column of red coats marching up the drive and onto the parade ground
Getting
the first Moncrieff gun drill out of the way without any mistakes
Correctly
predicting to John Symons that the Moncrieff would misfire for the first
time in nearly 2 years during the live Radio Devon broadcast
The
audience in the North Caponier cheering when Chris Bailey stopped
playing the bagpipes!
The
reporter from Radio Devon covering admirably for the misfire and then
getting the fright of his life when the gun finally went off.
The weekend was a fabulous occasion during which the Fort
truly came back to life in a way never foreseen when it was bought by the
Landmark Trust, as a derelict shell, in 1987.
My thanks go out to all those who helped in any way to make
the weekend such a success. Not just those in costume but all those behind the
scenes both at the Fort and at each respective re-enactment group whether they
be active members or simply wives or partners who allowed us to borrow their
menfolk for the weekend.
Here’s to next year. Make sure that you put the 3rd and
4th August 2002 in your diaries and once again, many, many thanks for a great
event.
The months activities had only just begun however for No 1
Depot Company from Crownhill Fort. The end of
August saw a marathon 4-days of
firing take place with two days of Moncrieff and Mortar fire at the Fort
followed by two days of mid-week firing at nearby Dartmouth Castle at the
invitation of English Heritage as part of their Dartmouth Regatta Week programme
of events. Members of the Portsdown Artillery Volunteers will be overjoyed to
hear that we managed to get English Heritage to allow us (under Collin
Carpenter’s supervision) to get things sorted out at the rear of there
carriage which at last allows the roller handspikes to be used correctly. Mind
you, it did take us 6 months to ensure that the handspikes were returned to
Dartmouth from different locations in Cornwall which meant the repairs were only
completed 3 days before the firings! It is with great pride that I can report
that the gun team produced the slickest series of gun drills they have ever
performed which was great for our first ever away trip. Thanks are due to Duncan
from the PAV for his top tips for Dartmouth firings. The two days were rounded
off nicely (which is probably the understatement of the year) with a few beers
on the roof of the Battery while being treated to an aerial display by a
Hurricane, a Spitfire and a Dakota. Furious waving of pillbox hats even got a
wave back from the pilot of the Dakota. After a number of years of firing at
Crownhill I think it is safe to say that the two d
ays at Dartmouth Castle has
brought home to all our members a renewed sense of how priviledged we are to be
able to do this sort of thing. As they say, a change is as good as a break.
We go quiet now until the end of October now which is no
bad thing as it will allow us to complete work on our new tea-room, Moncrieff
Gun display and the Restoration of the Fort display, all of which must be
completed over the next two months. Better get back to work then.
Regards,
James Breslin
Fort Administrator, Crownhill Fort
Thin
Red Line
Thin Red Line,
PO Box 65,
Seavington,
Ilminster,
TA19 0WE. UK