Padstow Coastal Gun Battery
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Padstow Coastal Gun Battery
Padstow Coastal Gun Battery was built in the summer of 1940 at the northern end of the Bodmin Stop Line to defend against a Operation Sea Lion, German invasion of Britain. It utilised an old military site first established during the American Revolutionary War, War of American Independence north of Padstow overlooking the River Camel, Camel Estuary and known as Gun Point. Padstow is a port on the north Cornish coast.Defences of Padstow by Tim Parr. Leaflet Published by Padstow MuseumThe National Archives (United Kingdom), National Archives - WO 192-151 Padstow Battery (1870-1945) Fort Record Book 1941-1945 Establishment of the battery The battery was part of No 19 Coast Artillery Group whose headquarters was at Lanwithan, Lostwithiel. Role of the battery The role of the Coast Battery was: i)                   The protection of the port and beaches against attack by sea or landings on the beaches; ii)                  The protection of shipping in the appr ...
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Padstow
Padstow (; kw, Lannwedhenek) is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately northwest of Wadebridge, northwest of Bodmin and northeast of Newquay. The population of Padstow civil parish was 3,162 in the 2001 census, reducing to 2,993 at the 2011 census. In addition an electoral ward with the same name exists but extends as far as Trevose Head. The population for this ward is 4,434 The geology of the low plateau south of Padstow has resulted in such features as Tregudda Gorge where erosion along the faultline has caused sheer cliffs to form; and the Marble Cliffs which have alternating black and white strata. The Round Hole is a collapsed sea cave. History In English, Padstow was originally named after Æthelstan who was reported by John Leland to be 'chief governor of privileges onto it'. was commuted into , , or 'Petrock's Place', after the Welsh missi ...
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Barbette
Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection that eventually led to the pre-dreadnought. The name ''barbette'' ultimately comes from fortification - it originally meant a raised platform or mound, as in the French phrase ''en barbette'', which refers to the practice of firing a cannon over a parapet rather than through an embrasure in a fortification's casemate. The former gives better angles of fire but less protection than the latter. The disappearing gun was a variation on the barbette gun; it consisted of a heavy gun on a carriage that would retract behind a parapet or into a gunpit for reloading. Barbettes were primarily used in coastal defences, but saw some use in a handful of warships, and some inland fortifications. The term is also used for certain aircraft gun mou ...
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Artillery Batteries
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems. The term is also used in a naval context to describe groups of guns on warships. Land usage Historically the term "battery" referred to a cluster of cannon in action as a group, either in a temporary field position during a battle or at the siege of a fortress or a city. Such batteries could be a mixture of cannon, howitzer, or mortar types. A siege could involve many batteries at different sites around the besieged place. The term also came to be used for a group of cannon in a fixed fortification, for coastal or frontier defence. During the 18th century "battery" began to be used as an o ...
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Autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English periodical ''The Monthly Review'', when he suggested the word as a hybrid, but condemned it as "pedantic". However, its next recorded use was in its present sense, by Robert Southey in 1809. Despite only being named early in the nineteenth century, first-person autobiographical writing originates in antiquity. Roy Pascal differentiates autobiography from the periodic self-reflective mode of journal or diary writing by noting that " utobiographyis a review of a life from a particular moment in time, while the diary, however reflective it may be, moves through a series of moments in time". Autobiography thus takes stock of the autobiographer's life from the moment of composition. While biographers generally rely on a wide variety of documents a ...
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Battle Of The Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, Allied naval Blockade of Germany (1939–1945), blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. The campaign peaked from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943. The Battle of the Atlantic pitted U-boats and other warships of the German ''Kriegsmarine'' (Navy) and aircraft of the ''Luftwaffe'' (Air Force) against the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, United States Navy, and World War II United States Merchant Navy, Allied merchant shipping. Convoys, coming mainly from North America and predominantly going to the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, were protected for the most part by the British and Canadian navies and air forces. These forces were aided by ships and aircraft of th ...
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Pentire Head
Pentire Head ( kw, Penn Tir, meaning "headland") is a headland and peninsula on the Atlantic coast in North Cornwall, England, and is about one mile square. The headland projects north-west with Pentire Point at its north-west corner and The Rumps promontory at its north-east corner. Etymology The origin of the name is from Cornish ''penn'' (head) and ''tir'' (land): another headland with the name Pentire is further west near Crantock. Geography Pentire Point and Stepper Point stand at either side of the mouth of the River Camel estuary (Pentire to the north-east, Stepper to the south-west). To the south of Pentire Point is the small seaside resort of Polzeath. The coastline around the headland is owned by the National Trust, although the bulk of the headland itself is let to Pentire Farm. The entire headland forms the Pentire Peninsula Site of Special Scientific Interest, designated for its geology and flora and fauna including nationally rare plants. Important examples not ...
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Land Mine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automatically by way of pressure when a target steps on it or drives over it, although other detonation mechanisms are also sometimes used. A land mine may cause damage by direct blast effect, by fragments that are thrown by the blast, or by both. Landmines are typically laid throughout an area, creating a ''minefield'' which is dangerous to cross. The use of land mines is controversial because of their potential as indiscriminate weapons. They can remain dangerous many years after a conflict has ended, harming civilians and the economy. Seventy-eight countries are contaminated with land mines and 15,000–20,000 people are killed every year while many more are injured. Approximately 80% of land mine casualties are civilians, with children as the ...
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Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and became part of the English establishment in 1689. In 1751, it became the 5th Regiment of Foot, with the regional title 'Northumberland' added in 1782; in 1836, it was designated a Fusilier unit and became the 5th (Northumberland Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot. After the 1881 Childers Reforms, it adopted the title Northumberland Fusiliers, then Royal Northumberland Fusiliers on 3 June 1935. In 1968, it was amalgamated with the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and Lancashire Fusiliers to form the present Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. History Formation to end of 17th century Although briefly designated as 'Irish' when raised in January 1675, the regiment was listed as one of three 'English' ...
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Dare Wilson
Major General Ronald Dare Wilson, CBE, MC (3 August 1919 – 15 August 2014) was a senior British Army officer, author, and park warden. He was decorated during World War II, commanded 22 Special Air Service Regiment in the early 1960s and ended his military career as Director of Army Aviation. He was instrumental in introducing attack helicopters and high-altitude military parachuting to the British military. In retirement, he served as the National Park Officer (equivalent to Chief executive) of Exmoor National Park. Early life Wilson was born on 3 August 1919 in Burnopfield, County Durham, England. He was the eldest son of four children, two girls and two boys, born to Sydney Wilson. His father was the chairman of a coal company and an unsuccessful Conservative Party candidate for Parliament. He was educated at Shrewsbury School and St John's College, Cambridge to study economics. However, he did not complete his degree as his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of Wor ...
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Gordon Campbell (Royal Navy Officer)
Vice admiral Gordon Campbell, (6 January 1886 – 3 October 1953) was a British naval officer, writer, politician and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was also awarded the Croix de Guerre and appointed a chevalier of the Légion d'honneur for his actions during the First World War. Early life and career Born on 6 January 1886 to Frederick Campbell, he was educated at Dulwich College, which he attended between 1898 and 1900. He then joined the Royal Navy and was in October 1902 posted as a midshipman to the battleship serving in the Mediterranean Sea. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1907 and to commander in March 1916. It was during the First World War that he was awarded the Victoria Cross for the following action: Campbell also commanded during the action of 8 August 1917 when she was sunk by SM ''UC-71''. Victoria Crosses were awarded to two members o ...
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Prideaux Place
Prideaux Place is a grade I listed Elizabethan country house in the parish of Padstow, Cornwall, England. It has been the home of the Prideaux family for over 400 years. The house was built in 1592 by Sir Nicholas Prideaux (1550–1627), a distinguished lawyer, and was enlarged and modified by successive generations, most notably by his great-great-grandson Edmund Prideaux (1693–1745) and by the latter's grandson Rev. Charles Prideaux-Brune (1760–1833). The present building, containing 81 rooms, combines the traditional E-shape of Elizabethan architecture with the 18th-century exuberance of Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill Gothic. The house contains a fine collection of works of art, including royal and family portraits, fine furniture and the Prideaux Porcelain Collection. The recently uncovered ceiling in the Great Chamber is a masterpiece of the art of the Elizabethan plasterer. In 1968 the estate comprised about 3,500 acres, excluding the St Breock estate situated ...
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Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 census. The Lostwithiel electoral ward had a population of 4,639 at the 2011 census. The name Lostwithiel comes from the Cornish language, Cornish "lostwydhyel" which means "tail of a wooded area". Origin of the name The origin of the name Lostwithiel is a subject much debated. In the 16th century it was thought that the name came from the Ancient Rome, Roman name ''Uzella'', translated as ''Les Uchel'' in Cornish language, Cornish. In the 17th century popular opinion was that the name came from a translation of ''Lost'' (a tail) and ''Withiel'' (a lion), the lion in question being the lord who lived in the castle. Current thinking is that the name comes from the Old Cornish ''Lost Gwydhyel'' meaning "tail-end of ...
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