Fort Darland was a post-mediaeval infantry fort built from 1870 to 1900 as part of the defensive network for

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th centur ...

.Fortified England - Fort Darland
/ref> It was demolished in the 1960s and the site used for housing. Some earthworks and encasement remain and are visible on aerial photographs. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Fort Darland was a British Army detention centre. The camp was one of twelve military detention centres in England, Scotland, and the Orkney and Shetland Islands. First and second-time offenders were sent to seven of the twelve prisons. Fort Darland drew Parliamentary attention after Rifleman William Clarence Clayton perished while incarcerated; two British Army Warrant Officers were criminally charged after an investigation into Clayton's death. In addition to British Army personnel being incarcerated, members of the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases acr ...

were also sentenced to Fort Darland upon conviction of first-time offences, usually sent up by their Commanding officers. Prior to Fort Darland becoming a detention centre it was an Army Technical school for boys, built in 1938 and opened for its first intake. In March 1939 it served as a school for both Royal Engineer and Royal Artillery enlisted boys. In 1940 during the Dunkirk evacuation the school became a transit camp for men returning from France the pupils having been sent home and subsequently to other Army schools. After the war, the fort's tunnels were used as a mushroom farm.

References

* British Parliamentary Hansards, 6 July 1943 * Canadian National Archives file, 666 (AOP)(RCAF) Squadron, War Diary

External links

Victorian Forts data sheet
Forts in Medway {{fort-stub