Shorncliffe Preservation Society

The greatest question man ever asks himself is where did we come from? For myself as a 95^th Green Jacket, that question has burnt in my soul since I took the Kings shilling, in a small country pub, in Castle Hedingham back in December 1997.

Nowadays the internet is an indispensable part of most peoples lives (ask any teenager about messenger). It is invaluable to me for tracking and researching information. In February this year I came across a stranger purporting to sell a copy of the 1801 map of the Shorncliffe Redoubt and training grounds on EBay. I could not believe my eyes. There before me was our birth place, our Bethlehem, hidden within the green and verdant womb of rolling Kentish Down land. It took me only a few minutes to cross reference the details of the map with OS maps and then plot it against a satellite photograph of the area. There was the Shorncliffe Redoubt, camouflaged by trees, but definitely still there!

What state it was in, I could not tell. Modern buildings seemed cluttered around it, with a running track built on the old camp ground. The Redoubt was surrounded on three sides by a road, the hospital had disappeared and the battery was not visible.

I decided the only way to find out, was to ask the seller directly and I hit gold. The seller was Michael George the affable and knowledgeable author of “Coast of Conflict” (The story of the South Kent Coast)”. Michael informed me that the Redoubt was in a poor state, neglected and abused; needless to say the parental M.O.D. is responsible for it. But it was still hanging on. To be honest I couldn’t wait to see the site. Within 24 hours I drove down the M20 to meet Michael and see for myself the condition of Shorncliffe.

Perched on a hill top overlooking Sandgate, between Hythe and Folkestone lays Sir John Moore’s fort. It is covered in a blanket of Rifle Green ivy and brambles. The obligatory combination of beer cans and condoms left by the local youths are a small disfigurement, compared to the mobile telephone mast that has been placed in the heart of the fort.

The Fort is about 300 feet by 300 feet square, with the entrance on the south side. Only the West and South walls remain. Moore’s office was housed within it, with a hospital below the walls towards the sea. On the shore line was a battery of twenty-four pounders. On the foreshore at the bottom of the hill is the start of the Military Canal, which runs west towards Hythe.

When Moore took over, he raised the battlements of the Redoubt for his newly formed Riflemen and Light troops to assault. He rented a house at the foot of the hill looking towards France and the lines of bleached white tents that marked the Grand Army camped in Boulogne. On calmer days gunfire and battery salutes drifted over to the Kentish coast. As in the Second World War, it had the negative effect on the local populace that Napoleon required. The Men of Kent would fight, rather than be “driven”. The rest they say is history, Michael’s book will fill you in on all the details. So now fast forward two hundred years.

Above the redoubt is still Shorncliffe barracks, home to the best mercenaries in the world, the Ghurkhas. To the South West lies about fifty acres of wood, blackthorn and brambles. There is also the derelict Martello tower Number 9, a First World War trench system and Second World War pill boxes. Hidden within the undergrowth is a sandy scar that once was the Rifle range. To the North West is the War cemetery, in which lies British and Commonwealth Troops.

The Big Question is what can be done with this site? The Shorncliffe Redoubt Preservation Society aims are as follows.

Firstly, the society wants to have a plaque erected on the site to mark Sir John Moore, the 95^th and the birth place of modern British army training and tactics.

Secondly, to restore as much of the Redoubt and the nearby surrounding area, to create a permanent home for our unit, the 95^th Rifles. What would be more suitable site than Shorncliffe Redoubt?

Thirdly, is to develop this site into an International Living History and education site dedicated to the Riflemen both British and Commonwealth, from 1800 to the present day that trained, lived and died within and around the Redoubt over the last 200 years.

To achieve this, we would need to clear the land around the remnants of the Redoubt, re-open the trench system, and develop the area around the pill boxes. It would be planned to convert Martello Tower 9 into an education centre, museum and multi-media cinema. There would be a visitor centre, facilities for re-enactors and car parking. This would also create jobs in the local community directly and indirectly due to this unique tourist attraction.

These ideas will only be possible if we could buy or lease the land off the MOD and get local planning permission. It would take about five years and about two million pounds.

Is this an impossible dream? Not really. Is it worth doing, you decide. Go down there, ring me, email me, and let me know what you think.

I’m a Rifleman through and through, I love a challenge, but even more I love a fight. No Rifleman worth his powder would sit by and let our home rot away. It has taken me seven years to find Shorncliffe; it might take me a few more to save it.

Rifleman Chris Shaw