Fortress Study Group - Charity

13/10/2024

I had a great morning yesterday visiting Coalhouse Fort, which opened its doors for the first time in four years. Councillors and museum guides were on hand to share some of the ideas for the future.

This was the first event, moreover, that we were able to share on our new Facebook Group page, which went live on Friday. Two reasons for setting up a FB group: firstly, it allows group members to initiate discussions, rather than just comment on posts by the admins. Secondly, we have not managed to get full admin access for this page - so although I can add new posts I am not, for example, able to fix the missing banner picture.

If you liked the Page, though, you'll love the Group. Please join! Search for Forts & Fortifications or click on the link https://www.facebook.com/groups/fortsandfortifications

13/03/2024

13/03/2024

13/03/2024

After an interlude, the Fortress Study Group page is back in operation.

Our next webinar, on Wednesday 20 March, will be from Michel van Best who will discuss the the Aleutian Campaign in WW2. More details later.

19/09/2022

Webinar, Wednesday 21st at 8.00pm

Dr Richard Walding will be giving us a talk on "Anti-Submarine Indicator Loop Stations"

Coastal fortifications have always had the role of defending against naval incursion. In WW1 and WW2 the threat of submarines was added to the list of potential incursions. Many members will be aware of boom defences but how much do you know about indicator loops - a passive submarine detection system?

Dr Walding will demystify this little known branch of harbour defence. Richard is a research fellow at Griffith University Brisbane and has researched indicator loops worldwide sharing his work on his website http://indicatorloops.com/. In this webinar Richard will explain how indicator loops worked, their history and development and what remains.

15/08/2022

FSG Webinar 20:00 17 August 2022 - Coastal Defenses of the Western Atlantic during WW2 - Terry McGovern

FSG and CDSG Member Terry McGovern will give an overview of the seacoast defenses in the USA, Canada, Bermuda, Puerto Rico that played a role in the Battle of Atlantic. See map below.

01/08/2022

FSG Webinar 20:00 Wednesday 03rd August - Exploring the Irish Coast from Cork to Bere Island - Alistair Graham Kerr

FSG Member Alistair will share the photographs and discoveries from his October 2021 visit to the defences of the south coast of Ireland.
Photo copyright Alistair Graham Kerr

19/07/2022

Change of schedule.

FSG Webinar Wednesday 20 July 20:00 - Britain from Above, the Coast Defences

Our planned speaker is unavailable and so David Clarke is stepping in to share his lockdown project scouring the well known Britain from Above website for historic aerial photographs of British Forrtifications. As much of the photography is post-war it is possible to identify many WW2 defences but also sites from earlier periods. This remains a work in progress so members help in identifying defensive features would be welcome.

01/07/2022

FSG Webinar Wednesday 06 July 20:00 - The Siege of Portsmouth 1897 - a battle that will not be in your history books......

Palmerston Forts Society and Fortress Study Group member Lewis Sharp will describe this counterfactual 'future war' story which was written in 1895. It describes an amphibious attack on Portsmouth by a Franco-Russian alliance. The story was commissioned to support a parliamentary election campaign in Portsmouth. The political context to the story and its aftermath will be explained as well as the story itself, and then an analysis of whether the events described in it were plausible.

01/06/2022

FSG Webinar 20:00 01 June 2022 - WW2 German Radar and Fortifications in the Netherlands - Kees Neisingh

FSG and Menno van Coehoorn Member Kees Neisingh will share his extensive knowledge on this subject. Kees collaborated on a book with the late John Verbeek on the radar equipment deployed by the German Air Force and Navy in the Netherlands during the Second World War, as well as the associated specialised structures. As with his previous FSG webinar on the Atlantic Wall in the Netherlands Kees draws on records in the Dutch National Archives known as the "bunker archive".

17/05/2022

FSG Webinar 18 May 2022 20:00 - Royal Fort Bristol - Stuart Prior and Kostas Trimmis

Designed by Bernard De Gomme the Royal Fort at Bristol was built during the English Civil War to both defend Bristol and act as the Western Headquarters for the Royalist Army under Prince Rupert. Surrendered, along with the City in 1645 the site was gradually built over including by Royal Fort House built in 1761, now part of Bristol University. Dr Stuart Prior and Dr Kostas Trimmis of the University of Bristol Archaeology Department will talk about the history of the Royal Fort and the findings from their recent excavations.

Plan of Royal Fort by Skelton/ O'Neill - Braikenridge collection Bristol City Museum

20/04/2022

FSG Webinar - The Defences of Taiwan - 20:00 UK 20 April 22

FSG Member Michel van Best will talk about the 17th until the 20th century Defences of Taiwan. Partially colonised by the Dutch and Spanish, occupied by the Japanese from the 19th C to the end of the Second World War. Since then it has been practically independent of China but is considered a rebel province by the Chinese and remains a potential flashpoint to this day.