Puckpool battery

Puckpool battery
France was widely considered to be a dangerous threat to Britain during the 19th century. So, in 1860, a report was drafted out by the Royal Commission pinpointing Britain's coastal defences and plans to build a battery at Puckpool in Ryde for protection. By 1861, the battery had began construction by James and John Langdon who were local builders. Using bricks from the adjacent estate called Appely, the fort was completed within 3 years.With a wide ditch facing the sea for defence, a clay rampart covered with turf can be seen to protect the mortars. A barracks to house four officers and 67 men was built between 1865

and 1867. Puckpool was occupied during World War I, manned by the Royal Garrison Artillery, as ground and time were scarce to build another fort for defence. It was after World War I that the battery was sold to St. Helen's Urban District Council who opened it to the public in 1929. In 1939, Puckpool and the existing holiday camp became HMS Medina, and were used to train men for the pending Fleet Air Civilian ARP (Air Raid Precaitions) between 1939 and 1940, when a telephone centre and an observer corps on top of the East Mortar magazine were used for plotting enemy raids. At that time, a gas decontamination centre was also built on the site. The 35th maintenance R.N. Unit had moved into the battery in 1934 while they converted barges into landing craft at the nearby Fishbourne Creek. The Unit was damaged during the 1944 D-Day invasion of France, and the landing craft were repaired After the War, the battery was coverted back into a garden for nature and public alike.