Capel Battery
Not too long ago in our post about the Battle of Britain Memorial, we mentioned Capel Battery of which the memorial is sort of part of. Well on the 19th of October they held an open day and we were more than thrilled to go and take a look!
We had always wondered what was behind the green gates behind the Valiant Sailor, and Sunday just gone we found out, but the site here was never meant to be a battery.
Originally, plans had been drawn up for a gun battery at Abbots Cliff but this was abandoned in favour of a new site which turned out to be Capel-le-Ferne. In 1941 near the Valiant Sailor pub, construction began on this battery with inspiration coming from nearby Hougham Battery as the design was similar and the same sort of guns were being placed.
During construction an unfortunate event struck, a German shell hit and struck two men in December of 1941. Sapper Thomas Morgan was killed immediately while the other man ended up having his leg amputated. Despite this, work continued and the battery was in use by 1942. However, this wasnt the only fatality or injury on site during construction. In April, months before the German shell hit, the tunnels were being dug and while collapses were frequent the worst came when an underground collapse buried three men. One died on the scene, one five days later, and it seems the third survived. The chalk within the ground at Capel was always going to be a challenge. Not quite as challenging as those within the Dover Cliffs themselves, but with the added mud and wet conditions this area is known for, it was no surprise the tunnelling aspect was a struggle.
Capel Battery ended up consisting of guns, an underground plotting room, engine rooms for generators, an underground shelter which was also used for medical situations, and anti aircraft Bofors guns. The battery engaged enemy ships on at least four occasions and took part in several practice shoots. But nothing lasts forever and the site was decommissioned in 1943. This was then reversed for both Capel and Hougham in 1944 as the sites became active members of the Counter Bombardment Fire Command. By the 1950s the army had pulled out of the sites completely and they were again decommissioned and the guns were removed from the site in 1952.
The site was abandoned like many post war buildings. It became a site for young urban explorers to play and misuse like many we see today, but the 1980s brought trouble. A young girl fell into one of the below ground rooms and died forcing the local council to take action with the above ground structures being given the order for demolition. They were bulldozed in order to make the site safe, the underground rooms being buried and the gun sites and magazines being covered with soil.
Local landowner Joseph Copeland bought this part of the site from our local council and tried to uncover the underground dressing station with the intention to make it into a museum as a large part of this war history had been lost as preservation orders had come far too late. We saw the same thing with a few sections of Western Heights and other war time buildings within Dover, while they are protected now, demolition of our heritage was rife within the 80s due to various reasons. However he gave up as he found the extent of the collapses underground making this idea impossible. Somewhere along the line however hope was restored as the site is now open for the odd visitor, but we are aware of the trouble had with the local council who again wished to topple the site. Ren actually spoke to a few people involved with protecting the site through her work and they managed to gain protected status and can continue preserving and educating people on the site.
As mentioned in our earlier post regarding the Battle of Britain Memorial, this touching tribute to the lives lost sits on the former battery, specifically to the rear of guns 2 and 3, the magazines being repurposed into the arena section with the statue of the pilot looking out to sea.
Unfortunately, by the time we had sorted ourselves out we'd missed the guided tour of the site and despite it being advertised as an open day of 10-3, things were being shut down and locked away when we got there at half 11ish. We spoke to a volunteer up there who discussed the National Trust's initial interest in the site but that ended up being down to the landowner and friends to uncover the site and spread the buried history here. Otherwise we covered the ground here in about 10 minutes as without access to the plotting room underground there wasn't much left to see above ground.
We will endeavour to arrive in time for the tour on the next open day they hold and hope to show you the underground aspects of this site so keep an eye on our instagram, but for the time being Capel Battery was an interesting site, but one under development. As a relatively new charitable site, it is undergoing works to expose the history here and make it safe, so as a work in progress it was good, but we will have to wait in the wings to know more.
The site is undoubtedly haunted however, what with the known deaths at the site. We didn't see anything, but the atmosphere was a dark one and it wasn't due to the clouds overhead threatening to rain on us. An overall air of loss and loneliness shrouded the site, it was strange. We wouldn't want to be here in the dark that's for sure!
We look forward to adding more information regarding this site in the future, watch this space!
DISCLAIMER: Now for the official bit. This blog does not receive any paid promotions from the places mentioned above. We have not been approached to promote or act as spokespersons for any attraction mentioned within this post and this is simply a post intended to act as a day in the life of a couple on a cute date. All photos included are taken by ourselves and as such the rights for these images our ours, no links, brands, or companies mentioned otherwise belong or are associated with Phantom Adventures UK. We are responsible only for this blog. Opinions are our own and not influenced by any third party source..
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