Tucked behind Sandgate, near Folkestone, with views of the sea, is Shorncliffe Camp. Much of the area is now home to individuals, couples and families, housed in a plethora of smart new-builds. For centuries, though, the whole place thrummed with the energy of military preparation, cementing its reputation as the birthplace of British Army as we know it today.
In preparation for invasion by Napoleon, the British army first arrived in 1794, having bought over 229 acres of land here because of its close proximity to France (it was said locals could see the smoke from the camp fires of Napoleon’s waiting army). Here, Sir John Moore established a training camp that introduced light infantry methods of fighting to whole regiments for the first time. In doing so – and on this scale - he revolutionised The British Army, training up such regiments as the 95th Rifles, better known as the legendary Green Jackets, made famous by Bernard Cornwell’s ‘Sharpe’ books. These regiments went on to fight in the Napoleonic wars under the Duke of Wellington’s command.
Over the centuries camps at Shorncliffe housed everything from training facilities to military hospitals. Shorncliffe was a staging post for troops during both World Wars: those heading for the Western Front in World War I would have been stationed here, and it was home both to a Canadian Training division and a Machine Gun school. In April 1917 a camp for Chinese labourers opened in Folkestone and over 94,000 men passed through the town on their way to France to help the Allies on the Western Front. Around 2,000 Chinese labourers remained at Shorncliffe, however, working at the army camp and in the various military hospitals.
The Military Cemetery here was established in the late 1850s, with the first burial recorded in 1856, and the site extended at the start of World War 1, and then again in 1995 and 2016. According to the Commonwealth Graves commission, it contains 471 First World War burials, more than 300 of which are Canadian, and six are from the Chinese Labour Corps. In 1917, Belgian refugees in the UK paid for a mausoleum over the graves of 18 Belgian soldiers who had died at Shorncliffe Military hospital. Sadly, by 1959, the mausoleum had fallen into disrepair and was demolished, being replaced with a screen wall. There are 81 burials here from the Second World War, including one unidentified British soldier from 1940 and one Polish soldier, and the MOD have gone on to use the cemetery for military cremations and burials since then.
By the early 20th century, the extraordinary wider local and national importance of the site had largely been forgotten, however, with even military and locals referring to the site primarily as home to ‘the Old Redoubt’ – ‘redoubt’ means ‘a place of retreat’, and the earthwork one at Shorncliffe dates from the 19th century, when it had been designed as a defence against the possible Napoleonic invasion.
In 2005, though, Bromley-based Chris Shaw – a member of the re-enactment group the 95th Rifles – had a serendipitous encounter with local historian Michael George, who was selling an 1801 map of the site on eBay. That map was to lead Chris to Old Redoubt, where, he says, ‘I was the first 95th Rifleman – albeit a re-enactor - to return there in 200 years. Standing on the ramparts, I knew the place had to be saved for future generations.’
Inspired by that visit and building on his own life-long passion for military history, Chris founded the Shorncliffe Trust in 2005. Its aim is to preserve the site’s remaining military archaeology: that Napoleonic earthwork Redoubt that first so-impressed Chris, two Martello Towers and the First World War Training Trenches. By 2014 the Trust was sufficiently well established to create its own, and participate in other, commemorations of the start of World War One, and in Waterloo 200 in 2015. Its commemorative events go under the name ‘Light in the Darkest Hour’ and at the initial event in 2014, some 500 lanterns were placed by members of the local community on all the WW1 graves in Shorncliffe’s military cemetery. Recalls Chris, ‘Those who were there that night were not simply spectators but participants in an act of Remembrance, which made the event very special indeed.’ Back at Shorncliffe, ultimately, the hope is that a dedicated Heritage and Education Centre will also be established here, honouring the soldiers and their families who called Shorncliffe home for over 200 years.
More recently, the Shorncliffe site has remembered its key role in D Day, when it played host to US General Patten’s so-called Ghost Army, which went on to create a brilliant tactical diversion during the invasion of Europe. Other troops stationed at Shorncliffe, notably those of the Ox & Bucks regiment, headed off to take part in the D Day landings at Pegasus Bridge and in the battle for Normandy. That key involvement was marked earlier this year, when the Shorncliffe lanterns travelled as part of the commemorations to Caen. The Shorncliffe Trust also works with re-enactment groups across the country, providing Shorncliffe ‘troops’ at commemorative re-enactments, such as that to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 2017, too. With Shorncliffe’s history going back to the 18th century, the Trust is also involved in putting together Napoleonic battle-re-enactments.
Says Chris, ‘There are lots of people in Kent, in the UK and across the world just like our volunteers at the Shorncliffe Trust, who work hard to save their heritage and their own little bit of history, as well as finding modern approaches to commemorating the loss of life in past conflicts. We think the Trust’s motto ‘Make History - Save History’ sums it up. We’re continuing to raise funds to preserve and commemorate Shorncliffe’s remarkable contribution to military life, and always welcome contributions from those with family connections to the camp – their stories help to ensure that memories of the camp and those who were based here and sacrificed so much stay as vivid as ever.’
As we go to press a service featuring Shorncliffe's lanterns on Folkestone's Harbour Arm is being planned over the Remembrance weekend - see the website for details. shorncliffe-trust.org.uk
REMEMBRANCE
The ‘People at Shorncliffe’ section on the Shorncliffe Trust website includes numerous stories about those who lived there, worked there and are buried there. While many of them are soldiers involved in two centuries of conflicts, there were also many medical and nursing personnel. Here’s just a couple:
Ernest William Bayes
Gunner No. 86503, Canadian Field Artillery.
Died Wednesday 13 October 1915, aged 23
Lawrence Taylor writes, ‘Ernest was the youngest surviving child of James Bayes and Anna Maria Nichols of Walthamstow, Essex. His mother died in childbirth when he was three. My grandfather Sidney Thomas Bayes, 10 years his senior, was his eldest brother and always looked after him, and my grandmother Alice Charlotte, nee Kitson, became like a sister to him. Ernest enlisted in the Territorial Army in 1909, but was discharged when he emigrated to Canada in 1911, following a friend there. He enlisted in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force in 1915 and was sent to England. He was stationed at Otterpool Camp near Folkestone, and on the night of 13th October 1915, a Zeppelin airship, returning from a bombing raid on London, jettisoned several bombs on Otterpool Camp. My grandmother received a letter from one of Ernest's tent-mates, saying that the others in the tent had gone to the cinema, but Ernest had stayed behind and was killed as a result. Ernest was always remembered by his brother and family.’
Gertie May Evelyn “Bunty” Aldrich
Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS)
Died Thursday 17 October 1940, aged 21.
Daughter of Arthur James and Gertie May (Young) Aldrich, she was born December 91918. Gertie was a clerk and according to the 1939 census, she was living in Borstal Road, Rochester. She was killed at work along with two other ATS women when a German bomb was dropped a few yards away.
