Author Topic: Guess the Place  (Read 1058451 times)

Online johnfilmer

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7814 on: December 29, 2022, 02:32:20 PM »
With a fairly strong family history from Medway, I have some old tools with the broad arrow mark.
However, I also have some Imperial sized reamers with broad arrow markings, but I bought those as military surplus in the mid 1960s. Only used one the other day!
MartinR, the track is twin, and was then.
Illegitimus nil carborundum

Offline shoot999

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7813 on: December 29, 2022, 01:10:26 PM »
In my searching around, the BSWD markers around Chatham, for instance, all had a broad arrow between W and D.

Coincidentally Fort Halstead, in its modern form, was only mentioned to me on Boxing Day in the context of his friend who works there is very, very tight lipped about what goes on in there  8)
Meanwhile, back at the quiz... Martin's map question led me to set another. This is a rifle range, never shot there myself, but I did have the opportunity in the early 1980s. It was full-bore rifle, .303 or 7.62Nato.


The dreaded broad arrow. Any time you were stopped for search leaving a military established they would search through your tools, and woe betide you having anything with a broad arrow stamped on it. That was you nicked!

Offline MartinR

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7812 on: December 29, 2022, 01:04:52 PM »
That looks like a railway on the left of the snippet.  Is it a single-track branch or part of the main system?

Online johnfilmer

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7811 on: December 29, 2022, 12:01:25 PM »
In my searching around, the BSWD markers around Chatham, for instance, all had a broad arrow between W and D.

Coincidentally Fort Halstead, in its modern form, was only mentioned to me on Boxing Day in the context of his friend who works there is very, very tight lipped about what goes on in there  8)
Meanwhile, back at the quiz... Martin's map question led me to set another. This is a rifle range, never shot there myself, but I did have the opportunity in the early 1980s. It was full-bore rifle, .303 or 7.62Nato.
Illegitimus nil carborundum

Offline MartinR

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7810 on: December 29, 2022, 08:40:30 AM »
I'm pleased to hear that John.  As you know once solutions are supplied I chase them up and also learn from the information given by the group.  BTW, just in case it wasn't obvious, the little dots marked "B.S.W.D No. 1" to "B.S.W.D No.8" are "Boundary Stone, War Department".

Offline John Walker

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7809 on: December 29, 2022, 01:04:13 AM »
That was a good one Martin.  I was way off beam but I've learned a few things from it.

Offline MartinR

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7808 on: December 28, 2022, 06:19:29 PM »
Yes, specifically the Old Fort.  A summary of the public history of the site is on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Halstead.  Location:
  • Nat'l grid:   TQ 49925 59138
  • Coords:      51°18'42"N, 000°08'59"E or 51.31161,0.14972
  • Post code: TN14 7BP (but this may be non-geographic).
If you look on these old maps at Chatham Royal Dockyard, it is just a blank.  I did consider that site for GTP, but the river would have made it too obvious.   In an era before satellites and drones, and less general aviation, keeping military installations blank made intelligence gathering for a putative enemy harder.

Online johnfilmer

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7807 on: December 28, 2022, 04:29:18 PM »
It’s Fort Halstead, near Sevenoaks
Illegitimus nil carborundum

Offline Beachbum

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7806 on: December 28, 2022, 04:11:11 PM »
YMCA ? Tunbridge Wells ?

Offline MartinR

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7805 on: December 28, 2022, 02:55:17 PM »
@John, no, not the River Bourne.  I repeat: "Go west, young man".
@Beachbum, south of the LC&D

Offline Beachbum

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7804 on: December 28, 2022, 02:29:55 PM »
North or South of the London Chatham and Dover Railway?

Offline John Walker

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7803 on: December 28, 2022, 12:20:16 PM »
Is the nearby river, the River Bourne that runs near Hadlow at one point ?

Offline MartinR

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7802 on: December 28, 2022, 09:15:39 AM »
"Go west, young man, go west"¹ - well to be accurate it's nearer to WbyN.  :)
¹https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_West,_young_man

Offline John Walker

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7801 on: December 28, 2022, 12:30:13 AM »
Lenham area?

Offline MartinR

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Re: Guess the Place
« Reply #7800 on: December 27, 2022, 09:40:43 PM »
Right John, you've now solved the clue "There doesn't look to be much there, but that is deceptive".  The Ordnance Survey at that period (and indeed until well after WWII) did not show details of military facilities on public maps.  Shoot, the Medway is nowhere near, but there is another river's headwaters a mile or so away.