The Beach c1960, Isle Of Grain
The Beach c1960, Isle Of Grain Ref: I52007
Memories of The Beach c1960, Isle Of Grain
Be the first to add a memory of The Beach c1960, Isle Of Grain
Isle Of Grain & local memories
Read and share memories of Isle Of Grain and Kent inspired by Frith photos.
Grain Fort
After the war in 1946 my father, a sergeant in the MPSC, was transfered to Darland camp in Gillingham but as there were no married quarters available there we, as a family, were billeted in the Coastguards quarters on the Isle of Grain.
These were a row of houses with a bedroom in the attic from which we could see across the Medway to the Isle of Sheppy.
I went to the village school briefly for a year, and was also in the church choir but the best fun we had as children was playing in the deserted fort and wading out to the Tower when the tide was out, our parents would have died if they knew what we got up to!
One of the great pleasures for me was watching the Thames barges sailing up the Medway - those barges have always held a fascination for me ever since.
Another memory of Grain for me was crossing over to Sheerness by Navy launch from Port Victoria, then a... Read more
St. James Road, Isle of Grain
I used to live in 33 St James road as a child and was looking for friends from my old school, St. James Primary, when I stumbled across this site. I have fond memories of Grain, the Cat and Cracker and also the Hogarth Inn. It used to have a walnut tree in the grounds. I remember sledging down the fort in the snow and swimming in swannie lake during the summer. My dad worked at Thamesport and my mum was a strawberry picker. Good times.
Childhood at Grain
After WW2 my father was posted to the firing range at Yantlet , Grain. When he left the army he was a caretaker at Grain Fort before working at the new oil refinery. My brother and I spent our pre teen years at Grain. It was a wonderful place for kids - forts, watch towers, the beach, ships on the Thames and Medway, the window shattering boom of the big guns firing at Yantlet, the marshes, strawberry picking. In 1956 we migrated to Australia.
It is sad to see so little of Grain's history preserved. The large WW1 naval air station has disappeared without a trace and no recorded history. The historic fort has been demolished and covered, lost for future generations.
Does anyone have photos of these significant military establishments? A museum of the air station, forts, firing range and oil refinery would be a worthy addition to the village.
