Chatham Dockyard's closure
The history, the memories, and the people of Chatham Dockyard, 40 years since closing.
What was the Dockyard and why was it important in British naval history?
The Chatham Dockyard (pictured from a drone in the present day) was a naval base on the River Medway.
The first documentary evidence of the Dockyard can be found in 1547 with the rental of two storehouses at “Jyllingham Water.”
In its four centuries of being open, it produced over 200 ships for many uses in all shapes and sizes.
Here are some of the most important years in the history of the Dockyard:
Picture by Steve, stock.adobe.com
An illustrated depiction of the Spanish Armada. Photo by Morphart, stock.adobe.com
An illustrated depiction of the Spanish Armada. Photo by Morphart, stock.adobe.com
In 1588, Chatham Dockyard shipwrights prepared Queen Elizabeth I's ships to battle the Spanish Armada. The Dockyard also had a vital role in the 17th century Trade Wars against the Dutch.
HMS Victory was built at Chatham Dockyard, but is now harboured at Portsmouth's Dockyard. Picture by naiveangelde stock.adobe.com.
HMS Victory was built at Chatham Dockyard, but is now harboured at Portsmouth's Dockyard. Picture by naiveangelde stock.adobe.com.
In 1765, HMS Victory was launched. HMS Victory was built at Chatham Dockyard, and it was Lord Nelson's flagship in the Battle of Trafalgar against Napoleon. During the Napoleonic war, thousands of French prisoners were held at Chatham.
The Dock where HMS Victory was laid down now harbours HMS Cavalier in Chatham Dockyard
The Dock where HMS Victory was laid down now harbours HMS Cavalier in Chatham Dockyard
Chatham's importance during the World Wars
In 1914. HMS Lance, a Chatham-manned destroyer, fires the first shot of naval war. Chatham was a principal manning port of the Royal Navy during the First World War. By the outbreak of the conflict, 205 ships – more than a third of the Royal Navy – were manned by sailors from the Chatham Division. Chatham also manufactured destroyers for the Navy in World War Two.
HMS Cavalier was a CA Class Destroyer in World War 2. Now, it serves as 'The National Destroyer Memorial' at the Dockyard commemorating the 11,000 lives and 142 Royal Navy Destroyers lost during the Second World War.
HMS Cavalier was a CA Class Destroyer in World War 2. Now, it serves as 'The National Destroyer Memorial' at the Dockyard commemorating the 11,000 lives and 142 Royal Navy Destroyers lost during the Second World War.
The general public can walk onboard HMS Ocelot, which is now part of the exhibits on offer at the Chatham Dockyard museum.
The general public can walk onboard HMS Ocelot, which is now part of the exhibits on offer at the Chatham Dockyard museum.
In 1962, HMS Ocelot was launched. HMS Ocelot was a post-war submarine and was the last warship for the Royal Navy at the Dockyard. Ocelot travelled over 90,000 miles in many top-secret missions during the Cold War. In total, 57 submarines were built in the 20th Century in the Dockyard.
On 30 March 1984, the Chatham Dockyard was closed after more than 400 years of manufacturing ships
How and why did it close?
In 1981, the Port Admiral's Immediate Memoranda was given to the workers at the Dockyard.
In this White Paper document, the Secretary of State at the time John Nott, said that the Dockyard would close in 1984 (see point 11 in the picture below). Providing reasons for this decision, he said that the cost of modern equipment had strained the Defence budget.
He added that money needed to be found for the newly announced 'TRIDIENT' missile, which would come at a cost of three percent of the Defence Budget over 15 years (see point five in the picture below).
This came on top of the Government's commitment to a three percent yearly growth in the Defence budget (see point two in the picture below), so the decision was made to close Chatham Naval Base as well as reducing work at Portsmouth's Dockyard.
The Memoranda given to Dockyard Workers in 1981, provided by Malcolm Harley.
The Memoranda given to Dockyard Workers in 1981, provided by Malcolm Harley.
What were the impacts of the closure?
The closure had a devastating impact on the Medway Towns. About 7,000 skilled workers lost their jobs and employment reached a staggering 16 percent in Medway.
Malcolm Neville, who worked 15 years as a Draughtsman on submarines, said that only a small number of skilled workers were offered jobs within the Ministry of Defence following their redundancy.
He said that those who were non-industrial workers were contracted to work anywhere in the U.K, so them and their families could be moved somewhere far away and could not be made redundant.
Mr Neville said that the loss of the Dockyard was also a major blow to school leavers as the Dockyard offered around 150 apprenticeships per year, as well as losing the high level education provided by the Dockyard's own Technical College.
The Dockyard itself was a valuable land to the Navy. Mr Neville said: "It had eight dry-docks, extensive workshops and the Nuclear Refit Complex, which had only been built 20 years before at a considerable cost."
Barry Davis, an apprentice at the Dockyard before it closed, said: "The identity and culture of Medway was lost in an instant.
"The Gillingham F.C. crowds halved overnight despite having one of our best ever teams over the next decade.
"5 or 6 cricket clubs were formed at the Dockyard, they all disappeared followed by many others over the next decade."
What was the reaction from the local papers?
David Jones was editor of Chatham based paper 'Kent Evening Post' from 1981 to 1989
What happened in the lead up to the closure?
Mr Jones said that there had been concerns over the future of the Dockyard, 23 years before the announcement was made, fuelled by the impending closure of the Dockyard in Sheerness which closed in 1960.
Despite this, in 1958, he said MPs from the Medway Towns were told by the head of the Royal Navy that the future of Chatham Dockyard was 'assured.'
The future looked bright for the Dockyard when the base became home to the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarine refitting complex in 1968, he added.
However, he said: "With all minds concentrated on Chatham Dockyard, there was, perhaps, a bigger picture which many failed to grasp.
"Even before the closure, some of Medway’s traditional engineering industries –also big employers– were in terminal decline. Household names like Metal Box and Wingets were also struggling, and eventually closed.
"The writing was also on the wall for Chatham Dockyard, though nobody realised it. Gradually, the run-down of the dockyard began, a kind of lingering death to be phased over three years."
Was the closure of the Dockyard a surprise?
Mr Jones said: "By the early 1980s, the dockyard no longer built ships but had been downgraded to a base for refitting and repairs to Royal Navy vessels.
"The Yard’s glory days were over. Many of its buildings were crumbling and there was criticism that it was overmanned and inefficient.
"But what is beyond dispute is that there were thousands of skilled men- and women working there, capable of building the most complex warships."
He said it was "difficult to understate how stunning was the news of the Yard’s impending closure.
"It was unthinkable that Chatham Dockyard, central to the Medway Towns’ economy for more than four centuries, could ever shut."
What was it like reporting the shock of the closure?
Mr Jones said: "To say that all hell broke loose is an understatement. Work began immediately on a special morning edition for the next day, to be published with a red masthead instead of the usual blue.
"There was just one huge headline on the front page – 'SUNK!'"
He started a campaign called 'Save Our Dockyard,' which included stories daily to "keep hope alive." There was an endless source of material, he said, as MPs and Medway politicians of all colours joined in the fight and forgot their differences.
There was a glimmer of hope when Falklands War broke out in April, 1982, said Mr Jones, adding: "Dockyard workers toiled round the clock, refitting and repairing warships which had been earmarked to head for the South Atlantic.
"Surely, they had done enough to demonstrate the Navy could not do without Chatham Dockyard and that they were entitled to a reprieve?"
Unfortunately, despite the workers best efforts, nothing could reverse the decision to close the Dockyard. Mr Jones said he could still recall "the shock waves which reverberated around the Medway Towns when the closure announcement sank in."
So, has the Medway Towns ever recovered from these shock waves?
Lance Morgan
Former Sports Editor for Chatham News
"The impact on the whole area - socially, in a sporting sense and with regard to the general population - was immense.
Words can never do justice to the sudden feeling of emptiness. It wasn’t just the people who worked there; there were thousands of people in ancillary work affected just as much.
The pubs, clubs and houses became shells once the dust had settled and the Forces moved out. It’s impossible to gauge just what damage was caused to a population of 200,000 plus.
Taking the Navy out of Chatham was akin to removing a healthy, working part in anyone’s body. The Towns never recovered. In any sense no matter how 'historic' the Dockyard is now.
Whatever damage was caused, the area as a whole has never recovered. If anything it has become a wilderness for jobs, affordable homes, medical care, public transport."
What are the memories of those who used to work at the Dockyard?
John De Rose
John De Rose joined the Dockyard in 1962 as an apprentice shipwright, where he spent five years training in the drawing office and around the ships.
Mr De Rose took an exam to join the Dockyard whilst he was still at school. He came 56th in the results and was invited in to choose a trade, where he chose to be a Shipwright apprentice.
When his apprenticeship finished, Mr De Rose spent two years onboard the boats, working with his own tools. In 1969, he moved to the Drawing Office as a draugthsman, where he worked on sonar and ship layouts.
After two years, he was promoted to work on nuclear submarines, working for four years in the reactor compartment. In 1975, he lead his own gang of shipwrights doing refits on boats until he left in 1982.
Mr De Rose was in China the day the Dockyard closed, as he had learned of the Dockyard's potential closure in the near future, and found himself a job while he could. He returned to the Dockyard in 2013 as a volunteer working with the learning team, but now works as a Steward in the Reading Room at the Dockyard.
The Reading Room at the Historic Chatham Dockyard.
The Reading Room at the Historic Chatham Dockyard.
In this role, Mr De Rose looks after the archives in the Dockyard, including 7,000 books and manuscripts.
You can watch John's interview below:
Mark Stevens
Mark Stevens was a Motor Transport Fitter who worked at the Dockyard right up until the very last day on 31 March 1984.
Mr Stevens started his apprenticeship in 1974 after finishing eighth in the entry qualifications. He picked the last job on the board being the Motor Transport Fitter.
Talking about his favourite part of working in the Dockyard, Mr Stevens said that it was people that he worked with as "there was a lot of young people there, it was a nice place to work with me being young myself at the time."
A picture which Mark Stevens took of his colleagues in the MT workshop in front of recovery vehicle Bedford RL. Photo by Mark Stevens
A picture which Mark Stevens took of his colleagues in the MT workshop in front of recovery vehicle Bedford RL. Photo by Mark Stevens
One "amusing" memory Mr Stevens said he had of the closure was the protests which took place in Medway. He said "When it was announced, there was a big walk and everybody ended up on Jackson's Field, Rochester
"Because the people who sorted the payroll went on strike too, the Dockyard didn't know who went and who didn't, so they had to pay everyone.
"We were probably the only people in Britain who were paid to go on strike."
For Mr Stevens, the day the Dockyard closed was any normal day for him. He said he went into work at his normal time, 7:30 a.m. and made sure all of the vehicles started. When all the vehicles had gone, he said "I went home and that was it
"Basically, I locked the gate and threw the key back over"
Despite the good memories, Mr Stevens said he was "never that happy in the Dockyard." He said: "It didn't suit me, I probably knew that before I started my apprenticeship as I wasn't that keen
"It was the old saying of: 'Get yourself a trade son and you'll always be alright.'"
He added: "My life's been so much better since I left
"I don't think the Government cared what happened to me, but I made the best out of a good deal"
Mr Stevens got a job straight away, which he said he "really loved," repairing electric wheelchairs. However, he said he felt "rather used" as he was soon made redundant again.
He then went to the University of Greenwich for a degree in Education. Now, he works as a Science teacher, teaching mostly motor mechanics. On top of this, he is a director as the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), a charity which has rescued animals such as beavers and dolphins.
He compared his experience to the animals he has rescued, adding: "Like beaver kits, getting kicked out of the lodge was a good thing for me."
You can listen to Mark's interview below:
Malcolm Harley
Malcolm Harley first joined the Dockyard in 1973 as a Shipwright apprentice. He then worked in the Drawing office where he remained until it closed.
Mr Harley spent his first 2 years at the Dockyard in the apprentice training centre which was located in St Mary's Island. During his time, he went afloat with a tradesman, changing location and type of work nearly every 3 months.
A fun memory Mr Harley had of working there was the secret hiding places some workers had. He said: "One such chap I was put with made me swear to secrecy before he took me to his hideout he called the grotto.
"It was in a disused small building with all rubbish in the entrance. Inside, you found a bed, microwave, radio, tea making equipment and much more. You had to give a secret knock on the door before he let you in."
Mr Harley had a vivid account of the moment it was announced the Dockyard would close. He said that at the time they all knew that there was going to be an important announcement made so they all took radios to work to listen to it. He said: "We really never expected that the dockyard would close but when the announcement came it was a complete shock to us all.
"It was deadly silent in the big drawing office and people looking absolutely horrified, probably just thinking: 'What am I going to do now?'"
He said: "Most people had never known any other kind of work and there was the fear of the unknown around the corner for them.
Malcolm Harley (top middle) with the constructive section of the Dockyard in 1982.
Malcolm Harley (top middle) with the constructive section of the Dockyard in 1982.
"I'm sure I saw a few older guys with tears in their eyes, it was a very traumatic time for everyone there. My thoughts were with my industrial friends who had no option to transfer to another government department. It was the end of the road for them."
Mr Harley was the first in his family to join the dockyard, but he added that other families had generations that had all worked in the Dockyard. He said: "People were actually stunned by the news.
"The following days were filled with disbelief but we just had to plan for the future."
After it closed, Mr Harley was due to be relocated to Rosyth in Scotland, but he said he "definitely didn't want to go there," so he applied for a job in Woolwich, Arsenal working for a retired Major in an Army department as a Draughtsman. He then worked at RAF Henlow and then RAF Wyton, where he retired in 2012. He said that, due to being promoted 3 times, his pension was enough to live on.
Mr Harley now lives in the mountains of Central Portugal.
Malcolm Harley pictured in the present day enjoying a refreshing drink. Picture provided by Malcolm Harley
Malcolm Harley pictured in the present day enjoying a refreshing drink. Picture provided by Malcolm Harley
Paul Smith
Paul Smith started as an Electrical Fitter Apprentice at the Dockyard in 1963.
When Mr Smith finished his apprenticeship, he became a 11kv cable joiner for a year.
He then worked in the Nuclear complex as a Yard Service Manager, where he sorted the temporary supplies (like telephones and electrical lighting) to the submarines.
Mr Smith said he had lots of good memories of working at the Dockyard, adding: "All the blokes were wonderful down there. He was "utterly shocked" by the decision to close the Dockyard after 400 years of being open.
Mr Smith said: "There was an awful lot of clever blokes in there, I was in total shock when they shut it. We all were.
"I'm sure if the place would still have been open I would've been there until the day I retired, it was a wonderful place."
One core memory Mr Smith had was working in the base during the Falklands War. He said that there was a "big sense of comradeship because they were trying to kill our boys, and we weren't having that.
"Everybody tended to help each other out because when you didn't know something, someone else did."
Mr Smith reminisced about the "fun times" he had during his working days. He reminisced about a time he was repairing the street lights on St Mary's Island when it was a part of the Dockyard.
This was fun until the person he was working with stranded him on the top of a light. From where he was the pot hole was "magnified ten times," which he said "frightened the life out of him" as he screamed for someone to come and get him down.
"We did a lot of work but we had a lot of fun."
Unfortunately, Mr Smith said he wasn't able to attend most of the reunions of his former colleagues as he now lives in Lincolnshire.
Leonard Meredith
Leonard Meredith was a Shipwright Progress Planner Technical who worked right up until the Dockyard closed.
Mr Meredith grew up in Chatham in White Road Estate which he said was a tough upbringing. He left school when he was only 15 to work as a ‘yard-boy.’ His working days as a Shipwright apprentice started when he was just 16 in 1967
Mr Meredith enjoyed playing football with his fellow shipwrights in Rochester, the District Football League at the time.
He was also involved in the refit of HMS Hermione during the Falklands War. By this time, the Government had announced the Dockyard's closure, but it was kept open during the conflict. He said "Chatham played a large part in getting the reserve fleet online," which was an important in winning the war.
Talking about the closure, he said: “I can remember it being a sad time but somehow being proud that we stayed there to closure to show we were professional as tradespeople.
“The impact to the Medway towns was devastating and it was the wrong decision to close it especially where we are now as a nation.”
He added that there were over 6,000 people out of work in Medway after the closure, and “the market was not in the best of shape.”
The Prime Minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher, introduced a ‘Community Programme.' This required all unemployed people to work in jobs involving their skills and qualifications in the community so that they could get benefits.
Because of this, he became a carpenter at Fort Amherst in Chatham. After, he landed a permanent job as a Technician at Mid-Kent College and then became a Lecturer at Canterbury College.
Mr Meredith regularly keeps in contact with his former colleagues as well as attending the reunions
So what has become of the Dockyard in the present?
Today the Dockyard is open to the public as a tourist attraction. It serves as a reminder of a place once bustling with loud machinery, a hive of good memories and a workplace where generations of residents from the Medway Towns worked.
The Dockyard serves well as a museum commemorating the importance of Chatham Dockyard in national history, celebrating such events like the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War and 200 years of the RNLI.
Though it may never be the thriving employer it once was, the Dockyard will always be apart of the Medway Town's in the memories of those who worked there.
Thank you to everyone who got involved with my story including the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, and everyone who shared their stories on Facebook.
I would like to dedicate this story to my uncle Roger Norman, a former Shipwright at the Chatham Dockyard who passed away in 2006. This is also for all the hard working people who faced hardship when the Dockyard closed.
My uncle, Roger Norman, who was also known as 'Smiler' at the Dockyard.
My uncle, Roger Norman, who was also known as 'Smiler' at the Dockyard.
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