In the Second World War, access to the River Thames was controlled by two defensive ‘booms’. The first at its very mouth ran from Shoeburyness to Sheerness, whilst the second lesser-known but still substantial boom ran from Scars Elbow Battery on Canvey Island to St. Mary’s Bay in Kent. This was a kind of floating…
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At Moat Farm on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent overlooking the Thames lies an unsuspecting grain store of unusual sloped shape. Believe it or not, this is the roof of an airship (zeppelin) shed dating to the Great War, originally situated at Kingsnorth. The fact this is only the top section; already huge, suggests the…
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Why do Joe and I continue to run Beyond the Point, some seven years after its creation? After all, we earn no money from our work and fit it in entirely in our own free time. Because it is a past-time we enjoy and because we want to educate others about their secret local…
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This page documents a fascinating chance discovery by BTP Liam whilst on holiday in Northern France in Summer 2012. Whilst the photographs are quite poor quality and feature a rare glimpse at an extremely youthful-looking BTP Liam, they may be of interest to future explorers. There was plenty more remains along the coast that I…
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Down Canal Road in Strood lies these anti-tank defences. Built at the start of the Second World War, they were intended to slow down any tanks trying to get onto British soil. On the battlefields, anti-tank traps would have lead tanks and other military vehicles down specific routes where they would encounter mines and other…
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Whilst on a road-trip through France, I passed through the town of Albert, an old town two hours north of Paris. Albert was founded as a Roman outpost, in 54BC although the town is best known for it’s military past as it was a key location in the Battle of the Somme and many veterans and…
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The HMS Wilton was a Royal Navy minesweeper and minehunter ship built in 1970. It was the first ever warship constructed from fibreglass which gave the vessel a very low magnetic signature against magnetic mines. It was armed with a single Bofors gun. In 1974 the ship took part in Operation Rheostat, to clear the…
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This article was written by BTP Liam on the 1st of July 2016, marking 100 years since the First Day of the Somme in light of our coverage of the Great War in conjunction with the Imperial War Museum First World War Centenary Partnership. If Joe and I were alive a century ago we would find ourselves with…
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This article was written in January this year as an overview of Beyond the Point’s coverage of the First World War for the Imperial War Museum’s Centenary Partnership which we are proud to be a part of. In light of remembrance 2015, its now here on Beyond the Point. This is just a starting point…
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June the 6th 1944, shortly after midnight, 24,000 British, US, and Canadian, airborne troops landed in the region of France that the amphibious assault would capture around 6:30 in the morning that day. Allied troops began landed on the 50-mile stretch of perilous beaches of Nazi-occupied Normandy in order to push back the short-lived Nazi…
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