Tin Hut Talks

This month's guest speaker is Lewis Sharp - a Sussex based fortifications enthusiast, who is Secretary to the Palmerston Fort Society.

This is the story of a war that never happened... it tells of an attack on Britain at the end of the 19th century by a Russian and French alliance. Hundreds of counterfactual war stories were written between 1870 and 1914 - many, like this one, were propaganda pieces. ‘The Siege of Portsmouth 1897’, commissioned by a rising newspaper magnate and prospective portsmouth MP, was used to promote the risks of neglecting the navy and dockyards - which he of course would support if elected.

What makes this "future war" unusual is it includes quite a detailed description of the tactics of the war, the attack on the forts and even the use of secret weapons. The talk starts with why it was written - the political context and the political aftermath. It describe the attack - the Battle of Havant Waterworks, the fall of Fort Purbrook, the crushing of the Solent Forts and the push through Fareham and onto the Gosport Peninsula. Finally moving onto a technical analysis of whether the fictional campaign could have been possible and the political aftermath of the election campaign.

This talk should appeal equally to enthusiasts for local and military history.

Host or Publisher Friends of Shoreham Fort