The Redoubt
No 1 The Redoubt Fort, Harwich Essex ~ An 1870s Stereoview photo by H.F.
Admittedly this is not the clearest quality photographic image, but as its 150 years old and one of the earliest views of the Redoubt at Harwich, I think it deserves to be shown here. In the background, one can just make out the High Lighthouse and Spire of St Nicholas Church. These stereoviews (also known as stereographs) were the pre-cursor to postcards and were very popular with visitors and holidaymakers in Victorian Britain. I have also included a few other views of the Redoubt, Harwich Green and the German Submarine Surrender of 1919.
A British physician, Sir Charles Wheatstone, invented the predecessor to the modern stereoscope in 1838. Called the "stereopticon" it was the synergy between an idea he was experimenting with on a single piece of paper and later, after photography was invented, two photographs. They were the craze in American until the 1930s when motion pictures came in to the picture.
The pictures used in the stereo views where in the form of "stereographs" which were two pictures of the same scene that were slightly offset and mounted side-by-side. In the 1850s the production of stereographs, also called stereograms, was in high gear and a very popular item. Pictures from around the world, of everything from prominent public people to war scenes were made available. One of the main sources was the Keystone View Company who advertised exotic pictures and capitalized on the 3D illusion of stereo viewing. The company advertised the quote of Carl Sandberg, "the best substitute for intelligent travel is intelligent use of stereographs.", to promote the use of stereo viewing as a way to see the world. Being able to see in stereo was not seen as anything other than entertainment until vertical aerial photography came in after WWII.
Admittedly this is not the clearest quality photographic image, but as its 150 years old and one of the earliest views of the Redoubt at Harwich, I think it deserves to be shown here. In the background, one can just make out the High Lighthouse and Spire of St Nicholas Church. These stereoviews (also known as stereographs) were the pre-cursor to postcards and were very popular with visitors and holidaymakers in Victorian Britain. I have also included a few other views of the Redoubt, Harwich Green and the German Submarine Surrender of 1919.
A British physician, Sir Charles Wheatstone, invented the predecessor to the modern stereoscope in 1838. Called the "stereopticon" it was the synergy between an idea he was experimenting with on a single piece of paper and later, after photography was invented, two photographs. They were the craze in American until the 1930s when motion pictures came in to the picture.
The pictures used in the stereo views where in the form of "stereographs" which were two pictures of the same scene that were slightly offset and mounted side-by-side. In the 1850s the production of stereographs, also called stereograms, was in high gear and a very popular item. Pictures from around the world, of everything from prominent public people to war scenes were made available. One of the main sources was the Keystone View Company who advertised exotic pictures and capitalized on the 3D illusion of stereo viewing. The company advertised the quote of Carl Sandberg, "the best substitute for intelligent travel is intelligent use of stereographs.", to promote the use of stereo viewing as a way to see the world. Being able to see in stereo was not seen as anything other than entertainment until vertical aerial photography came in after WWII.
A few more early stereoviews of the Redoubt and Harwich area (1870 - 1925)
The Victory Parade (On Sunday the 13th May 1945)
A thanksgiving day for victory at the High School, Dovercourt with the then Mayor J.P.Benstead,
Rear-Admiral Fischer Burges Watson CBE DSO & Bar (3 September 1884 – 14 August 1960), Group Captain A D Messenger CBE, Sub Controller THF Bernard MBE MMJP and Parade Major J.T. Jones DCM HG
A thanksgiving day for victory at the High School, Dovercourt with the then Mayor J.P.Benstead,
Rear-Admiral Fischer Burges Watson CBE DSO & Bar (3 September 1884 – 14 August 1960), Group Captain A D Messenger CBE, Sub Controller THF Bernard MBE MMJP and Parade Major J.T. Jones DCM HG
Fortifications
Bramble Island, Hamford Waters “Exchem” Factory Workers in 1917 (W.W.1)
- Due to the war effort it was mainly women who were employed at the factory, with most men already drafted into the military. The “Explosives and Chemical Products Ltd” (Exchem) opened the factory after the sea walls were destroyed by floods in 1897 and later in 1905. The remoteness of the factory was ideal for such production, although further flooding occurred in 1928, 1949 and obviously again in 1953 (when a night watchman Henry Archibald drowned).
When the first French factory was built It was on a smaller scale, with cases of explosives ordered three or four at a time and these were loaded on to a cart and drawn by horse to Thorpe Le Soken station, six miles away and sent off by train. Later a dock was constructed and barges were used. The First World War caused the factory to step up production considerably, so it made a great contribution to the war effort. Once again during the Second World War its goods were again in great demand.
There have been a number of accidental explosions at the factory, one in 1942 when three employees died and three of the workers were awarded the Edward Medal later converted to the George Cross. In the east coast floods of 1953, three employees received awards for their bravery in disposing of explosives left in a very dangerous condition by the rising tides. For their courage they received the British Empire Medal.