Agar's Island is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

. Located in the

Great Sound The Great Sound is large ocean inlet (a sound) located in Bermuda. It may be the submerged remains of a Pre-Holocene volcanic caldera. Other geologists dispute the origin of the Bermuda Pedestal as a volcanic hotspot. Geography The Great Sound d ...

, near to the shore of the parish of Pembroke, it was owned by billionaire James Martin, and was historically a secret munitions store, part of the

Bermuda Garrison The Bermuda Garrison was the military establishment maintained on the British Overseas Territory and Imperial fortress of Bermuda by the regular British Army and its local militia and voluntary reserves from 1701 to 1957. The garrison evolved fr ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. Bermuda had become the primary base, dockyard, and headquarters of the

North America and West Indies Squadron The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the t ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

following the independence of the US. The British Army had consequently garrisoned and heavily fortified the colony. In the 1790s, when the Royal Navy had begun planning what would become the Royal Naval Dockyard on Ireland Island, it had purchased most of the smaller islands in the Great Sound and

Hamilton Harbour Hamilton Harbour, formerly known as Burlington Bay, lies on the western tip of Lake Ontario, bounded on the northwest by the City of Burlington, on the south by the City of Hamilton, and on the east by Hamilton Beach (south of the Burlington ...

. Although the Royal Navy made occasional use of these smaller islands, it was to be the army that would carry out the greatest development on them. Many were used to compose a

Prisoner-of-War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

camp during and after the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. Agar's, however, was to see another use. Although the ring of fortresses operated by the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

held munitions stores in their magazines, central supply depots were also operated by the

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

, which operated a depot on

Ordnance Island Ordnance Island is located within the limits of St. George's Town, Bermuda. It lies close to the shore opposite the town square (King's Square), in St. George's Harbour. History The only island in the town, it covers just and was created ...

, dangerously close to the King's Square of St. George's town. In 1870, a secret, underground powder magazine was built on Agar's Island, reputed to be the largest in the world at that time, although the army remained highly secretive of its existence. The magazine still exists, restored by James Martin, although it is not open to the public.Private Island News: Futurist James Martin's Historic Bermudan Isle
/ref> During the final year of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

was permitted to establish a supply station on Agar's Island, as well as a

Naval station A Naval Station was a geographic command responsible for conducting all naval operations within its defined area. It may consist of flotillas, or squadrons, or individual ships under command. The British Royal Navy for command purposes was separ ...

White's Island White's Island is an island located in Hamilton Harbour in Hamilton, Bermuda, the only island directly adjoined on all sides by the harbour. History The island was originally known as ''Hunt's Island''. Following US independence, the Royal ...

. These facilities closed following the cessation of hostilities.

References

Islands of Bermuda Pembroke Parish Private islands of Bermuda {{Bermuda-geo-stub

See also

References