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Long Reach, Kent
Long Reach is a low-lying area north of Dartford, Kent, in southeast England, on the south side of the River Thames, east of Erith and the River Darent. It was the site of a public house, pub (the Long Reach Tavern), a fireworks factory, a smallpox hospital and, from 1911, a Vickers airfield that later became RAF Joyce Green. It also gives its name to a Thames Water sewage treatment works. The area is named after the Long Reach (geography), Reach (a name given to the longest straight stretch of a river), the stretch of the Thames between St Clement's Reach and Erith Rands. Landmarks Long Reach Tavern (c. 1800s-1957) The Long Reach Tavern was a riverside pub that had a jetty extending into the Thames, enabling its use by barge and tugboat crews. It was recorded as a tied house of the Fleet Brewery in 1865, and in 1866 hosted a bare-knuckle boxing championship match between James Mace and Joseph Goss. Damaged by the North Sea flood of 1953, it was demolished in 1957 to allow cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borough Of Dartford
The Borough of Dartford is a local government district with borough status in the north-west of the county of Kent, England. It is named after its main town of Dartford, where the council is based. Other notable settlements include Greenhithe, Stone and Swanscombe, along with an emerging new town at Ebbsfleet, and a number of smaller villages. It also includes Bluewater, one of the UK's largest shopping centres. The borough lies just outside the administrative boundary of Greater London, but a sizeable part of it lies within the M25 motorway which encircles London. Many of the borough's urban areas form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. The borough had a population of 116,800 at the 2021 census. The neighbouring districts (clockwise from east) are Gravesham, Sevenoaks, the London Borough of Bexley and, to the north across the River Thames, Thurrock, to which it is linked by the Dartford Crossing. History The first local authority for the town of Dartford was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Old Smallpox Hospital Ships
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun ''thee'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, chartered in 1158. Its location on a coaching route and the opening of a railway station in 1858 were key to its development and the shift from an agrarian village to an urban town. As part of the growth of London's conurbation in the 20th century, Bromley Town significantly increased in population and was Municipal Borough of Bromley, incorporated as a municipal borough in 1903 and became part of the London Borough of Bromley in 1965. Bromley today forms a major retail and commercial centre. It is identified in the London Plan as one of the 13 metropolitan centres of Greater London. History Bromley is first recorded in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 862 as ''Bromleag'' and means 'woodland clearing where Cytisus scoparius, broom grows'. It shares th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bexley
Bexley is an area of south-eastern Greater London, England and part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is sometimes known as Bexley Village or Old Bexley to differentiate the area from the wider borough. It is located east-southeast of Charing Cross and south of Bexleyheath. Bexley was an ancient parish in the county of Kent. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century, Bexley increased in population, becoming a municipal borough in 1935 and has formed part of Greater London since 1965. History Bexley was an ancient parish in Kent, in the diocese of Rochester, and under the Local Government Act 1894 formed part of Bexley Urban District. The urban district gained further status in 1935 as a municipal borough. Kent County Council formed the second tier of local government during that time. In 1965, London County Council was abolished and replaced by Greater London Council, with an expanded administrative area that took in the metropolitan parts of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Biggin Hill
London Biggin Hill Airport is a minor commercial airport serving Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located south-southeast of Central London. It specialises in general aviation, handling a spectrum of traffic from private aviation to large business jets. It currently has no scheduled airline service, as flights using the airport are not regularly permitted to carry fare-paying passengers. The airport was formerly a Royal Air Force station RAF Biggin Hill, and a small enclave on the airport still retains that designation. Biggin Hill is best known for its role during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War, when it served as one of the principal fighter bases protecting London and South East England from attack by German Luftwaffe bombers. Over the course of the war, fighters based at Biggin Hill claimed 1,400 enemy aircraft, at the cost of the lives of 453 Biggin Hill based aircrew. The airport has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P804) that allows flights ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in European theatre of World War I, Europe and the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, Middle East, as well as in parts of African theatre of World War I, Africa and the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I, Asia-Pacific, and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare; the widespread use of Artillery of World War I, artillery, machine guns, and Chemical weapons in World War I, chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of Tanks in World War I, tanks and Aviation in World War I, aircraft. World War I was one of the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflicts in history, resulting in an estimated World War I casualties, 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded, plus some 10 million civilian de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vickers Limited
Vickers Limited was a British engineering conglomerate. The business began in Sheffield in 1828 as a steel foundry and became known for its church bells, going on to make shafts and propellers for ships, armour plate and then artillery. Entire large ships, cars, tanks and torpedoes followed. Airships and aircraft were added, and Vickers jet airliners were to remain in production until 1965. Financial problems following the death of the Vickers brothers were resolved in 1927 by separating Metro-Cammell, Metropolitan Carriage Wagon and Finance Company and Metropolitan-Vickers, then merging the remaining bulk of the original business with Armstrong Whitworth to form Vickers-Armstrongs. The Vickers name resurfaced as Vickers plc between 1977 and 1999. History Foundry Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor (businessman), George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor & Sanderson, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC supported the British Army by artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance. This work gradually led RFC pilots into aerial battles with German pilots and later in the war included the strafing of enemy infantry and emplacements, the bombing of German military airfields and later the strategic bombing of German industrial and transport facilities. At the start of World War I the RFC, commanded by Brigadier-General Sir David Henderson, consisted of five squadrons – one observation balloon squadron (RFC No 1 Squadron) and four aeroplane squadrons. These were first used for aerial spotting on 13 September 1914 but only became efficient when they perfected the use of wireless communication at Aubers Ridge on 9 May 1915. Ae ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joyce Green Hospital
Joyce Green Hospital was a hospital near Dartford, Kent, England. It opened in 1903 as an isolation hospital. In later years it was a training hospital. The hospital was closed in 2000 and the buildings were demolished. The greenspace where the hospital used to stand is known as Joyce Green. Background The hospital was planned in the late 19th century to accommodate sufferers of smallpox, which had reached epidemic levels in London. It replaced three hospital ships based nearby in Long Reach, Gravesend 15 miles downriver from London Bridge on the Thames. The ships, ''Atlas'', ''Endymion'' and the ''Castalia'', were made fast in 1883 at their new custom built moorings, they were in-line, connected by bridges 150 yards from the riverbank. The ships had become unsuitable for their role due to increasing maintenance costs, the risk of collision from passing ships and the increasing demand for beds for smallpox patients. History Designed by the Metropolitan Asylums Board archi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hospital Ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. In the 19th century, redundant warships were used as moored hospitals for seamen. The Second Geneva Convention, Second Geneva Convention of 1949 prohibits military attacks on hospital ships that meet specified requirements, though belligerent forces have right of inspection and may take patients, but not staff, as prisoner of war, prisoners of war. History Early examples Hospital ships possibly existed in ancient times. The Athenian military, Athenian Navy had a ship named ''Therapia'', and the Roman Navy had a ship named ''Aesculapius'', their names indicating that they may have been hospital ships. The earliest British hospital ship may have been the vessel ''Goodwill'', which accompanied a Royal Navy squadron in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PS Castalia
''Castalia'' was a twin-hulled paddle steamer that was built in 1874 by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Leamouth, London for the English Channel Steamship Company. She was acquired by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1878 but had already been laid up by then and was not operated by the LCDR. In 1883, she was sold to the Metropolitan Asylums Board and converted to a hospital ship. She served until 1904 and was scrapped in 1905. Description ''Castalia'' was a twin-hulled paddle steamer, comprising two half-hulls with a length of and a beam of . The two half-hulls were apart internally. Her draught was . The ship was designed with bows forward and astern in order to avoid the need to turn round at Calais, France. She was propelled by two diagonal compound steam engines, of each. driving a single paddle wheel. The engines were built by J & A Blyth, London. The two paddle wheels were placed side by side between the twin hulls. These could propel her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Endymion (1865)
HMS ''Endymion'' was a 21-gun ''Ister''-class wooden screw frigate, the third of four ships of this name to serve in the Royal Navy. She was the last wooden frigate built at Deptford Dockyard. She was commissioned in 1866 and spent much of her service based at Malta. In 1869–70 she sailed around the world as part of a Flying Squadron. She remained in front-line service until 1874. ''Endymion'' then served as a guard ship at Hull, Yorkshire until 1879, latterly with her boilers condemned as unfit for service. A plan to use her as a flagship at Harwich, Essex from 1875 was abandoned due to the loss of . During her time at Hull, crew from ''Endymion'' assisted the local police in fighting a number of fires in buildings and timber yards. ''Emdymion'' was lent to the Metropolitan Asylums Board in 1881 for use as an administration and hospital ship, initially at Greenwich, Kent and later at Dartford. She was sold out of service in 1885, and served as an administration ship until ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
