Agar's Island is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. 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 So ...

, near to the shore of

Pembroke Parish Pembroke Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named after English aristocrat William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1580–1630). It occupies most of the short peninsula which juts from the central north coast of Bermuda's main ...

, 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-service militia and voluntary reserves from 1701 to 1957. The garrison ev ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

History

Bermuda had become an

Imperial fortress Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Lord Salisbury described Malta, Gibraltar, Bermuda, and Halifax as Imperial fortresses at the 1887 Colonial Conference, though by that point they had been so designated for decades. Later histor ...

, the primary base, dockyard, and headquarters of the North America and West Indies Squadron of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

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 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 war for a ...

camp during and after the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. 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 Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...

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 equi ...

, which operated a depot on

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

, 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. During the final year of the

First World War 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 to ...

, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

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

Naval station A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usu ...

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 N ...

. These facilities were closed on 1st April, 1919, following the cessation of hostilities.

References

{{Reflist Islands of Bermuda Pembroke Parish Private islands of Bermuda