Ordnance Island is located within the limits of St. George's Town,

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 ...

. 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 by reclaiming the land between several small islands which were once situated there. The original islands of Ducking Stool, Frazer's and Gallows were used in the early days of the colony for executions. Ordnance Island became a

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 ...

(RAOC) depot in the 19th century, supplying

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

forts A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from ...

and

artillery batteries In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fac ...

around St. George's. Prior to this, munitions had been kept within the town (as at the time of the "Bermuda Gunpowder Plot" in 1775, when 100 barrels of gunpowder were stolen by Bermudans sympathetic to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

and sent to the rebellious Americans during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

), and on Hen Island, further out in St. George's Harbour. An accidental detonation on Hen Island resulting from a lightning strike broke windows throughout St. George's on 1 November 1812. Ordnance Island is far closer to the town, and a similar explosion here would have been catastrophic. The RAOC operated a second, smaller depot, from a wharf on East Broadway on the outskirts of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. By the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the depot had fallen into disuse with the Army and was part of a 99-year lease granted by the United Kingdom to the United States for use as a

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

base from 1942 to 1945. The channel between Ordnance Island and the King's Square was not bridged until after the Second World War. The island is visible as a location in the 1962 film ''

That Touch of Mink ''That Touch of Mink'' is a 1962 American romantic comedy film directed by Delbert Mann, and starring Cary Grant, Doris Day, Gig Young and Audrey Meadows. Plot Cathy Timberlake, a New York career woman looking for a job, walks to the unempl ...

'', with

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...

and

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

. At the time, the bridge was clearly wooden. Today, the island is joined to St. George's Island by a concrete bridge. TS Admiral Somers Guard

Most of the buildings erected by the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and the

US 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 ...

have been razed. One large Army building (the Storekeeper's House) remained and was refurbished as offices for the Corporation of St. George. The only other buildings on the island are an office of HM Customs used to clear visiting yachts, and a new cruise ship terminal. There is, however, a prominent replica of the ''Deliverance'' located on the island. The original was one of the two ships built by the survivors of the ''

Sea Venture ''Sea Venture'' was a seventeenth-century English sailing ship, part of the Third Supply mission flotilla to the Jamestown Colony in 1609. She was the 300 ton flagship of the London Company. During the voyage to Virginia, ''Sea Venture'' encount ...

'', flagship of the

Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the objective of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day ...

, which was wrecked in Bermuda in 1609, accidentally beginning Bermuda's settlement. Ordnance Island was the starting and finishing point of

Dodge Morgan Dodge David Morgan (January 15, 1932 – September 14, 2010) was an American sailor, businessman, publisher and "self-proclaimed contrarian." He flew fighter jets in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1950s, worked as a newspaper reporter in Alaska, ...

's record-breaking 1985–1986 non-stop, solo circumnavigation of the planet aboard the '' American Promise''. The Major Donald H. (Bob) Burns Memorial Park on the island includes the Desmond Hale Fountain statue of Admiral Sir George Somers (credited as the founder of Bermuda, and at the helm of the ''Sea Venture'' when she was driven on the reefs) which was unveiled by

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. Ma ...

in 1984, during the 375th anniversary of the shipwrecking. The Memorial Park was unveiled on 20 April 1997 during the Twinning Ceremonies with

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis ( ) is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and ...

References

{{Reflist Islands of Bermuda Installations of the British Army Military of Bermuda World War II sites in Bermuda World War II sites of the United Kingdom World War II sites of the United States St. George's, Bermuda Closed installations of the United States Navy Former installations of the United States Army

History

See also

References