Whale Island is a small island in

Portsmouth Harbour Portsmouth Harbour is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area. It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it i ...

, close by

Portsea Island Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. Portsea Island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth. Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all th ...

. It is home to HMS ''Excellent'', the oldest shore training establishment within 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 ...

, and the location of the

Navy Command Headquarters Navy Command is the current headquarters body of the Royal Navy, and as of 2012 its major organisational grouping. It is a hybrid, neither a command, nor simply an installation. Royal Navy official writings describe Navy Command Headquarters both ...

. The island is linked to Portsea Island and thence to the mainland by road bridges.

Early history

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maps of Portsmouth Harbour from 1862 show Whale Island as a narrow strip: its east-to-west dimensions were similar to present times, but north to south it measured only tens of yards. To its northwest was Little Whale Island.Maps, documents and photographs on display in the Quarterdeck building, HMS Excellent. Modern Whale Island is predominantly

reclaimed land Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

, using the deposits dredged from Portsmouth harbour during the 19th century, increasing the land area by about 125%. It was constructed with the help of the many prisoners taken in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Expansion

During 1867 a

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

was constructed from the north wall of the dockyard to the south-east corner of Big Whale Island which allowed spoil to be moved from dredging the docks (part of the expansion of

HMNB Portsmouth His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is lo ...

), reclaiming the land between Big Whale Island and Little Whale Island, forming the basis of the island as it is today. The railway which ran on the viaduct was extended around the island to help with the distribution of the spoil and much of the track is still present today, buried under the roads. Manual construction work was mostly undertaken by convicts; a favourable assignment because of the extra food. By 1885 the island had five rifle ranges, but three of these were soon decommissioned to make room for the Gun Drill Battery and Drill Ground (today this is the Summer Parade Ground). Photos on display in Whale Island Quarterdeck (constructed 1888) show that a footbridge to Stamshaw,

, was added sometime before 1898 (incorporating a swing-bridge). A small road-bridge now joins the islands at the same point. From September 1916, the island was home to the

Anti-Aircraft Experimental Section The Anti-Aircraft Experimental Section of the Munitions Inventions Department was an organisation set up within Lloyd George's Ministry of Munitions in early 1916. Originally based at Northholt aerodrome, in May 1916 the section moved to the Nat ...

. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Whale Island was home to a zoo which gave a home to several animals presented to British representatives by friendly countries.

Ceremony

The gun carriage that carries the coffin in British state funerals is maintained on Whale Island.

Visiting

HMS ''Excellent'' is an active Naval base so it is not open to the general public, but there are occasional open daysHMS Excellent Opened to the Public, Navy News
/ref> and prospective visitors are advised to contact the base.

References

{{coord, 50, 49, N, 1, 06, W, display=title, region:GB_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki Artificial islands of England Islands of Hampshire Portsmouth Royal Navy bases in Hampshire