Thousands of jobs were lost when Chatham Dockyard closed in 1984. Only in recent years has the economy of the Medway Towns begun to recover.

These pictures, taken from the Medway Messenger archive, show the former naval base in its 20th century prime and in its latter years as hundreds of years of ship building tradition slipped into history.

Did you work at Chatham Dockyard or attend one of the Navy Days that used to attract such massive crowds? Add your comments using the SpeakOut below, or email medwaymessenger@thekmgroup.co.uk

For more memories of Medway don't miss The Way We Were each Friday in the print edition of the Medway Messenger.