Twenty five years ago, on March 31, 1984, the curtain came down on 500 years of Royal Naval presence in the Medway Towns.

The gates to Chatham Dockyard were closed for the final time - and nearly 7,000 people were out of a job.

Some three years earlier, when the closure decision was announced in the House of Commons, veteran Gillingham MP Sir Freddy Burden said it was: “The most distressing day I have spent in Parliament during a career as an MP of more than 30 years.”

But, with the benefit of hindsight, it is now often said the closure

of the dockyard was a blessing in disguise, providing the catalyst for Medway’s regeneration.

The closure took place a generation ago, but there are still thousands of families in the Medway Towns who still have dockyard connections and remember the halcyon days of the Royal Navy in Chatham with fond affection.

BLOB In next Friday’s Medway Messenger, we look back at the dark days

following the dockyard’s closure and put the spotlight onthe dramatic changes which have taken place in the former naval base.