More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A pictorial history showing the evolution of Medway’s former naval base is going on display.
From tomorrow (Thursday) until Tuesday, the Medway Archives Centre in Bryant Road, Strood, will be running the exhibition featuring HMS Pembroke buildings in Chatham.
The gallery will show the transformation of the site over the years from a naval base to campus shared by the University of Kent, the University of Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church University.
The Drill Hall, or Drill Shed, and parade ground of HMS Pembroke was completed in March 1902 as part of the first phase of developing the Royal Naval Base in Chatham.
On September 3, 1917, the Drill Shed was bombed during one of the first night-time air attacks in Britain, which killed more than 130 sailors.
The building was being used as an overflow barracks for around 900 naval ratings when it was hit by two bombs dropped by German Gotha bombers.
After the area had been repaired, it was reopened and used as different naval buildings until 1984 when it was closed.
Dennis Potter, welfare and press officer for the Royal Naval Association, said: "The Drill Shed was an area where people were taught to march.
"We created a DVD to commemorate 100 years in 2017 since the Drill Shed bombing of 1917 to show what happened on that night."
In 2006, the Drill Shed was re-opened by former Labour MP and cabinet minister David Miliband as the Drill Hall Library, part of a £3.3 million renovation funded by the South East England Development Agency.
The library is the longest in Europe and is shared by the University of Kent, the University of Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church University.
The gallery will depict the journey of HMS Pembroke and its shore establishments from when it was first constructed in 1902 to its modern day use as a library.
For more information visit Medway Archive Centre's website, email malsc@medway.gov.uk or phone 01634 332 714.
