Plymouth's Military Heritage

Plymouth’s history has been strongly defined by its position on a natural harbour on England’s south coast. It was a trading port before the Romans arrived, defended by forts on the shoreline and inland. French raiders attacked the town in the Hundred Years War and Plymouth Castle was later built to defend the English fleet in Sutton Pool. Drake famously played bowls on Plymouth Hoe awaiting the opportune moment to attack the Spanish Armada and Plymouth was later under siege during the English Civil War. Naval docks began to built at Devonport in the eighteenth century, protected by a breakwater and inland a ring of Palmerston forts were constructed. The port was a major embarkation point for British forces in both the First and Second World Wars, including flying boats from Mount Batten, and was heavily targeted by the Luftwaffe with huge destruction of swathes of the city. Although Plymouth is no longer in the front line of war, Devonport is still a major naval dockyard and although many army barracks were demolished postwar it is still home to the Royal Marines and Royal Artillery. This book will be of interest to all those who would like to know more about Plymouth’s remarkable military history.