2,157
Restore The Story CIC
Not-for-profit CIC on the Isle of Wight uncovering, preserving & sharing local history through immersive tours, talks, exhibitions & projects. We bring forgotten places & hidden stories back to life for communities & visitors alike.
Pop along to our next talk, something a bit different.📣 Early Modern Newport by Steve and Jo– Free for Museum Supporters![]()
🎟 Tickets: £7.50![]()
Book now: CCM-Restore.eventbrite.co.uk![]()
![]()
Over the past months Steve and Jo have been researching, uncovering, and piecing together a fascinating exhibition centred around Newport’s story and heritage. It has led them down some very interesting paths, revealing details and connections that many people may never have seen before.![]()
![]()
Join Steve and Jo from Restore the Story at Carisbrooke Castle Museum as they return to the museum for their second talk this year, where this time they willdelve into the history of early modern Newport.![]()
![]()
Restore The Story CIC is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to uncovering, celebrating, and sharing the rich and often untold histories of the Isle of Wight. Founded and run by professional historians, researchers, and seasoned storytellers Steve and Jo, we bring the past to life through immersive tours, creative projects, and engaging exhibitions.![]()
![]()
🗓️ Date & Time: Wednesday, July 1, 2026 at 7 PM![]()
📍 Location: Carisbrooke Castle Museum![]()
🎟️ Tickets: £7.50 – Book now ![]()
CCM-Restore.eventbrite.co.uk![]()
![]()
⭐ Museum Supporters attend FREE![]()
Support from just £3/month and get:![]()
• Free entry to talks![]()
• Exclusive events![]()
• Help preserve local heritage![]()
👉 Monthly: pay.gocardless.com/BRT0003V4GCFSCE![]()
👉 Annual: pay.gocardless.com/BRT0003V4FGFQXW![]()
![]()
⏰ Gates open: 6:45–6:55 PM, talk starts promptly at 7:00 PM![]()
📍 Location: Carisbrooke Castle Museum
Don't forget about this fantastic weekend once again! 🇬🇧![]()
![]()
We'll be at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway's 1940s Experience with our World War Two exhibition, sharing local wartime history, artefacts and stories from the Island.![]()
![]()
We'll also be displaying a remarkable piece of Island wartime history that has a fascinating local connection., so please pop along to discover what it is!![]()
![]()
If you're planning to come along, be sure to stop by and say hello – we'd love to meet you.![]()
![]()
See you at Havenstreet for a wonderful weekend of history, heritage and nostalgia. 🚂
The origins of Nodes Point Battery can be traced to recommendations made during the nineteenth century for additional coastal defences on the eastern side of the Isle of Wight. Earlier proposals for fortifications in the St Helens area were never fully realised, but growing concerns regarding the protection of the Solent approaches led to renewed consideration of the site towards the end of the century.![]()
![]()
In 1899 the Montgomery Committee identified a requirement for an additional heavy battery capable of covering waters off the island's north-eastern coast that were beyond the effective range of existing defences. Construction commenced in August 1901 and was completed in April 1904 at a cost of £21,654. The completed battery mounted two 9.2-inch breech-loading guns together with two 6-inch guns positioned in separate emplacements.![]()
![]()
A review of coast defence requirements undertaken in 1905 concluded that the heavier 9.2-inch armament alone was necessary for counter-bombardment duties. As a result, the 6-inch guns were deemed surplus to requirements and were removed in August 1909. During the First World War the examination anchorage was transferred to St Helens Roads and, in June 1918, a 4.7-inch quick-firing gun was installed in one of the former 6-inch positions to serve as an examination battery. This weapon remained in place until 1928.![]()
![]()
Following the establishment of St Helens Roads as the permanent examination anchorage, the site once again assumed an active defensive role. By September 1932, two 6-inch Mark VII guns had been installed in the vacant emplacements, restoring the battery's operational capability. The battery was fully manned and ready for service shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. The photograph below shows one of the battery's 9.2-inch guns firing during a peacetime practice shoot in the inter-war period, illustrating the scale of the armament and the extensive gun crews required to operate it.![]()
![]()
During 1940 a programme of wartime improvements was carried out. Protective mantlets were fitted to the 6-inch guns, while the 9.2-inch emplacements received steel shields designed to provide increased protection and a turret-like appearance. Throughout the war the battery formed part of the coastal defence network guarding the eastern approaches to Portsmouth and the Solent.![]()
![]()
In February 1945 the battery was reduced to a care and maintenance basis. After the war the 6-inch guns were returned to service for Territorial Army training and practice. With the disbandment of the coast artillery branch in 1956, the remaining guns were removed and scrapped, and the military site was subsequently disposed of. The larger 9.2-inch guns had already been broken up on site during 1954.![]()
![]()
The aerial photograph below, taken in 1946, provides a valuable record of the battery shortly after the Second World War. The image clearly shows the arrangement of the gun emplacements, associated buildings and defensive structures before many of the military features were altered, demolished or buried in later decades.![]()
![]()
Today the former battery lies within the grounds of Nodes Point Holiday Park. Although the site has undergone considerable alteration since its military use ended, important elements of the battery survive. The 9.2-inch gun emplacements and their associated underground magazines remain largely intact beneath the chalets, preserving much of the original structure. In contrast, the 6-inch gun positions and magazines were demolished and incorperated into the swimming pool. Several associated military buildings also survive, including the guardhouse and drill hall, both of which have been adapted for new uses. The extensive reinforced-concrete boundary wall remains largely intact, while the former position-finding cell survives and has been converted for residential occupation. Together, these surviving features provide a tangible reminder of Nodes Point Battery's role in the coastal defence of the Solent throughout the first half of the twentieth century.![]()
![]()
If you’d like to see and learn more about the Island’s fascinating history, be sure to like & follow our page for more stories, photos, and discoveries from across the Isle of Wight’s past. And if you enjoyed this post, feel free to give it a share, it really helps us spread the history! – Restore The Story CIC
Bouldnor battery was constructed between 1937 and 1938 to defend the new Examination Anchorage east of Yarmouth. It was armed with two 6-inch BL Mark VII guns, with a Battery Observation Post located to the west of the gun emplacements. An engine room housing three Crossley oil engines was built to the right of the battery, while two searchlights were installed to the north near the shoreline. A concrete shelter for the gun crews was constructed between the gun positions and sunk into the ground. Each gun emplacement also contained underground magazines built into its flank. During 1939–40, a number of huts were erected behind the battery to accommodate the garrison.![]()
![]()
The accompanying image is a large aerial photograph of the battery dating from the 1940s, supplemented by an inset German intelligence diagram identifying and labelling the various components of the site, including the gun emplacements, observation post, searchlights, engine room, and associated military infrastructure.![]()
![]()
In 1939, an indicator loop was laid across the channel east of the battery to detect enemy submarines. During mid-1940, an anti-submarine boom and a controlled minefield were established at Hamstead Point, east of Bouldnor, both operated by the Royal Navy. The same year, rough concrete covers were added over the gun emplacements to provide protection against air attack and strafing.![]()
![]()
In July 1941, the two Mark VII guns were fitted with re-lined barrels. However, the battery had been constructed on Blue Slipper clay, causing instability, and the two searchlights gradually began to slide towards the sea. As a result, the battery was stood down in December 1942. Although the main battery ceased operations, a 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun was installed on the site in 1944.![]()
![]()
In 1945, the battery was placed into Care and Maintenance, and the Bofors gun was subsequently removed. The original guns and searchlights were removed in 1947.![]()
![]()
The battery was reactivated in 1951 when two 6-inch Mark VII guns from Cliff End Battery were installed. At the same time, the eastern searchlight was rebuilt within a new wooden structure, while the western searchlight was reconstructed in its original emplacement. The engine room was also upgraded with three Lister diesel engines.![]()
![]()
Gun practice continued at the battery until November 1955. During this period, ammunition was supplied from the underground magazines using hand-operated hoists, as the original electric hoists had been stripped out in 1948.![]()
![]()
Following the abandonment of Britain's coast defence programme in 1956, the battery was disarmed and all remaining equipment was removed for scrap. The site was subsequently used for a period as a Naval Adventurous Training facility.![]()
![]()
If you’d like to see and learn more about the Island’s fascinating history, be sure to like & follow our page for more stories, photos, and discoveries from across the Isle of Wight’s past. And if you enjoyed this post, feel free to give it a share, it really helps us spread the history! – Restore The Story CIC
Whippingham Heights Battery![]()
![]()
What is now a residential area at Whippingham Heights was once one of the Isle of Wight’s key wartime anti-aircraft sites.![]()
![]()
Built on requisitioned farmland in 1939, the battery was equipped with four 3.7-inch anti-aircraft guns and a Bofors gun by August 1940. Known as **Site 13**, it was manned by around 120 personnel from the 57th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment.![]()
![]()
During the Luftwaffe raid on Cowes on 4 May 1942, contemporary reports credited Site 13 with bringing down an aircraft over Cowes and sharing credit for another that crashed into the sea near Selsey.![]()
![]()
By 1942, the battery was operating a GL Mark II radar system, staffed largely by members of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). Around 100 ATS women served at the site, tracking enemy aircraft and operating radar equipment around the clock.![]()
![]()
The first photograph is a Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance image taken in 1942, showing the battery layout, accommodation huts and the GL Mark II radar installation. The image provides a rare contemporary view of the site as it appeared during active wartime service.![]()
![]()
In late 1944, the battery was upgraded with four powerful 5.25-inch turreted guns. Their firing was so loud that the noise and vibrations could reportedly be felt as far away as Marks Corner and Parkhurst Forest. The second photograph shows one of these 5.25-inch guns being installed as part of the battery's final wartime upgrade.![]()
![]()
Whippingham Battery was also reputed to have achieved the highest anti-aircraft aircraft kill of the Second World War, shooting down an aircraft at an altitude of more than five miles, with nearby Nettlestone Battery said to hold second place.![]()
![]()
The guns were removed in January 1946, and the site eventually disappeared beneath housing development during the 1960s, leaving little visible evidence of its wartime role.![]()
![]()
Do you live on the former Whippingham Heights Battery site? Have you ever uncovered unexpected amounts of concrete while gardening? If so, now you know why!![]()
![]()
If you’d like to see and learn more about the Island’s fascinating history, be sure to like & follow our page for more stories, photos, and discoveries from across the Isle of Wight’s past. And if you enjoyed this post, feel free to give it a share, it really helps us spread the history! – Restore The Story CIC
🎬 Wow – Over 7,000 Views in Just 6 Days! 🎉![]()
![]()
We're delighted by the response to our newly launched YouTube channel, where we're preserving and sharing vintage videos, local history, and memories from years gone by.![]()
![]()
One of our first uploads, "Country Ways", originally broadcast in 1983, has already reached over 7,000 views in just 6 days! Thank you to everyone who has watched, commented, and shared it.![]()
![]()
The programme features many familiar local faces and captures a fascinating snapshot of Island life from over 40 years ago. If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it here:![]()
![]()
📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvFG8G5mI70&t=222s![]()
![]()
If you enjoy these historic films, please consider:![]()
![]()
✅ Watching our other videos![]()
✅ Sharing them with friends and family![]()
✅ Subscribing to the channel for future uploads![]()
![]()
We have plenty more vintage footage and local treasures to come, so stay tuned!![]()
![]()
Thank you for helping keep these memories alive. ❤️![]()
![]()
#IsleOfWight #LocalHistory #VintageVideo #1983 #CountryWays #IslandMemories #YouTubeChannel #CommunityHistory #Throwback #Heritage
Country Ways – Isle of Wight 1983 | Fishermen, Lifeboats & Island Life Archive
www.youtube.com
Originally filmed during April 1983 and later broadcast on 23rd Jun…
Can anyone help?![]()
![]()
We're trying to get in touch with Barry Field (former Isle of Wight MP) regarding some local research we're working on.![]()
![]()
If anyone has a contact for him, or could kindly pass our details on, we'd be very grateful.![]()
![]()
Thanks in advance!![]()
![]()
RTS![]()
![]()
.
What a busy day of tours today! The sun shone for us and we had lots of visitors. Thank you to all those who joined us for tours today. If you want to book on a tour we have 3 more days left this season, one in July and 2 in August, with two tours on each day. Many thanks also to our volunteers for their amazing help. Visit our website for more information. www.restorecic.org