Monument record TQ 87 NE 125 - Site of First World War Coast Artillery Searchlight serving Grain Fort, Isle of Grain

The site of a twin searchlight emplacement, serving artillery in Grain Fort [TQ 87 NE 8]. Constructed in 1914, the building survived until at least 1961, after which it was demolished and the site cleared. The emplacement was designated electric light nos. 13 and 14. [1]

Site of a former First World War searchlight battery serving the artillery in Grain. The battery consisted of twin searchlights (designated electric light nos 13 and 14) which were located at TQ 8908 7688 close to the coast immediately north of Grain Fort. They were constructed in 1914. The site was cleared and the searchlights demolished in 1961. Aerial photographs taken in 1942 show the searchlights, possibly camouflaged with netting and in use. These and surrounding features were mapped from aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage: Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project. (2)

<1> RCHME, 1998, Coastal Artillery Fortifications on the Isle of Grain, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE12515.

<2> RAF, 1942, NMR RAF/26/UK 920 32 23-MAR-1942 (Photograph). SKE55967.