FORTRESS STUDY GROUP

CASEMATE - The FSG News Letter     ISSUE 82    May 2008

ISSN 1367-5907

1879, 11 inch Russian coastal gun, M1877, in position at Suomenlinna (Sveaborg), Finland. (Charles Blackwood) Lighthouse and range-finding position, island of Russarö, off Hanko, Finland. (Charles Blackwood) NOTE: Any picture with a red border will expand with a click, maybe twice.

The Editor

• Photos via email and CD/DVD are very welcome, but if there is potential for a half page or A4 cover picture it is essential they are high resolution, about 6m pixels.

• When submitting material via email, CD or floppy, please always send illustrations as separate attachments, preferably in Jpeg format, never in the text.

Charles Blackwood, Editor.

Committee Meeting, Oxford March 2008. Left to right: Charles Blackwood, editor Casemate. Bill Clements, secretary. Gil Dowdall-Brown Librarian & Reviews editor. Thomas Bell, Treasurer. Terry Gander, Dept. editor Fort. David Bassett, Chairman. Committee Members: Alan Fyson, Michael Clark, Alastair Fyfe, Alan Williamson, Roger Thomas. Absent: Richard Clisby, Martyn Gregg. (Maggi Urquhart)

CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE.

I am pleased to say that good progress has been made with FORT 35. All authors' material has been passed to our production manager Steve Dent. Following the March FSG committee meeting we have set up three committee sub groups to review by September 2008 the following: ♦     Archive material held by FSG. This sub-group, led by Bill Clements, will look at archive and other material that has been and could be received by FSG. This is a subject that will require considerable thought and deliberation! ♦     Publication of Casemate and FORT on the web by commercial or other organisations. This group, led by Alastair Fyfe, will look at the options open for FSG plus implications of any such publication on membership. ♦     A group led by Alan Fyson is looking into the production of a small Members Handbook. The committee intend to publish the results to members. ♦     We are also looking for volunteer Regional Correspondents for FSG, to provide the group with information on 'Fort happenings' round both the UK and overseas and to liaise with groups which share our interests. Information will be reported in Casemate. We would like to revive a system which had fallen by the wayside. Any volunteers please contact the Chairman. David Bassett.

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FUTURE EVENTS:

FSG FUTURE CONFERENCES and AGMs:

	2008 AGM, Orkney Weekend of Sept. 12-15: (Doreen Grove)
	Please note later than usual date - SECOND not first weekend. See also in Items for Sale.
	There are still some places for this conference; attendees must find their own local accomodation as our Hotel reservation is taken up. bill_clements@btinternet.com
	2009, Newcastle (based at the University)
	2010, North Wales (provisional)

OVERSEAS TOURS:

	2009: Poland. The tour will be from 23-30th May; gather in Warsaw, start in Gdansk (fortifications on Hel peninsula, Fort Grodzisko, bastions of Gdansk, fortress Vistulamouth), continuing to Malbork and to Gizycko/Lötzen (Feste Boyen, FHQ Rastenburg, bunkers in Mauerwald), continuing to Modlin (citadel) and will end in Warsaw (citadel and one or two forts). And one or two pleasant surprises, which Hans-Rudolf wants to keep as surprises. Flyer in September Casemate. Ed
	2010: Briançon/Mauritius.
	2011: Elvas, Portugal (provisional), possibly Rousillon.

OTHER GROUPS 2008:

	Aug 15-18: A commercial coach tour to the fortresses of 'Liège and the Meuse Valley', £249 sharing, Richardson Travel Ltd, Midhurst, W Sussex. Tel 01730 813304. email: sales@richardson-travel.co.uk
	Oct: Berlin; AM; IFC; Carlos Scheltema; carlos@scheltema.org
	2009: Feb: Memphis; Ann Conf; Civil War FSG; TBA; info@cwfsg.org
	2009: April: Baltimore-Washington; Ann Conf; CDSG; Prostak/Grant; ewinslow@enter.net
	2009: May: Pittsburgh; Ann Conf; CAMP; TBA; camphart1@aol.com
	(Thanks to Terry McGovern for list. Ed.)

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It is good to see C20th concrete moving up the lists of the various guardians of our heritage, albeit not without some stumbles (see also Correspondence).

Friday 22nd August 2008: Modern Military Matters - The twentieth century defence heritage of Britain is the title of a seminar to be held at Lackham College, Wiltshire, as part of the Association for Industrial Archaeology conference, and costs (seminar only) £35 for AIA members, otherwise £40. [ http://www.industrial-archaeology.org.uk/apreconf08.htm ] 'Wiltshire is known for its prehistoric remains ... but its wide open landscapes also lent themselves to modern uses as airfields and military training camps, especially during WWII. In the last two decades national archaeological organisations have come to appreciate the value of the 20th century military remains as part of our heritage from the past rather than as something to be swept away without record. The Council for British Archaeology sponsored the Defence of Britain project which catalogued many of the physical survivals from the two World Wars such as pillboxes, bunkers and searchlight batteries. English Heritage, too, has recorded modern military sites, including those from the Cold War, particularly under the Historic Landscape Characterisation programme, and the title of this seminar is taken from their Research Framework on the 20th century defence heritage.' The seminar precedes this year's AIA Conference. John Schofield, Jeremy Lake and Wayne Cocroft of EH will be speaking.

Sunday 10th August 2008 - Maunsell Forts It was disappointing that the planned visit following the Chatham Conference did not materialise. There will be an opportunity when the mv Princess Pocahontas will make a cruise (non-landing) from Gravesend, viewing Red Sands, Shivering Sands, and the Windmills. This is an all day affair (approx 10am-5pm). The fare is £25 or £19 concessions. The boat takes 200 passengers and has catering and a bar on board. It is said to be largely unaffected by the weather. See the website www.princess-pocahontas.com or telephone 01732 353448 for details. Please book direct with the ship if you want to go.

Alan Fyson.

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The LIBRARIAN.

	Report of the Board on Fortifications or Other Defenses, appointed by the President of the United States under the Provision of the Act of Congress, Approved March 3rd, 1885. Report of the National Coast-Defense Board, appointed by the President of the United States by Executive Order, January 31, 1905. Otherwise known as the Endicott-Taft Reports. Thanks to the generosity of Terry McGovern and the CDSG, the Library now owns a copy of this report. I take this opportunity of thanking Terry most sincerely on behalf of the FSG.
	It is a handsome hardback of some 500 pages, and is accompanied by a separate bound volume of plates and drawings appropriate to the content of the report. This printing is a product of the CDSG Press, and is a compilation of two reports, named after the two Secretaries of War who were presidents of the respective boards. The Taft Report Board was tasked to revise the Endicott Report which was deemed to have fallen short in certain ways, notably aspects of their estimates of costs. It is therefore shorter than the Endicott, which runs to the deliberations of six committees which each dealt with a specific topic. For example, Committee No 1's remit was: 'To collect information and report upon the various kinds of armor, the penetration and effects of shot upon armor and earth, and guns and their ranges.' This and all the other committees had more than one sub-committee.
	An interesting fact is the importance the US placed upon the naval base at Guantanamo Bay Cuba, as far back as 1885, being the base for the defence of the Caribbean Sea and the Colon end of the Panama Canal which was completed by the US and opened in 1914. As is to be expected, both these reports are very thorough indeed and are packed with detail, much of which relates to weaponry and armour plate designed and developed outside the US, besides those of the American industries One inclosure details the naval strengths of the principal foreign powers, and it is salutary to see the size of the Royal Navy of that time. In short, the Endicott-Taft Reports have much to interest the student of C19th guns and coastal defences.
	Gil Dowdall-Brown, Honorary Librarian.

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MEMBERS DAY.

Fort Nelson - 8 March 2008.

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OBITUARY.

Lt. C. Philippe Truttmann passed away at the beginning of December, aged 73, after a very distinguished military career in the Engineers, with numerous honours to his name. He dedicated his life to the study of fortifications.

Joe Kaufmann writes: I was introduced by snail mail to Colonel Truttmann by Charlie Robbins over 25 years ago. My wife and I met him only once at his home in Vitel, but during all those years we were in contact and he was often answering my questions. Those of you who have an interest in the Maginot Line will be familiar with Colonel Truttmann. His doctoral dissertation was a three-volume work with an atlas that in the 1980s was combined and published as a book, which many call 'The Bible of the Maginot Line.' He was responsible for the restoration of the ouvrage of Simserhof and the creation of its impressive museum while he was serving in the army. The army actually operated it and opened it to tourist groups for much of the 1970s and 80s. He also published several other books including La Barrière de Fer, another magnificent volume that covered the forts of Séré de Rivière.

Many historians call André Maginot the Father of the Maginot Line. Philippe Truttmann was the Maginot Line's Historian. He was the first to reveal its secrets to the public and other historians and he helped preserve it for future generations. He will be missed.

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ITEMS for SALE.

	CLOTHING; buy your stuff with an embroidered FSG badge! Fleece, wind & waterproof lining £37; sweatshirt £17; polo shirt £13. Lots of colours to chose from. All + p&p at cost. Available only from John Kemp, 28 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1HL. Tel: 01856 873190 email:embroidery@johnkemp.co.uk, www.orknet.co.uk/scapa/jkemp.htm
	FSG BADGES for lapels, caps and hats are available from: Alistair Graham Kerr, 19 Hungate Lane, Beccles, Suffolk NR34 9TN. Cost £1; please send self addressed envelope, and in UK, 6 x 2nd class stamps as payment and postage.

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WEBSITES.

Alastair Fyfe (I think) told me about the British Library COLLECT BRITAIN site at: http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/collections/ It has some very nice maps, plans and drawings. For example try searching for 'Tilbury' and you get detailed plans of some of the fort buildings, plus a plan of the fort, plus various maps. The images can be enlarged to view. The collection is international - try searching for 'fort' or 'fortress' and you will be kept happy for hours. The site is particularly rich in prints and photos from British India and, topically, the various unsuccessful British forays into Afghanistan.

Google Earth goes from strength to strength as more and more of the world is available at high resolution - all of Wales in now on and Edward's north Wales castles look very fine, and I was particularly pleased to find Elvas, in Portugal looking very well indeed (below, (c) Google).

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