The modern town of Gillingham grew up on the banks of the River Medway
around the Royal Naval Dockyard of Chatham, most of which actually lay
within Gillingham. The sixteenth century saw the expansion of the
one-time fishing and farming village of 'Jyllingham' into a town. The
population of the town expanded as the dockyard, with its accompanying
fortifications around the Medway, grew, and today Gillingham is the
largest town in the Medway area. In this book Philip MacDougall
investigates Gillingham's past, including many lesser-known and secret
events, including a hidden English warship sunk by the Dutch when they
invaded the Medway and that was still under the foundations of the
dockyard; the prison hulks for convicts and prisoners of war moored in
the River Medway, off Gillingham; an attempt to turn the town into a
seaside resort to rival Margate; Jezreel's Tower and the unusual sect
that built it; the country's worst death toll from a single bomb dropped
in the First World War; and failure to prepare the town for the
threatened mass bombing of the Second World War. Secret Gillingham
explores the lesser-known episodes and characters in the history of
Gillingham through the centuries. With tales of remarkable people and
unusual events, and fully illustrated, this book will appeal to all
those with an interest in this town in Kent.
