I no longer live in gosport but grew up there and had the privilage of access inside the fort in my youth.

It is sad to see that this important building has fallen into such disrepair.

I think the first question has to be whether the situation is redeemable. If it is, then I believe it should be developed for community use.

If it can be saved then what will preserve the structure from falling into worse repair? If it can at least be saved from further deterioration then future development can be undertaken at a later date or by a slow process.

The council should be considering the cost of such basic preservation.


John

As an in-law to Fareham and frequent visitor to Stokes Bay, I have always liked Gilkicker.

It is a shame to see it worsen over time.

I have been involved with a number of projects that have seen the renovation of such buildings without losing the characteristics that make them special.

I would like to see Gilkicker get the same treatment and don't see why it wouldn't be a credit to the seafront if done with care and not entirely for profit (although it has to make commercial sense).

David
Unfortunately I did not find your response to my questions till now.
I am very grateful for your research. It clearly indicates that she gave a fictitious name for the father of her baby... which is very useful information for me.
Thank you so much,
Kind regards, Giles

If you have registered but have not received the activation e-mail it may be because it has been filtered out by your ISP. Try looking in your spam or junk e-mail box.
Next try asking for the activation e-mail to be re-sent. (top of the forum page)
Finally e-mail the Webmaster and he may activate your membership for you. (webmaster@palmerstonforts.org.uk)

The mystery deepens:
Street directories of Gosport for 1916 to 1930 do not have a house called Greendale in Privett Road. Maps of the same period also do not show any such house. These directories also do not have a person called Thomas Bowyer living anywhere in Gosport in 1916 to 1930.

I have looked for a Captain T Bowyer in the Army Lists and have come up with no reference. I searched from 1916 to 1920. There is no Captain T Bowyer listed in any British Army regiment between those years.
One of two reasons come to mind.
1. He was not an officer.
2. His name was not Thomas Bowyer

I also searched the London Gazette for any references to a commission for a Thomas Bowyer and again nothing was listed.

Sorry.

This topic has been moved to Gosport Forts.

http://www.fortgilkicker.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=10.0

Giles

There is no single source of information that lists RGA personnel and where they were stationed. If he was in the RGA stationed at Gosport then he could have been in Fort Grange, which was (is) very close to Privett Road, Gosport. It was common for Officers who were married to be quartered outside the forts. As he is an officer, rather than an enlisted man, he will appear in the Army Lists. (The Army Lists were published each year and detailed  where each officer was, and with which Regiment). Privett Road is extremely close to where I live but house names are not used much today. There is a slim possibility that the house is still there although I cannot see it named on the Victorian maps which I have.

Please be patient as it will take me a while (give me a week) to look him up.

David

Hi David
I am searching for any information I can get about my grandfather Capt. Thomas Bowyer of the Royal Garrison Artillery.
He is listed on my father's birth certificate in May 1917 as living at 'Greendale', Privett Rd, Alverstoke.
Do you know of any records of RGA personnel for the local forts in 1917 ?
I would be very grateful even for the smallest scrap of information.
Regards, Giles Yates
Sydney Australia

Gosport Borough Council are proposing the designation of a new conservation area at Stokes Bay. It will stretch from Browndown Battery in the west to Fort Monckton in the east. The northern boundary will include Stanley Park, Palmerston Way and will follow the line of the Alverbank. It will enclose the sites of the early Stokes Bay redoubts and the Stokes Bay lines with its five batteries. Also included will be Fort Gilkicker and the site of Leather's Stokes bay yard, which later became the Submarine mining Establishment and then the Stokes bay School of Electric lighting.