A gun for Slough Fort

The restoration of Slough Fort Allhallows has been progressing at a steady pace over the past five years with several important milestones reached. These include the excavation of the buried West Wing Battery, the final ending of the use of the site as stables and the establishing of regular opening and public tours. However, the most significant of these important milestones is the acquisition of the first piece of armament for the Fort, a 12 pounder 12 cwt Quick Firing Gun. There is documentary evidence tat such a gun was the last coastal defence gun to mounted on the Fort in late 1940 to prevent a hostile landing on the beach in front of the Fort. The gun which has now been delivered to site was for several years lying near to the Museum of Naval Firepower (MNF) at Gosport, but was not associated with the Museum, being in the ownership of an antiques dealer based with Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The gun was spotted by a group of Slough Fort Trustees on a research visit to Gosport in early 2018. Shortly afterwards negotiations were undertaken to attempt to acquire the gun and transport it to Allhallows. In achieving these sincere thanks must go to Nick Hewitt, Head of Exhibitions & Collections at MNF, who handled negotiations on behalf of Slough Fort Preservation Trust and made the whole exercise possible. Work is now underway to restore the gun, which has been underwater for many years and to eventually mount it onto the roof of the Fort.

Keith Gulvin

The 12 Pdr QF Gun being offloaded at Slough Fort In September 2018.