Home > Gillingham, Medway

In 1665 a Dutch fleet sailed up the River Medway and having landed at Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey, laying siege to the fort at Sheerness, invaded Gillingham in what became known as the raid on the Medway. The Dutch, after some consternation and panic from royalty, were eventually driven out, but caused great humiliation to the Royal Navy.

During the Napoleonic Wars, lines of gun emplacements were set up facing the Medway on an escarpment between Gillingham and Chatham which is still known as the Great Lines.

In 1919Events January January 1 Edsel Ford succeeds his father as head of the Ford Motor Company January 5 Spartacist uprising Socialist demonstrations in Berlin turn into attempted communist revolution with Spartacist League in the forefront January 9 Spartacus, following World War IWorld War I (also known as the First World War , the Great War the War of the Nations and the "War to End All Wars") was a world conflict occurring from 1914 to 1918. No previous conflict had mobilized so many soldiers, or involved so many in the field of, a naval war memorialA war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to commemorate those who have died, or been injured, in war. For most of human history war memorials were erected to commemorate great victories and remembering the dead was a secondary conce in the shape of a white stone obelisk was set up on the Great Lines, from where it can be seen for many miles; additional structures were added in 1945Events January January 5 The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet government of Poland. January 7 British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference in which he claims credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge. January 12 World War II: to commemorate the dead of World War IIWorld War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The war was fough. Similar monuments stand in the dockyard towns of PortsmouthThis article is about the English city of Portsmouth. For other places with the same name, please see Portsmouth (disambiguation). Portsmouth is a city of about 186,000 located in the county of Hampshire on the southern coast of England. A significant nav and PlymouthThis article is about Plymouth, England. For articles about other uses of Plymouth, see Plymouth (disambiguation). Plymouth (Latitude: 50°25N, Longitude: 4°5W) is a city and unitary authority in South West England, situated in the traditional county of De.

The traditional industry of the area was maritime, with employment at Chatham Dockyard, most of which actually lay within Gillingham. This is largely diminished; the dockyard ceased to be a naval base in 1984. Gillingham is firmly within the commuter belt for London.

The town is now home to the Royal Engineers museum and the English Football League team Gillingham F.C.

The marshland between the town and the River Medway's estuary is an important habitat protected as the Riverside Country Park.