Born out of the sea 400 million years ago Drake’s Island has been a place of pilgrimage, a refuge, a fort, a prison, an observatory and an adventure centre. The fortifications have defended Plymouth from the time of the Spanish Armada to the World Wars. It has been the starting point for the voyages of discovery of some of the greatest of our explorers, Drake, Cook and Darwin. Still a place of mystery and rumour follow in the footsteps of Drake discovering Drake’s Island and the lives of those that lived there.
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DRAKE’S ISLAND –WORLD WAR ONE
By 1915 the garrison strength had increased to around 300. The Island had 9 guns separated into 3 Battery’s of 3 guns...
THE START OF WORLD WAR ONE
The last major exercises to test the defences involving the Garrison was a Torpedo Boat and Destroyer attack on...
LEADING UP TO WORLD WAR I
By 1901 at beginning of the new Century the three new gun batteries, each consisting of 3 gun emplacements had been...