In the 2nd edition of Isle of Wight forts, Island Echo examines The Needles Batteries – the Isle of Wight’s westernmost fortified outpost.
The Needles Batteries have 2 main claims to fame. In 1913, the 1st British anti-aircraft gun was mounted on its parade ground. Less than half a century later, it became the engine testing site for the ‘Black Knight’ space rocket – built on the Island by Saunders Roe.
Like the Solent Forts – intended to protect Portsmouth from an attack from the East – The Needles Batteries were constructed at great expense but hardly fired a gun in anger.
So why were the Needles Batteries built…?
In the middle of the 19th century, the French had made the world’s 1st ironclad warships. It was felt that the rival power would take control of the Channel and defeat Britain’s wooden battleships that had changed little since the Napoleonic Wars at the start of the century.
The United Kingdom was thrown into panic over a French invasion scare.
In 1860, a Royal Commission proposed the refortification of Britain’s naval bases. Portsmouth was only 50 miles from the French naval base of Cherbourg. The Isle of Wight was considered to be ‘Pompey’s back door’. Therefore, gun batteries were built at the east and west ends of the Isle of Wight to defend the entrances to the Solent.
The 5 new artillery works to cover the approach by The Needles passage cost £160,000 (£16million in today’s values). However, the Needles Battery was completed at a price of £6,958 (£700,000 in today’s values). Construction started in September 1861 and was completed in June 1863.
The Needles Battery was situated 250ft above sea level. Enemy ships could be fired on from above, whereas The Needles gunners would be protected from below by the steep cliff. Accommodation was provided for 1 officer, 2 NCOs and 21 men.
In the 1880s, a new threat to Britain’s navy appeared: torpedo boats. Quick-firing (QF) guns and searchlights were introduced to combat these.
In the 1890s, a lift shaft was sunk. From the shaft bottom, tunnels were dug to the northern base of the cliff, from where 5 cave positions were excavated for searchlights and QF guns to defend The Needles passage at sea level.
In 1895, the New Needles Battery was built at the top of the ridge at a cost of £9,821 (over £1million in today’s values). The chalk at Needles Point had been unable to withstand the concussion of the heavy guns. 4 years later – in 1899 – the road from the batteries to Alum Bay was completed.
In 1903, 2 of the original guns of the fort were believed to be surplus to requirements and were pushed over the cliffs into Scratchell’s Bay below. They had never been fired in anger. However, in 1985, they were recovered from the seas below and reinstalled at the parade ground.
Shortly before the start of World War I, in 1913, Britain’s 1st anti-aircraft gun – a 1-pounder ‘Pom-Pom’ – was mounted at the parade ground.
However, the main threat in the 1914-18 war came from under the sea rather than in the air. In 1917, the German submarine UB35 sank 2 British ships off The Needles. The Batteries on the top of the cliffs had proved powerless to protect the vessels from underwater attack.
At the start of World War II, The Needles Batteries were manned by just 15 soldiers. By 1941, this had grown to 63 men and 2 officers.
Up until 1941, light at The Needles was provided by oil lamps and candles – electricity only came in the Summer of 1941. Further luxury for the soldiers arrived in 1944 when an electric lift was provided to convey them to the bottom of the cliff.
However, service was far from comfortable. The winds were so fierce that the hut roofs of the soldiers’ accommodation were often torn off. On 2 occasions, soldiers either fell or were blown off the cliffs at The Needles.
The main threat was perceived to come from the air. In 1939, a 3-inch anti-aircraft gun was placed at the batteries to combat German aircraft which had laid mines in The Needles passage. This was then replaced by a 40mm Bofors AA gun.
In 1941, radar became operational at The Needles. However, this brought the danger of German paratroopers landing on High Down to attempt to capture the secrets of the sets. This led to deep trenches being dug to prevent German air landings.
The Needles Batteries saw action in World War II – but not a great deal. In 1943, the AA gunners damaged 1 of 2 German fighters making a nuisance raid along the coast. The Needles Batteries were twice called into action against German torpedo boats in the same year, but without scoring a hit.
At the end of the war, the garrison was dissolved. The searchlights were removed in 1945; the radar was taken away in 1950. In 1954, the 9.2-inch guns were scrapped and in 1956, Coastal Artillery was abolished altogether.
However, the same year that Coastal Artillery was abandoned, The Needles headland became the engine-testing site for the Black Knight space research rocket – built at Saunders Roe in Cowes. Special test rig sites were built on the southern cliff top, where their engines were experimentally fired.
The Needles site finally closed in 1971 when Britain abandoned her rocket research programme. The National Trust then bought the headland in 1975.
Have you been to the Needles Batteries and/or walked down the tunnel to the base of the cliffs? Please let us know in the comments.
In the next edition of Isle of Wight Forts, we shall look at Fort Redoubt, which overlooks Freshwater Bay…
