The Union Flag is flying once more from New Tavern Fort, Gravesend, thanks to Gravesham Borough Council and Gravesham Heritage Forum.
For centuries, it was a convention that Britain's forts and batteries would fly the national flag. Locally, this was done at New Tavern Fort and at its cross-firing partner Tilbury Fort on the north bank of the Thames.
This was, however, a tradition that was considered to have its drawbacks, as a fluttering flag was criticised in one official report as offering a good aiming point for the guns of enemy warships. Even the poles with the flags taken down were deemed a risk, and so they were removed.
Now the Union flag has been raised once more at New Tavern Fort by Cllr Lauren Sullivan, Gravesham Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure, as part of an historical initiative between the council and the Gravesham Heritage Forum.
Cllr Sullivan said: “I’m very proud to see the Union flag flying once more from New Tavern Fort, one of our most historic attractions and a building that links us forever with the River Thames.
“Thank you to Gravesham Heritage Forum for this initiative, which ensures both those on land and arriving by river have a visual marker of the pride we have in our local history.