What’s in a name?

So while we were holidaying in Victoria, I suggested we visited the nearby lighthouse. Its name/location was a bit vague, but good ol’ Google came up with the answer “Fort Rodd Hill“. In hindsight a pretty big clue, but nevertheless it was with some surprise that when we turned into the car-park we saw not a lighthouse (though that was indeed there, tucked away out of sight) but a pretty extensive decommissioned military installation!

Even now, I am sometimes struck by the youth of Canada – especially here in the West. The source of place names are often still very much tangible. Fort Rodd Hill is still quite obviously a fort! I know, I know, it does sound obvious, but if you’re from “The Old World“, the connection between a place-name and its original reason for having that name isn’t always so blindingly obvious. I grew up in a place called Silsden in West Yorkshire, UK. I remember at the age of about 8 being told by a teacher that the name was a contraction of “Sigle’s Dene”, meaning steep sided valley run by Sigle, the local warlord… or something equally unlikely. Nearby Skipton was “Sheep Town” and to this day is a market town. Well, you get the drift of my point.

The armed standoff of U.S. and British forces during the San Juan Islands Pig War of 1859 led to a steady increase in the Esquimalt naval location used by the Royal Navy for its Pacific Squadron.  When Russia declared war on Turkey this sparked the Great Eastern Crisis in 1877-78, which focused attention on the lack of defences for Britain’s only naval station on the western seaboard of the entire Americas. By 1898 a pretty extensive set of battlements was in place including a rather nifty 6″ disappearing gun which used the gun’s recoil to power the gun beneath the protection of the defences for reloading.

With the approach of WWII, the defences were revamped and a more rapid firing gun was put in place to handle the faster modern torpedo boats.

Though much of the building is the original 1890’s concrete emplacements, the place has an eerily modern feel to it. I guess its age is given away more by the quality of the finishing rather than the basic architecture and functional design. Even though this was built only as a military location, the solid concrete walls have neatly rounded edges and attention to detailing around the few inward pointing window-frames.

There’s a lot to see, with three separate gun batteries, a gas-proof targeting command centre, searchlight emplacements, kitchen and barracks. Set in well kept grounds with nature trails too, it’s an interesting way to kill time on a sunny day.

The thick walls looked pretty sturdy 100+ years on!

There’s much more access on the INSIDE of the gun slits. These are facing inland, to protect the fort from being surrounded.

I loved the way the light fell on this simple table setting in the guard house

The breech has threading to allow it to be locked in place.

Typical Victorian brickwork and windows despite the military function. 1898!

Looking up the stairs from within the battery’s subterranean rooms

The colour codes let the gunnery officers know what present to give. High explosives, shrapnel, cuddly toy…

The business end!

An innocent looking gate that led to the coastal defences

There were several arbutus on the grounds. My favourite tree in BC. By coincidence, a UK crossword book we took with us had “arbutus” as the answer to the clue “strawberry tree”

A more modern addition, the design of this tower is much more brutal and inelegant.

WWII era shells neatly stacked and good to go.

The tower, with flash shield lowered from below, at the gun level

These twin 6lb guns were rapid fire and intended to defend the harbour against fast moving torpedo boats

Business ends of the twin 6lb rapid fire guns

The pointy end of a 6lb gun

A searchlight emplacement cleverly camouflaged to look like a fishing hut, complete with non-functional boat.

Section of anti-submarine netting that would have been stretched across the harbour to protect shipping from underwater attack.

A mechanical computer to help plot range and angle for the gunnery batteries. Not THESE batteries though, oddly!

A handle on the gas-proof doors of the plotting room – protecting the staff from attack while they plotted trajectories for nearby gunnery batteries.

The back of the barrack room with shared hanging space.

Personal kit laid out for inspection

Near the barracks, the protective wall looks as effective now as when it was built 100+ years ago

A simple but effective hoist for moving the heavy barrels

Missing now, but this is where one of the gun turrets would have been able to rotate to defend Esquimalt harbour

This battery was in one of the older parts of the fort

A selection of heavier shells for the bigger guns.

The ceiling in the engine room could have done with a lick of paint!

The searchlight generator room had several massive engines – looking like they’d escaped from trucks with their radiators neatly parked at “the front”. No doubt a very noisy place to work

 

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