The history of Chatham Dockyard has been an eventful one. It owes its inception to King Henry VIII who, in 1547, selected the River Medway at Gillingham to be his main fleet anchorage. As more ships were added to the royal fleet the work of the dockyard was increased, until it was deemed necessary to build a small castle to protect the yard and anchorage from attack. In the wars and conflicts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Chatham Dockyard would be called upon again to play its part in maintaining an effective battle fleet. David T. Hughes has compiled a thoughtful and insightful volume of photographs and ephemera on the Chatham Naval Dockyard and Barracks, looking at it from its early days of existence until its role in more recent years, from the First and Second World Wars to the Falklands.

The Isle of Sheppey in north Kent was the birthplace of aviation in the UK and early pioneers, including the Wright Bros and Charles Rolls, gathered on its low, flat ground to undertake experimental flights. By 1909 the Short bros had established the first British aircraft factory and from there events snowballed. By 1911 the first naval aviators began training at nearby Eastchurch, which site became the first Royal Naval Air Station. Its popular first course had over 200 volunteers for just 4 places. The station served with distinction in the war that soon followed, as it did again through WW2, until its closure in the late 1940s. This year aviation enthusiasts will flock to Sheppey to celebrate the centenary of British aviation, enjoying the flypasts and displays of 25 vintage aircraft and other vehicles. This book serves as a timely reminder of the island's great contribution to the story of flight in the UK.