• Home
  • Our SOS
    • Save Our Military Remains & Shipwrecks
    • Save Our Sealife
    • Save Our Shore
  • The Campaign
    • Marine Conservation Zones Consultation 2018
    • Public Consultation 2017 (now closed)
    • Responses to the 2017 Public Consultation
    • Downloads
    • Photo Gallery
    • Video Gallery
  • Get Involved
    • Sign the Petition
    • Make a Donation
  • Latest News
    • All News
    • Sign up for Updates
  • Our Support
    • Notable Supporters
    • Supporting Organisations
  • Campaign Team
  • Contact

Save our Goodwin Sands from dredging by Dover Harbour Board

goodwinsandssos@gmail.com
Goodwin Sands SOSGoodwin Sands SOS
  • Home
  • Our SOS
    • Save Our Military Remains & Shipwrecks
    • Save Our Sealife
    • Save Our Shore
  • The Campaign
    • Marine Conservation Zones Consultation 2018
    • Public Consultation 2017 (now closed)
    • Responses to the 2017 Public Consultation
    • Downloads
    • Photo Gallery
    • Video Gallery
  • Get Involved
    • Sign the Petition
    • Make a Donation
  • Latest News
    • All News
    • Sign up for Updates
  • Our Support
    • Notable Supporters
    • Supporting Organisations
  • Campaign Team
  • Contact
The place where 1,000 ships were sunk

The place where 1,000 ships were sunk

November 21, 2016 In the media No Comments

An excellent article supporting the campaign to save the Goodwin Sands

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161118-the-place-where-1000-ships-were-sunk

A serene sandbank off the Kentish coast is the hidden home of more than 1,000 sunken ships… and a war grave

By Fiona Young-Brown
21 November 2016

Six miles off the coast of Deal in East Kent, England, seal pups frolic on the ever-changing, intricately-patterned sands that are exposed at low tide. Beneath the water’s surface is a thriving ecosystem of blue mussels, sand eels and peeler crabs.

These are the Goodwin Sands, a 10-mile stretch of sandbank that has been recommended by the Wildlife Trusts as a future Marine Conservation Zone. In addition to providing a home for a wide variety of sea life, the Sands help bolster coastal protection against erosion.

But they may disappear. The Dover Harbour Board wants to dredge 2.5 million tons from the Goodwin Sands as part of plans to expand the port – one of Europe’s busiest – and provide much-needed regeneration to Dover’s seafront.

However, the board has met resistance. Some of that is due to environmental factors. But there is another reason, too: the Goodwin Sands are home to Britain’s largest underwater graveyard.

Hidden just beneath the water’s surface at high tide, the Sands are one of the most dangerous spots in the English Channel. During storms they can be particularly deadly.

In late November 1703, when southern Britain saw the worst natural disaster in its history, a massive cyclone now known as the Great Storm, more than 1,000 seamen died on the Goodwin Sands.

The Goodwin Sands are home to Britain’s largest underwater graveyard

Among the many ships lost that night was the HMS Stirling Castle, which was discovered by local divers in 1979. Since 1980, it has been a designated protected wreck under the 1973 Protection of Wrecks Act – meaning access to it is restricted in order to prevent vandalism and salvage operations.

A century later, on 24 January 1809, the East India Company ship the Admiral Gardner departed from London bound for Madras. It carried a cargo of iron, guns, anchors, and 48 tons of company coins – currency for the workers in India.

As the ship passed the coast of Kent, a fierce gale blew in. It ran aground on the Goodwin Sands along with two other East India ships that same night. Efforts to save the ship were futile, although somewhat miraculously, only one life was lost.

These three East India Company ships, as well as the HMS Stirling Castle, are just a few of more than 1,000 shipwrecks buried beneath the Goodwin Sands. Some believe the number of wrecks may be as high as 2,000.

When the Sands were dredged in 1979 for construction at Dover Harbour, workers found East India Company coins in the material. A few years later, salvage operations at the Admiral Gardner recovered more than one million coins before the wreck was designated a protected area. There is now a 300m (985ft) exclusion zone around its remains.

The Dover Harbour Board says these exclusion zones will remain untouched. The dredging process will be limited to an estimated 0.22% of the total volume of the Goodwin Sands, says the board’s spokesperson Antony Greenwood. What’s more, anomalies that have been identified by archaeological surveys – potentially other shipwrecks – will be left untouched.

The Goodwin Sands serve as breeding grounds for the local seal population

But opponents point out that the Goodwin Sands are a closed system, meaning that the Sands are all one entity, constantly moving in a circular direction, with little material moving in or out. As a result, says Stephen Eades of the marine conservation nonprofit Marinet, “If they were to dredge this site, any hole will be filled by sand from elsewhere within the Goodwin Sands system, thereby exposing and damaging other sites.”

In other words, work in one area could place the whole Sands at risk.

Greenwood disagrees, noting that larger amounts of sand were dredged from the area in the 1970s and again in the 1990s when construction of the Channel Tunnel was underway. These procedures appear to have done little to no damage to the Goodwin Sands – though it is worth noting that detailed before-and-after surveys were not carried out to measure possible changes in the marine ecosystem.

That ecosystem is another part of why campaigners are fighting against dredging. Among other things, the Goodwin Sands serve as breeding grounds for the local seal population and as a spawning site for herring and other fish.

This entire area is a collective war grave – Stephen Eades

The Sands also provide coastal protection against erosion and flooding. A natural breaker, they absorb some of the energy from the waves that pound this part of the coast. That is particularly important to the communities of Deal and Kingsdown, where flood defences are currently under construction at a cost of almost £10 million.

The best chance anti-dredging campaigners have, though, might have nothing to do with flooding, marine animals or even shipwrecks at all. “This entire area is a collective war grave,” says Eades.

In 2013, the last surviving Dornier World War Two bomber was raised from the Goodwin Sands, where it had been shot down during the Battle of Britain. The German aircraft is now undergoing restoration work at RAF Cosford.

But a number of World War Two planes and their crews remain buried beneath the Sands. David Brocklehurst of the Kent Battle of Britain Museum has compiled a list of 60 aircraft believed to have landed or crashed on the Goodwin Sands in 1940 alone. Of these, at least 50 had crews listed as killed or missing.

They will only see the damage or destruction once it has occurred

Air Force historians are double-checking the accuracy of Brocklehurst’s list, which could upend the plans to dredge. Under the terms set out in The Protection of Military Remains Act (1986), it is an offense to disturb a site where there is military aircraft wreckage and likely human remains.

Greenwood points to a series of procedures that will mitigate any potential damage to historic sites, like having an archaeological consultant on board the dredger to ensure correct protocols are followed. But opponents believe more needs to be done.

In a letter to the Marine Management Organisation opposing the licensing application, the Nautical Archaeology Society argues that having observers on the dredging vessels will not help, since “they will only see the damage or destruction once it has occurred.”

The period for public comment on the dredging closes in November 2016, after which the Marine Management Organisation will make a decision. Even if a license is granted, the Ministry of Defence could prohibit any activity while further research into the World War Two aircraft is conducted.

Some believe the number of wrecks may be as high as 2,000

And if the permissions are granted? It is possible that the dredging will have no lasting effect on the Sands or the coastal towns of Kent.

But with a potentially risky future for local residents, the question remains about whether the dead should be left to rest in peace aboard their vessels – and the Goodwin Sands allowed to keep its mysteries.

ENDS

No Comments
Share
0

You also might be interested in

Dunkirk star Sir Mark Rylance launches fresh attack on dredging plans
Mark Rylance who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 'Bridge of Spies' and recently appeared in 'Dunkirk' - Photo by Georges Biard [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Dunkirk star Sir Mark Rylance launches fresh attack on dredging plans

Aug 6, 2017

Sir Mark Rylance, star of the recent film ‘Dunkirk’ has[...]

Sand mining: the global environmental crisis you’ve probably never heard of

Sand mining: the global environmental crisis you’ve probably never heard of

Mar 2, 2017

The Guardian has published an article on industrial scale sand[...]

Only two weeks remain in public consultation

Only two weeks remain in public consultation

Nov 2, 2016

The campaign has had a fantastic week!  The petition has[...]

Leave a Reply

Your email is safe with us.
Cancel Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sign the Petition

Sign the Petition


Recent Posts

  • Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust website
  • VE75
  • East Kent seafront resident’s concerns for coastal erosion and future dredging plans
  • Messages from Dover & Deal prospective parliamentary candidates
  • Goodwin Sands Judicial Review has been dismissed

Recent Comments

  • Mauro Feltrin on Messages from Dover & Deal prospective parliamentary candidates
  • Mary Bassendine on Judicial Review Granted for Dredging Decision
  • jules palliser on Judicial Review Granted for Dredging Decision
  • Joanna Thomson on Possible WWII bomber discovered on the Goodwin Sands
  • Pauline Terry on Sir Tim Smit KBE speaks out against the rapacious mining of the Goodwin Sands

Archives

  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • September 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • February 2018
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • May 2016

Contact Us

We're currently offline. Send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Send Message
Goodwin Sands SOS

Save our Goodwin Sands
from dredging

#SaveOurSands

Contact Information

  • Goodwin Sands SOS
  • goodwinsandssos@gmail.com
  • goodwinsandssos.org

Twitter Feed

Tweets by @@GoodwinSandsSOS

© 2023 · Goodwin Sands SOS

  • Home
  • The Campaign
  • Sign the Petition
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
Prev Next
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead our Privacy Policy