Deal Castle

Deal Castle was built in 1539-40 as an artillery fort, on the orders of Henry VIII.

In May 1940, when a German invasion was expected, the Royal Artillery requisitioned the castle and built two emplacements for 6-inch guns and an underground warehouse.
They erected a concrete observation post to focus the guns on the eastern bastion, while the castle itself became their headquarters.
Engineers erected barbed wire and concrete obstacles ('dragon's teeth') on the beach, promenade and adjacent streets, to impede the movement of enemy troops who might land.
The most important event of the war was a German bomb that fell on October 5, 1940 and seriously damaged the Captain's House.
In April 1944, as the prospect of invasion diminished, the Home Guard replaced most of the artillerymen until the end of the war.

There is a timeline on the wall of a spiral staircase with highlights from the castle's history. This staircase leads to a kind of memorial room.
There is an altar with a crucifix, at the back is a stained glass window with 2 soldiers standing above the text: "Malo mori quam foedari" (I would rather die than be dishonored).

Source: Deal Castle - English heritage

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Source

• Text: Marie-Christine Vinck
• Photos: Marie-Christine Vinck