Report - Z ROCKET BATTERY, St Margaret's : Dover, UK - April 2022

[DE-eVOLVED]

St Margaret's Z-Rocket Battery Shelter, Dover - April 2022

Z ROCKET, St. Margarets - Dover, April 2022.

Contrary to popular belief...I've been told that this WAS NOT infact a Z Rocket battery... But a 4x 5.5inch Coastal Gun Battery..Apparently. there is no evidence to support it was even defended by Z Rockets, the source went on to say ' The ZRockets moniker came about due to local myth..and has now been taken as fact.


Below is the more well known info. Please comment if you too have heard this above information...

The battery was manned by four officers and 165 men of the 411 Bty Coast Defence, and to provide protection a deep shelter was dug for them by the Royal Engineers 171 Tunnelling Company
which are linked by four short cross tunnels one of which is wider to allow it to be used as a medical station.

This small deep shelter was built to protect troops of the nearby Z-Rocket from incoming axis bombs during WW2.

There was two main entrances down into the shelter and one emergency escape exit.

The un-lined section leads to the emergency escape exit.

There was also a Wardens Room/ Office as well as Toilet facilities.

The gun battery was removed during the infamous Operation Eyesore in the cc1970s "

- Martin/DE-eVOLVED

 

[Wevsky]

It's a local classic spot to visit, maybe not bung the access point shots up, nto that its hard to spot, but best left to the imagination id say

 

[DE-eVOLVED]

It's a local classic spot to visit, maybe not bung the access point shots up, nto that its hard to spot, but best left to the imagination id say

The only reason I added the access shots was because there was nothing in the background to pin point the exact location .

 

[Wevsky]

The only reason I added the access shots was because there was nothing in the background to pin point the exact location .

giving the area pinpoints the location, but yeah i see your point, sort of. its no biggy ,this ones very well known, but it is often frowned upon with access pics

 

[Doozer]

This is always my first port of call when I visit Dover, nice pics of the place but do agree it’s best to leave entry points to the imagination mate. Did you have the bollocks to pop your head out the hole at the bottom of the slope? I couldn’t go anywhere near it!

 

[Bikin Glynn]

I was wondering how long it will be before the entrance is lost to erosion.
I mean it wont be lost but may just become a hole 30ft up a cliff face!

 

[Doozer]

I was wondering how long it will be before the entrance is lost to erosion.
I mean it wont be lost but may just become a hole 30ft up a cliff face!

I think fan bay has more chance of going before st Margaret’s although I wouldn’t want to test that theory lol

 

[DE-eVOLVED]

This is always my first port of call when I visit Dover, nice pics of the place but do agree it’s best to leave entry points to the imagination mate. Did you have the bollocks to pop your head out the hole at the bottom of the slope? I couldn’t go anywhere near it!

I was tempted to look out from it...but luckilly a team mate talked me out of it...good job too ...thats a nasty fall, slippery slope and a tad unstable...

 

[CantClimbTom]

This is always my first port of call when I visit Dover, nice pics of the place but do agree it’s best to leave entry points to the imagination mate. Did you have the bollocks to pop your head out the hole at the bottom of the slope? I couldn’t go anywhere near it!

Not been there, but on my list of things to do hopefully in Autumn? until I read report research from afar made me think only "naughty" entrance would be the exit hole where they dumped excavation down into sea, is that the hole you mean here?

If so it might be worth shoving a silver helium balloons on a very long kite string out the hole so a clifftop walk can see balloon get the location of the hole below in case it becomes the only available entrance in future

 

[Doozer]

Not been there, but on my list of things to do hopefully in Autumn? until I read report research from afar made me think only "naughty" entrance would be the exit hole where they dumped excavation down into sea, is that the hole you mean here?

If so it might be worth shoving a silver helium balloons on a very long kite string out the hole so a clifftop walk can see balloon get the location of the hole below in case it becomes the only available entrance in future

The hole is in the cliff face pretty much directly below the entrance, you’d be a very brave man to risk your life absailing down the side of Dover cliff to see a small battery. It wouldn’t be worth the risk in my opinion. To be honest I wouldn’t of thought the entrance will be getting blocked up anytime soon

 

[Wevsky]

The hole is in the cliff face pretty much directly below the entrance, you’d be a very brave man to risk your life absailing down the side of Dover cliff to see a small battery. It wouldn’t be worth the risk in my opinion. To be honest I wouldn’t of thought the entrance will be getting blocked up anytime soon

An abseil explore is always a worth while venture, yes the shelters done to death, but if the only way in was that spoil hole, then people would abseil into it

 

[Doozer]

An abseil explore is always a worth while venture, yes the shelters done to death, but if the only way in was that spoil hole, then people would abseil into it

Very true, it all depends on how badly you wanted to see the place to weigh up if it is worth the risk. I personally would only abseil into something that’s gunna take longer than half hour to get round. Even then I’d be shitting myself the whole time

 

[Wevsky]

Very true, it all depends on how badly you wanted to see the place to weigh up if it is worth the risk. I personally would only abseil into something that’s gunna take longer than half hour to get round. Even then I’d be shitting myself the whole time

ah its all good fun lobbing yerself off a cliff on an 8mm rope mate

 

[CantClimbTom]

Due to bands of flints often in chalk I advise against 8mm rope unless you are absolutely 100% certain there's no chance of going near a single flint. Better have a 10.5 or something (even better 11mm semi stat). 8diam gives you 50mm2 cross section area but 10.5diam gives you 86mm2 cross area. That's a whole lot more rope!!

 

[Wevsky]

Due to bands of flints often in chalk I advise against 8mm rope unless you are absolutely 100% certain there's no chance of going near a single flint. Better have a 10.5 or something (even better 11mm semi stat). 8diam gives you 50mm2 cross section area but 10.5diam gives you 86mm2 cross area. That's a whole lot more rope!!

Just an example mate, think we used 8mm on my local cliff a few times, and drain drop shafts.