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The Village of Vigo may
not be as modern as some would think. Although the existing village originates
with the first planning consent in 1962, a hamlet of Vigoe is recorded on an
early 18th century map and it may well be that this hamlet took its
name from the Vigo Inn. The Inn, dating from 1471, is reputed to have been
renamed by a local man after he purchased it with ‘prize money’ from his time
under Admiral Rooke at the battle of Vigo Bay during Franco/Spanish War in
1702.
Little is recorded about
the area until the 1870’s when Sir Sidney Waterlow purchased large areas of
land including the Village of Fairseat, a good proportion of Stanstead together
with land from Wrotham to Meopham. The parts of the estate were linked by a
small bridge bearing the family crest over Trottiscliffe Road still in evidence
today.
In 1887 he built Trosley Towers on the crest of the
escarpment to the east of Trottiscliffe Road. It was approached by two drives
and was surrounded by wooded grounds. Other private drives were constructed,
one of which is Hamilton Drive which still survives in Trosley country Park and
runs from the site of the old House to Commority Road.
Sir Sidney died in 1906
and the estate passed to his son Sir Philip. When he died in 1931 the estate
was sold off. Some of the houses were bought by tenants, one of these was
Pilgrims House, with six acres of land, at the bottom of Trottiscliffe Road
which went for £600. Trosley Towers and the woodlands were sold to Mr E. E.
Shahmoon in 1935, this was also the time of the chalet building.
In 1936 Mr Shahmoon had
Trosley Towers demolished and had Hamilton Lodge built along with adjoining
stables. One story suggests that the Lodge and stables were built to
accommodate the Shah of Persia and his racehorses on his visits to England.
The whole area was still
owned by Mr Shahmoon when it was taken over by the army 1942 and Hamilton Lodge
was to be the HQ of the Brigade that was stationed here.
1942 - 1946
Perhaps the majority of those who live in or near the village
of Vigo and who have moved here since the war were only vaguely aware that this
area of the North Downs had been the scene of intense military activity during
the last war. Some had had tangible proof when digging in the garden had
revealed tarmac roads or the foundations of buildings only just below the
topsoil. The children often returned with 'relics' found in the woods and on
more than one occasion army bomb disposal teams were called in to deal with the
more 'exciting' finds.
With the outbreak of war and the subsequent increase in size
of the army, the need for large numbers of suitable candidates to train as
officers soon became apparent. This
training was normally under-taken at an Officer Cadet Training Unit (O.C.T.U.)
which was attached to that arm of the service in which the cadet would
eventually serve e.g. R.A., R.E., Infantry etc.
Because each O.C.T.U. was required to teach basic army
skills, duplication of resources occurred, also standards varied from unit to
unit and most importantly the levels of skill and basic army training of
individual cadets varied considerably.
In the early part of 1942 it was
decided therefore to standardise this basic training and send all potential
officer cadets to a pre-O.C.T.U. for up to eight weeks prior to their
attendance at their 'specialist'
O.C.T.U. With a few exceptions, all
officer cadets would now be required to attend this newly formed pre-O.C.T.U.
‘Wrotham Camp’ which was to be situated on what is now the site of Vigo
Village. Training areas would extend northwards through all of ‘Happy Valley’,
almost to Meopham, and south to farmland
beyond the Pilgrims Way. It would handle the vast majority of officers
for the British Army for the next four years. It would be big – up to 10,000
men at any one time.
The
task of forming and administrating this new camp would fall to the
148th.independent Brigade Group. This Brigade would now be known as the 148th
Training Brigade
Three
battalions of the Brigade, The 8th.Btn.Sherwood Foresters, the 4th.Btn.Royal
Berkshire Regt and the 1/5th.Btn.Leicestershire Regt. formed the three infantry
'Wings'[A, B and C].which were operational by August 1942 Two other Wings would
also operate, D Wing which would be Driving and Maintenance, and E Wing which
consisted of elements of the Royal Artillery.
The Sherwood Foresters [A Wing] would be responsible for the
administration of the whole camp and set up the Brigade Headquarters in
Hamilton Lodge on the Harvel Road.
The
selection of potential officers from the ranks of the Army was done in the
first instance by the individuals own C.O. followed by a War Office Selection
Board, W.O.S.B ( known as WOSBEE). This
procedure involved everything from a mini-battle course to a psychiatric interview.
On arrival the grading and testing done by 'A' Wing would determine the length
of time the cadet would stay (the courses were designed to bring all officer cadets up to a similar
standard prior to entering their specific O.C.T.U.)
Permanent
staff and instructors who lived in the area were allowed to return home at
evenings and weekends whilst the remainder were either accommodated on the site
or billeted in Meopham or Wrotham. For the cadet it was the Nissen hut. Staff
kept their own Regimental insignia but all wore the Brigade flash, the letters
N.M. (black on green) which stood for North Midlands, although some, when asked
by young ladies of the village as to what it stood for suggested 'Not Married'!
, The cadet would remove all Regimental insignia and any badges of rank and
wear a white band of cloth around the lower part of their hat and strips of
white tape on the shoulder straps of their battle-dress blouse to denote their
cadet status.
Training
consisted of lectures and demonstrations in a variety of subjects, tactics, map
reading, field craft, camouflage and the operation of a variety of weapons
including grenades and mortars. Field
craft areas close to the camp were in 'Happy Valley' and night exercises took
place in and around Luddesdown, Pilgrims Way, Addington and Ryarsh with a rifle
range in the chalk pit, an assault course at the bottom of the escarpment and
2" mortar and grenade ranges to the south of the Pilgrims Way.
All instruction regarding vehicles was done at the D Wing
[Driving and Maintenance]. The Wing had a large transport column of vehicles
from 15cwt. trucks to 10 ton recovery vehicles plus hundreds of motor-cycles.
The main motor pool was situated on what is now Vigo Rugby Club and motor cycle
training was undertaken on a figure of eight course in the area of what is now
Highview.
For recreation the local pubs and village halls were often
visited, the Vigo Pub provided good beer and darts and skittles with the
locals. The Cricketers was also popular
and a collection of cadets regimental badges once adorned the walls. Dances were also held at Meopham Village
Hall on Wednesday evenings and many ex-cadets still wonder if the famous
'Meopham Blonde' or 'Capbadge Kate' are still around, both apparently the talk
of officers messes the world over!
The camp continued to operate through to the early part of
1946 but with the end of the war in sight and the future size of the post-war
army already under discussion the days of the Training Brigade were numbered
and the decision to abolish the Brigade was taken on the 8th April 1946.
Today
little is left of what was at one time the largest pre-O.C.T.U. in the world.
Only the outlines of some of the foundations in the surrounding woods, a
concrete platform at the top of the escarpment which was a map reading point
and a crumbling assault course wall at the bottom of the escarpment are now
visible. Only one building remains, with its large, rusting double doors, it is
situated behind Vigo School and was one of the motor transport garages.
The only other reminder left today is in the name of one of
the roads running through the village, Erskine Road, named after the Commanding
Officer of the 148 Training Brigade from January 1943, and the Brigade HQ,
Hamilton Lodge, on the Harvel Road.
1946 – to date
With the departure of the army in 1946 ‘squatters’
moved in. These were people who, for the most part, had lost everything they
had during the blitz. Here they found ready made accommodation in the form of
Nissen Huts well made roads and soon a lively, friendly community was to form.
The presence of some 1000 people in the area prompted the Councils of Strood,
Gravesend, West Malling and Northfleet to improve conditions for the
inhabitants. Roads were improved, WC’s were installed together with
partitioning in the huts to provide three rooms. All at a price of course, the
Council could now charge rent at the rate of 7/6p per week It was now known as
Vigo Village.
The old camp lecture hall,
Erskine Hall [on what is now the School field], was still standing and served
the community in a variety of forms and at one point it was used as a storage
facility for props from the London Palladium.
A bus
service was started along with a shopping center, known as Piccadilly Circus,
which provided a butchers, a Co-Op, Café, Bakers and drapery store.
The stables at the back of Hamilton Lodge were used as a Primary School from about
1948. Prior to this the children attended Meopham and Culverstone Schools. A
Scout Group, the 17th Gravesend,
was also started run by the Church Army.
To the East of the site on
what was the old army motorcycle training course [now the area of Highview] was
a caravan site.
By the late 1950’s many of
the residents were re-housed in nearby areas and the land was to a certain
extent cleared. The land was then sold by Mr Shahmoon to Croudace Ltd, a
property development company, for a reported £65,000 and Vigo village as we
know it today was born.
I have been researching the history of the camp for many
years now and would be more than happy to receive any further information from
former army cadets or staff or from those who lived in the camp post-war. Even
the smallest piece of information would be gratefully received as it all adds
to the history.
paul@baylis1.freeserve.co.uk
