As part of England's largest festival of history and culture, Heritage Open Days, Shoreham Fort will open its gates to the public on Saturday, 14 September, at 11:00 am. We're excited to share a sneak peek of the latest developments at the Shoreham Fort WWII Education Area. The volunteers at Shoreham Fort have been hard at work creating an authentic WWII experience complete with a sandbag barrier and an Anderson Shelter.
The sandbag barriers were a bespoke project for us, as we supplied 600 empty hessian bags for the Shoreham Fort volunteers to fill themselves. This order, processed on 23 July 2024 and delivered just three days later, was a bit unique. As they didn’t need a full bale, we arranged to split it, offering the bags at a lower price as a gesture of support for the charity. Kelly, one of our Account Support Representatives, managed the order, ensuring it was handled quickly and efficiently given the urgency.
We are pleased to continue our support for Shoreham Fort, whose motto is 'Giving history a future, by bringing history to life'. The fort's team has done extraordinary work, as highlighted by Sharon Penfold, the charity’s Secretary:
"The sandbags you provided for our War Memorial Trench project in 2020 were a game changer. In just 15 days, 2,800 sandbags were filled by hand during a time when COVID-19 meant working in ‘bubbles’. This project has since been recognised by the Imperial War Museum and War Memorials Trust. We’re truly grateful for your continued support."
Although the site is still under wraps until the big reveal, we’re proud to see how far this project has come and look forward to sharing more soon. Stay tuned for the official unveiling in September!
Read our handy blog on how sandbags were the unsung heroes of defence during the war. This blog also details when sandbags were invented.
They were also the unsung heroes of archaeology!