Why The Historic Dockyard Chatham?

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is set in the heart of an area that is immensely rich in Military and Defence history that goes back over four hundred years. Over the years this strong relationship with the UK Armed Forces has led to the Medway Towns and the armed forces communities becoming almost one and the same.

Tens of thousands of service men and women have served, passed though, or retired here, or as civilians have worked for the Royal Navy in the Royal Dockyard and other naval establishments on the Medway. The result is that in Medway and Kent there is a very large population of armed forces and Dockyard veterans and there is a large proportion of the national population who served in one way or another in Medway and Kent.

Today, The Historic Dockyard continues to be seen as a major focus of attention for veterans, services personnel and indeed anyone with an interest in the UK armed forces

There could not be a more appropriate year for The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Medway and Kent to host this national event. 2009 is the 25th Anniversary of the Charitable Trust set up to manage the southern 80 acres of the former Naval Base, when the Royal Navy left Chatham in 1984. Much exemplary regeneration work has been done in renovating buildings and bringing them back into use to develop one of Kent’s leading attractions and the mixed use community that is The Historic Dockyard today.