Dover sits along the southeastern coastline of England at the narrowest part of the English Channel. The day we docked in the famous port, the air was so clear that I could actually see France across the water. With my precious few hours in England, I had to choose between a visit to Canterbury Cathedral or Dover castle. I chose the castle and was soon snaking my way up a cliff in a double decker bus. The town was the only point of accessible land from the water; the rest of the coast consisted of sheer white cliff face. The castle overlooked the town and would have cast a formidable presence to enemies approaching from the English Channel. It is easy to understand why the fortress at Dover served a strategic role for over 1000 years as the gateway to England. Some of the pictures are from the top of the castle onto the town below. You can even see the cruise ship through the castle's highest stone peaks.
I had recently watched “The Lion in Winter” (1968, Katharine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole), and was excited to realize Dover Castle was the main residence for this ruling family. The film tells of King Henry II's troubled family situation, specifically around Christmas of 1183, when the whole crew is brought together for the holiday. Sons Richard the Lionheart, John, and Geoffrey got into a fight over who would be the next king. Henry's wife, Eleanor of Acquitaine, was on leave from her prison in Windsor Castle for the special occasion and was delighted to add to the drama. While the film is only loosely based on fact, it was nevertheless exciting to walk through the castle's halls knowing who had looked through the same windows almost a thousand years ago.
One of the most impressive structures in the castle is the Great Tower, which King Henry II built between 1179 and 1189. I've included a picture of the throne room in the Great Tower. Rumor has it that King Henry II built the Great Tower as a way to boost morale among his disappointed constituents after he had his friend, Sir Thomas Beckett, killed in Canterbury Cathedral.
This castle had the good fortune to serve its country well into the 20th century when it was a British stronghold in World War II. In May of 1940, French and English troops were stranded on a small piece of land in France called Dunkirk. The Germans were closing in on the trapped men when Winston Churchill ordered Admiral Bertram Ramsay to organize “Operation Dynamo” from his underground headquarters at Dover Castle. Ramsay had to mastermind and execute the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of men from Dunkirk beach, across the minefields of the English Channel, below the hungry German air force and safely into the tunnels below Dover Castle. Because of the chalky nature of the soil, an extensive tunnel system was built under the castle providing shelter from aerial attacks. The British fortified these underground tunnels with communication equipment, barracks, and a hospital. Within a week, 338,000 troops had been safely evacuated, and the majority of the British army spared. This was known as the “miracle of Dunkirk”.
Of course, I couldn’t leave the castle without buying a few souvenirs from the gift shop. I bought a little book about the castle’s wartime history, some jars of marmalade, and a cd with popular tunes from World War II entitled “Keep Calm and Carry On”. After tunes by Glenn Miller, Noel Coward, George Formby, and Doris Day, Vera Lynn takes the last bow as she croons, “There’ll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover tomorrow, just you wait and see. There’ll be love and laughter and peace ever after tomorrow, when the world is free…”
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