Historic Royal Letter Acquired by Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust
Historic Royal Letter Acquired by Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust
Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust (CHDT) has acquired an exciting new acquisition for the collection- a letter signed by King Charles II (1630-1685).
The letter has been acquired at auction and is a fascinating addition to the Trust’s archive; providing a window into the events of the Dutch Raid on the Medway. Dating to the 18th October 1667 it is now the oldest item in the collection.
The letter, written at Whitehall and signed by the King, warrants Anne-Marie Herry, the widow of Captain Archibald Douglas, one hundred pounds ‘for the supply of her present necessityes’ following the death of her husband during the Dutch Raid on the Medway.
The Raid of the Medway in 1667 was one of England’s worst military defeats. The Dutch Navy tried to make its way down the Medway to reach the Royal Dockyard at Chatham.
Captain Douglas and his regiment (The Royal Regiment of Foot) had been recalled from France to help defend the Medway area from the threat of a Dutch attack during the Second Anglo-Dutch War of 1665-1667.
By June 1667 King Charles had little funds to keep the war effort going and ordered his fleet to anchor at Chatham. On the 10th of July 1667, Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter led a fleet of ships into the River Medway. After attacking the fort at Sheerness, they made their way downriver to Chatham, and on 12 July attacked the King’s ships causing catastrophic damage to the fleet and capturing the King’s Flagship the ROYAL CHARLES.
During the Dutch attack, Douglas had been sent to protect the ROYAL OAK. The Dutch eventually set fire to the ship and Douglas refused to abandon the ship apparently declaring ´it shall never be told that a Douglas quitted his post without orders´. He died on board as the ROYAL OAK was one of six of the largest ships in the Royal Navy to be destroyed by fire that day.
The Dutch did not reach the area of the Dockyard, if they had it could have led to the destruction of the whole fleet. However, the resulting damage led to the building of 30 new ships of the line- many of which were built at Chatham Dockyard.
The letter will go on public display so please keep your eyes peeled for updates on this and come and see the letter for yourselves in due course!
