Dover - Admiralty Pier, Kent, UK Searchlight emplacement shields 1906-1980s
Andrew Handyside who made Friargate bridge in Derby also made some rather unique items such as these metal searchlight emplacement shields in Dover.
Here on Admiralty Pier, Kent, Dover, UK were once some searchlight emplacement shields made by Handyside, they were installed in May 1906.
These searchlight emplacement shields were mounted on the pier extension, the pier extension was added 1899-1900, the extension was 2000 ft long, increasing the total length of the pier to 4140 ft. These two search lights were installed alongside the new pier turret battery and were used extensively during World War one and two to illuminate the harbour approaches and search for hostile vessels.
The Handyside emplacement shields had a thin vertical slot in them creating a vertical "sheet" or curtain of light. When a searchlight beam is wide open, it projects a massive cone of light. However, if you place a narrow vertical slit over the lens like on these, it reshapes the beam into a thin, tall, vertical wall of light.
By using a vertical slot (often paired with specialized astigmatic lenses), the beam could be focused into a sharp, narrow vertical bar. Operators could sweep this bar across the horizon. It cut through the darkness to illuminate the masts or hulls of incoming boats while minimizing the blinding glare bouncing off the waves.
Instead of actively sweeping the sky and guessing where the enemy might be, crews would lock the searchlight in place, projecting this vertical "sheet" across a known enemy flight path. When an enemy aircraft or Zeppelin flew through this invisible boundary, it would instantly flash brightly against the dark sky. This acted as an optical tripwire for anti-aircraft gunners down the line.
A 1907 plan showing searchlight arcs of illumination
The lights inside these Handyside metal emplacement shields would have been Carbon arc lamps, The Royal Navy and British coastal defences widely used carbon arc searchlights during this era due to the intensely bright light produced by them.
These lamps would produce a large amount of heat, Handyside's metal emplacement shields would have got very hot during operation.
These search light emplacement shields were still in place in the late 1980's.
The ironwork inside Dover Marine Railway Station walkway on this pier also looks like it could possibly be Handyside, anyone lives near this location able to check for Handyside plaques on the ironwork?
My References : Dover Museum, Peter Williams, The Dover Historian.
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