[JohnG]

It is interesting to see these photographs with IWM reference numbers, many of them can be found at the Royal Marines Library with their reference numbers, I wonder who actually has the copyright. The RM Library are quite keen on their copyright.  The transport that General Hunton is using is called a Wickham Trolley.

[HERB COLLECTOR]

With "Winnie and Pooh", British cross-channel guns. 27 to 29 September 1944, St Margaret's Bay, Dover. "Winnie and Pooh" are the great cross-channel guns of the Royal Marine Siege Unit which are used to reply to the enemy long range shelling of the Dover area. After an action when two of the enemy cross-channel guns had been reported put out of action by "Winnie and Pooh's" heavy battering, Lieutenant General Sir Thomas L Hunton, KCB, MVO, OBE, General Officer Commanding Royal Marines, visited the gun crews and congratulated them on fine work.

© IWM (A 25756)
General Hunton arriving by transport rail truck.

© IWM (A 25757)
General Hunton chatting with members of the "Winnie" gun crew. Behind is Lieutenant Colonel L L Foster, MC, RM, Commanding of the Siege Regt.

© IWM (A 25762)
Major C M Andrae, RM, (left) the GOC, and Lieutenant Colonel L L Foster, C/O of the Siege Regt (center) watching the gun crews at work.

© IWM (A 25758)
The GOC Royal Marines, inspecting the crew of "Winnie".

[HERB COLLECTOR]

Photos taken September 1944.

© IWM (A25770)
Officers and gun crew in front of "Pooh".

© IWM (A 257660
A gun crew at work.

© IWM (A 25763)
One of "Winnie's" 14-inch shells entering the breech.

© IWM (A 25764)
A I4-inch shell being lowered into the breech.

© IWM (A 25774)
62 years-old Ordnance Artificer 1st Class David Stevenson Bentley, from Hoo, near Rochester, Kent, who is in charge of the maintenance of "Pooh".

[HERB COLLECTOR]

Photos taken September 1944.

© IWM (A 25771)
Group of the Siege Regt, Royal Marines.

© IWM (A 25776)
Sergeant of the gun crew at the muzzle of "Winnie" during sponging out after bombardment.

© IWM (A 25775)
Sponging out barrel of "Winnie" after bombardment.

© IWM (A 25769)
In the operations room showing Lt Col Foster in centre with stop watch and telephone. Telegraphist and plotter are also seen.

© IWM (A 25768)
In the Battery Control Room where the gun is actually fired. Officer is firing with his right hand while speaking though the microphone of a loud hailer.

[HERB COLLECTOR]

© IWM (H 7981) 'Winnie', one of two 14-inch guns emplaced at St Margaret's near Dover, 10 March 1941. 'Winnie', and its sister gun 'Pooh', came from the reserve stock of guns for the 'King George V' class of battleships, and were mounted on modified naval barbettes. 'Winnie', named for the Prime Minister, was in place by August 1940 and 'Pooh' in February 1941. Manned by Royal Marine gunners, they were mostly employed in counter-battery fire with German batteries on the French coast.

© IWM (H 7922) 'Pooh', the second of two 14-inch guns emplaced at St Margaret's, near Dover. 10 March 1941.

[kyn]

Instalation of one of these guns 1940.

[conan]

There's a Pathe news reel clip of Winnie being fired here

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/winnie-in-action/

[busyglen]

Showing my complete ignorance....what does Pooh stand for... in this instance?  


Ah!  I've answered the question myself looking at the thread about `Winnie' which mentions Pooh. 

[Leofwine]

Bob Ogley has a bit about this gun in his War in Kent book, including this memory:

On October 23rd 1942 Winston Churchill, a regular visitor to Dover, escorted General Smuts on a tour of the town and its defences. One of the great Channel guns was called 'Winnie' and Churchill, obviously delighted that his name had been adopted for this vast piece of artillery, once ordered it to be fired. Mrs L. Crowther, then a WREN, remembered the incident. " 'Winnie', and the other gun 'Pooh' shelled France and the entourage had approximately 20 minutes to hustle Churchill out of town and onto a train before the Germans fired all their guns in reply."

A party of Canadian MPs inspect 'Winnie' in 1942.


Larger version available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22124479@N03/5039118247/in/set-72157624857451095/

[DoverDan]

Here is an record of firings for Winnie covering the period 22nd August to 17th November 1940.

[unfairytale]

Winnie in action.

[BenG]

One of the 3 shell stores:

[unfairytale]

The first shells to cross the channel
The first British Heavy to be ready for action was the 14" gun 'Winnie'. She was handed over to the Royal Marines on 7th August 1940. It was only five days after this, at eleven o'clock on the morning of August 12th that a German shell landed on Edgar Crescent, near St Radigunds Gasworks Dover. Destroying four houses. It was the first Shell to fall on British soil, fired from another country. Winnie did not respond, her crews carried on with their training and drills.
  Ten days later the German guns opened fire again, this time on a convoy of ships sailing the channel. The convoy commander thought he was being bombed, until he realised there was just one plane in the sky: A German spotter plane. It was time to call Winnie into action; a British spotter plane was sent up to identify the target,: The German C3 Battery. At 2:00pm Lieutenant-Colonel H.D. Fellows, C.O. of the Royal Marine Siege Regiment, fired the first of a three shell salvo to cross the Channel. They travelled 38,240 yards and landed 300 yards from their target. Not bad for a first attempt. Unfortunately this persuaded the Germans to fire the remainder of their 100 shell bombardment on the town. A tactic that was to be repeated throughout the war.