Since the dawn of civilization

Britain has been menaced by foreign powers and invasive hordes, anxious either to pillage and plunder or to invade and rule over this green and pleasant land. Situated on the extreme southeastern corner of England, the county of Kent is the nearest point to continental Europe, and has thus been the targeted landing point for most of these incursions. From the time of the Angles, Jutes and Saxons to the Second World War, the Men of Kent and Kentish Men have had to set up and maintain defensive structures, from Norman castles to 1940 pill boxes, from the Royal Military Canal to the anti-tank ditches carved out of the hills around the coast. This book is the story of these: the threats which led to the erection and construction of various defensive obstacles, their upkeep and garrisoning and, in some cases, their ultimate destruction.