The Raid on the Medway, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in June 1667, was a successful
attack conducted by the Dutch navy on English battleships laid up in the fleet
anchorages off Chatham Dockyard and Gillingham in the county of Kent. At the
time, the fortress of Upnor Castle and a barrier chain called the "Gillingham
Line" were supposed to protect the English ships.
The Dutch, under nominal command of Willem Joseph van
Ghent and Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, over several days bombarded and
captured the town of Sheerness, sailed up the Thames estuary to Gravesend, then
sailed into the River Medway to Chatham and Gillingham, where they engaged
fortifications with cannon fire, burned or captured three capital ships and ten
more ships of the line, and captured and towed away the flagship of the English
fleet, HMS Royal Charles.
Politically, the raid was disastrous for King Charles'
war plans and led to a quick end to the war and a favourable peace for the
Dutch. It was one of the worst defeats in the Royal Navy's history, and one of
the worst suffered by the British military. Horace George Franks called it the "most
serious defeat it has ever had in its home waters."
On 9 June 2017 a special postmark was used in Chatham
on request from Internet Stamps Ltd. from Folkestone, Kent. It is the parent
company of Buckingham Covers and GB First Day Covers. Both companies issue
special made 'first day covers' and other collectable envelopes.
I sent a cover to the London Special Handstamp Centre.
I used a regional England definitive of £ 1,17 which was the standard
international postage rate. It arrived back in sixteen days in a plastic
protective bag.
Date sent: 5
June 2017
Date postmark: 9
June 2017
Date received:
21 June 2017
Number of days:
16
Envelope in
collection: 183
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