Above photo taken in 1960 and kindly sent by Terry Wheeler of the Ramsgate Historical Society.

Above sign, August 1989.

With thanks from Brian Curtis www.innsignsociety.com.

Above matchbox, date unknown, kindly sent by Debi Birkin.

From the New York Times, September 23, 1989.

Michael O'Grady, landlord of the Green Beret Pub south of the barracks, said he was sitting on his bed when the explosion occurred this morning.

"There was immediately activity outside, security running up the road," he said, "marines and bandsmen running from the south barracks across the road to the north barracks, scaling the fence and going in. I was afraid of a second explosion."

Dozens of fire-fighters and marines struggled to move debris, some working with pneumatic drills while others frantically tore at rubble with their bare hands. Witnesses said that, every now and then, people screamed for quiet and silence fell as the rescuers, using advanced listening equipment, thermal imaging cameras and heat-detecting equipment, tried to find trapped victims.

''What we saw watching from our room upstairs was that the area was totally devastated,'' Mr. O'Grady said. ''Initially lads who were just piling in and bailing stuff out. About 15 minutes later ambulances started arriving.

''I noticed that they appeared to be using doors to carry people out. They cordoned off ends of the road. It was pretty chaotic.''