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41-622: The Casquets Lighthouse was built in 1724, and is located 6 miles (9.7 km) west of the island of Alderney in the Channel Islands . It is located amongst some of the fastest ocean currents in the English Channel . The Lighthouse consists of an 88 feet (27 m) tower and two shorter towers on a barren rock. After the German occupation of the Channel Islands in 1940, they decided to man

82-405: A motor torpedo boat nicknamed The Little Pisser because of its outstanding turn of speed at 21.00 hrs arriving close to Les Casquets at 22.45 hrs. An Alderney man and Special Operations Executive operative, "Bonnie" Newton acted as pilot. After anchoring, the landing party rowed ashore, arriving just after midnight, Appleyard was the first to leap ashore and tied their boat forward and Hayes

123-644: A central corridor. The design was used extensively in North America for much of the next century. During World War II , Fresnes prison was used by the Germans to house captured British SOE agents and members of the French Resistance . Held in horrific conditions, many of these prisoners were tortured, and some died there. As soon as the Allied forces broke through at Normandy and fought their way to liberate Paris,

164-583: A minute to give one slow flash every twenty seconds. The lamps were now 113 feet (34 m) above sea level and visible for 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) out to sea. In 1858 two new clockwork drives were provided, meaning that each tower now had its own mechanism for revolving the lamps. In 1877 the North West Tower was raised again and fitted with a new more powerful lamp and a first-order dioptric optic (manufactured by Chance Brothers ). A three-sided optic with three panels on each side, it

205-544: A new turret adjacent to the engine room (in the old Dungeon tower); they sounded three blasts every two minutes (changed in 1970 to two blasts every minute). Trinity House extended its helicopter operations to the Casquets in 1972 (it had previously only been accessible by boat); later a helicopter pad was installed on top of the St Thomas tower. Automation followed in 1990. The diaphone was decommissioned and an electric fog signal

246-544: A range of 17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi), at a height of 120 feet (37 m) above sea level. The other two towers were reduced in height. A siren fog signal was installed in the Dungeon tower in 1877, powered by a caloric engine ; it was sounded through a horizontal horn mounted on the roof, which could be turned to face the prevailing wind, and gave three blasts every five minutes (changed in 1891 to three blasts every two minutes). The decommissioned St Thomas tower

287-418: A system of ropes and sheaves. The new lamps and reflectors were first used on 25 November 1790. In the early nineteenth century the lights were looked after by a family living on the island. Local historian John Jacob describes the lighthouses in 1815 as being kept by 'a man, his wife and a grown up daughter, whose duty was pretty severe, in watching and trimming the lamps at night, particularly in winter, when

328-470: A team of three keepers were appointed (later increased to four), of whom one would be on leave (for a month at a time, in turns) while the others were on station. In 1854 the lighthouse towers were improved in a series of works overseen by James Walker . Each tower was raised by a further 30 feet (10 m) and topped by a new lantern. Each lantern was equipped with a three-sided array of twelve 184- kilocandela lamps and reflectors, which revolved once

369-405: A thousand souls in 1744) it was found that several broken panes of glass had been replaced with wood, and that larger braziers, which Trinity House had provided to improve the lights, had not been installed (Le Cocq wishing to avoid increased expenditure on coal). Thomas Le Cocq died in 1760; his grandchildren inherited the lease. They left Les Casquets in the hands of a local agent, who recruited

410-523: A view to its becoming entirely powered by renewable energy sources. As part of this process the range of the light was reduced from 24 to 18 nautical miles, and the fog signal was permanently discontinued from 11 May 2011. The current light in the 23 metres (75 ft) North West Tower is 37 metres (121 ft) above mean sea level and flashes five times every 30 seconds and with flashes 3.7 seconds apart. It can be seen for around 18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi) in clear weather. The light

451-448: Is an active lighthouse located on the rocky Les Casquets , Alderney , Channel Islands . Originally the lighthouse was one of three lighthouses which were established together on Les Casquets in the early 1720s. All three were lit by coal fires. The decision was taken to build three towers so as to give the lights a distinctive appearance which would not be confused with lighthouses in nearby France , and also to distinguish them from

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492-606: Is monitored and controlled from the Trinity House Operations Control Centre in Harwich . Fresnes prison Fresnes Prison ( French Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes ) is the second largest prison in France , located in the town of Fresnes , Val-de-Marne , south of Paris . It comprises a large men's prison ( maison d'arrêt ) of about 1200 cells, a smaller one for women and a penitentiary hospital. Fresnes

533-451: Is now powered by a combination of solar and wind energy. The revolving optic is still in use, but the light source is LED (in addition to which a separate LED flasher, mounted on the roof of the lantern, functions as a standby lamp). The South West Tower is topped with a helipad and there is another helipad on a flat section of the rock. The rocks are also marked using racon with a Morse letter T on radar displays. The lighthouse

574-545: Is one of the three main prisons of the Paris area, Fleury-Mérogis (Europe's largest prison) and La Santé (located in Paris) being the other two. The prison was constructed between 1895 and 1898 according to a design devised by architect Henri Poussin . An example of the so-called "telephone-pole design," the facility was radically different from previous prisons. At Fresnes prison, for the first time, cell houses extended crosswise from

615-749: The Dieppe raid . Appleyard later joined the Special Air Service (SAS); he was posted missing believed killed when returning from a SAS mission the plane he was travelling on was lost over the Mediterranean . Private Anders Lassen would be commissioned and win a posthumous Victoria Cross while serving with the Special Boat Squadron of the SAS in Italy 1945. Casquets lighthouses Casquets Lighthouse

656-407: The Dungeon tower 13 ft, which placed the three lights at 80 feet (24 m) above sea level . When Robert Stevenson visited the towers in 1818 he criticised the state of the lamps and their general arrangement. In particular, since the revolving lamps were not synchronised, the triple characteristic of the light was no longer easily discernible; and because they had been mounted low each light

697-617: The English Channel. British commandos of the Small Scale Raiding Force made two raids during the Second World War on the lighthouse. The first raid, Operation Dryad , took place on 2–3 September 1942: the radio equipment was destroyed, code books were removed and the seven German keepers were taken back to England as prisoners of war . Associated allied aircraft fire damaged the lantern and optic at this time, putting

738-610: The SSRF was in charge of a raid on Sark Operation Basalt where four German prisoners who had been tied up were shot and killed as they tried to escape. Adolf Hitler , incensed with the Commando raids, issued the Commando Order which ordered that all captured commandos in or out of uniform were to be shot. He also protested the binding and killing of German prisoners, and gave orders to shackle British prisoners of war who were captured during

779-419: The code had already been broken, and indeed the Germans, realising that these books had been captured, increased their wireless security. The effect of the raid may have been counter-productive. It was a few days before the Germans were aware of a problem. When a boat arrived, they found the lighthouse deserted. An order to remove all lighthouse crews did not last long when it was realised the benefits outweighed

820-436: The double lighthouse which had recently been established on Portland Bill to the north (which marked the opposite side of the English Channel ). The individual lighthouses were named St Peter's (the north-west tower), St Thomas (the south-west tower) and Dungeon (the easternmost tower). The towers were built of stone quarried from the island itself; the west towers were taller than the east tower, but all three lights were at

861-435: The island, and a system of different coloured flags was used to signal to approaching vessels which (if any) was safe to use at that particular time. As well as growing vegetables, the family kept poultry on the island and caught a great many fish, which were either consumed promptly or else cured and kept for later. At this time each lantern contained eight lamps and reflectors. The western towers were 38 ft in height,

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902-405: The island. Some Elder Brethren , visiting in 1833, reported that he, his wife and their eight children were all living on the island and managing the lights between them; the usual routine was that Louis and his son would light the lamps and then go immediately to bed, whereupon his wife and their two eldest daughters would keep watch until midnight, after which Louis and his son would take over for

943-418: The keepers and managed their supplies of food and of coal for the lights. He went on to oversee the rebuilding of the towers, which were fitted with new copper and glass lanterns containing oil lamps in place of the coal fires; these came into operation on 30 October 1779 (allowing the number of keepers on station to be reduced from seven to four). In 1785 the lease which had been granted to Le Cocq expired and

984-466: The light out of action. Conversion to electric light took place in 1952, with the installation of a 2,830 kilocandela lamp. At the same time a new optic was installed: a second-order five-panel dioptric which displayed five flashes every thirty seconds and had a range of 17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi). The optic was unusual in that it rotated anti-clockwise. The fog signal was also upgraded: three diaphones and resonators were installed in

1025-464: The lighthouse and set up an observation post with a naval radio station so that anything seen could be reported and when it was necessary to turn the light on, for a passing German convoy. The crew being rotated every 3 months. Its isolated location made it a perfect objective for a commando raid, in fact there had been seven previous attempts to undertake this raid, all of which were abandoned, due to weather conditions. The commandos selected to carry out

1066-412: The lighthouses reverted to Trinity House. Five years later they were again upgraded, each tower being fitted with new-style parabolic reflectors and 'a number of Argand-lamps , fixed on a ring, moving in a circular revolution, and presenting alternately a bright body of light in every direction'. A single clockwork mechanism caused the lamps to revolve, which was connected to the three towers by way of

1107-747: The raid belonged to No. 62 Commando also known as the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF). The planned date would be the night of 2/3 September 1942 with the objective of capturing prisoners. The raiding party consisted of 12 men from the SSRF, the commanding officer Major Gus March-Phillipps , his second in command Captain Geoffrey Appleyard , some of the others involved were Captain Graham Hayes , Sergeant Winter, Private Anders Lassen and Dutch Lieutenant Henk Brinkgreve, and Sergeant Geoffrey Spencer. Sailing from Portland aboard HM MTB 344,

1148-465: The remainder of the night. In 1832 the lights were listed as having a range of 13 nautical miles (24 km; 15 mi) and displaying one flash every 15 seconds. In 1847 a 12 cwt fog bell was added, which sounded once every five minutes in foggy weather; it was placed on a small square tower near the Dungeon light, and was driven by clockwork. In 1849 Louis Hougre retired on full pay; he and his family went to live on Alderney. In their place

1189-560: The risks. The Casquets lighthouse was re-armed with a 2.5cm Pak , five machine guns and had a larger crew of 24 installed. The next raid for the SSRF was 12/13 September Operation Aquatint . The raiding party led by March-Phillipps would all be killed or captured. Winter and Hayes were captured, Hayes after having succeeded in crossing the French–Spanish border was later executed in Fresnes prison . In October 1942 Appleyard now in command of

1230-411: The rocks (foreign vessels were to pay double) and in turn he paid Trinity House 50 pounds per year for the right to run the lighthouses. Each coal brazier, atop its tower, was placed within a glass lantern to protect against the wind; but these were prone to getting obscured by soot. Moreover, when the lighthouses were inspected (following the loss of HMS Victory , which had gone down with over

1271-406: The same elevation from sea level. They started operation on 30 October 1724. Stone walls were built, linking the three towers, to create a triangular compound for the keepers who lived on site. The lighthouses were built by Thomas Le Cocq, owner of the rocks, under license from Trinity House . Le Cocq was granted a 61-year lease: he was to be paid a halfpenny per ton of ship when vessels passed

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1312-419: The seven Germans were taken prisoner without a shot being fired. One German, who was in charge of the lighthouse operation, fainted at the sight of the commandos. Another was initially thought to be a woman because he was wearing a hairnet. Weapons found included an Oerlikon 20 mm cannon , rifles and stick grenades, which were all dumped in the sea. The radio was smashed with an axe. The boat they had arrived in

1353-672: The spray of the sea flies over, perhaps double the height of the towers'. As well as living quarters for the family, the compound contained a house for the agent to use on his visits to the island, a carpenter's shop for repairs, a small vegetable garden (with soil provided from Alderney ) and a considerable amount of storage room (mostly within the two western towers), where stocks of provisions 'brought here in fair season' could be kept for winter sustenance. A shutter telegraph enabled communication with Alderney. Victuals such as salt beef , flour, malt and biscuit were provided by Trinity House; there were two (later three) landing areas for boats on

1394-442: The steep rocky surface to the lighthouse courtyard unchallenged. Once in the courtyard the group dispersed to their prearranged objectives. Appleyard and Sergeant Winter dashed up the spiral staircase to the tower light only to find it unoccupied. The garrison was totally surprised. Appleyard said, "I have never seen men so amazed and terrified at the same time." Three were sleeping, two were just turning in and two others were on duty,

1435-453: Was designed to take a maximum of 10, now with 19, it was difficult, but they managed. Appleyard suffered an accident and fractured his tibia as he re-boarded their boat. Setting sail at 01.35 hrs, the seven prisoners, some still in their pyjamas, were taken to England , arriving at Portland at 04.00 hrs. Several codebooks, logs, diaries and letters were found and taken back for analysis. The code books proved to be of little value, given that

1476-418: Was in control of the stern-line, which had been attached to the kedge-anchor that had been dropped on approach to prevent the boat from being smashed against the rocks. All the landing party made it safely ashore without any damage to the boat. Appleyard handed the bowline to another and Hayes remained in control of the stern-line as the raiding party departed. The commandos made their way through barbed wire up

1517-419: Was initially used as a storehouse. The light continued to be improved: a Matthews three-mantle petroleum vapour burner replaced the old multi-wick oil lamp in the early 1900s. By 1902 a new, more powerful fog signal had been installed: a disc siren which sounded through a 22-foot (6.7 m) vertical trumpet with an omnidirectional resonator. In 1922 the siren was replaced by a diaphone ; compressed air

1558-404: Was installed on the parapet of the main tower; this, like its predecessor, produced two blasts every 60 seconds, with a nominal range of 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi). Equipped with a new lamp the lighthouse had a visible range of 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi) and operated 24 hours a day. In 2010 a two-year programme of modernisation was begun at the lighthouse, with

1599-409: Was one of the first ever group-flashing lenses (newly-designed by John Hopkinson ), the character of which was distinctive enough for the lights in the other two towers to be discontinued. (Their lanterns, however, were subsequently re-used: one on the lighthouse at Bideford , the other for a new low light at South Stack .) The new light displayed three two-second flashes every half minute; it had

1640-450: Was produced by a pair of Blackstone semi-diesel engines (which would remain in service until 1970). A radio beacon was established on Les Casquets in 1928, the equipment for which was housed in the old St Thomas tower. Following the German occupation of the Channel Islands in 1940 the Casquets were fortified and garrisoned, and used by the occupying forces to aid the movement of their ships and to monitor Allied communications in

1681-463: Was prone to being obscured by the diameter of its tower. A new revolving apparatus was provided in 1818, which needed winding every hour and a half (there was now one mechanism for the Dungeon tower and a shared mechanism for the other two towers). The lighthouses were badly damaged and the lanterns smashed in a severe storm on 31 October 1823. From 1818 to 1849 the lighthouse was managed by keeper Louis Hougre and his family, who lived together on

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