HM Fort Roughs

HM Fort Roughs was one of several World War II installations that were designed by Guy Maunsell and known collectively as His Majesty's Forts or as Maunsell Sea Forts. There were two types of fort, British Army operated forts for anti-aircraft defence that consisted of several steel towers built then towed to a shallow water location and connected and earlier Royal Navy Forts for defence against German mine laying activities which were built of concrete then towed into position and sunk. HM Fort Roughs was one of the latter.

The purpose of HMS Roughs was to guard the port of Harwich, Essex and it had approximately 100 men assigned to the barge before deployment on Rough Sands. It was designed as a reinforced concrete pontoon measuring 168 by 88 feet which supported two hollow cylindrical towers, 24 feet in diameter which were topped by a gun deck, an upper deck and a central tower unit which housed the radar equipment.

The armament consisted of 3.75 inch AA guns and Bofors 40 mm guns - the standard medium and light anti-aircraft weaponry of the British and Commonwealth forces.

History of HM Fort Roughs

1943: Dry dock construction

In 1942 during World War II, HMS Fort Rough was constructed in England as one of the Maunsell Sea Forts. It comprised a floating pontoon base with a superstructure of two hollow towers joined by a deck upon which other structures could be added. On February 11, 1943 the fort was towed by three tugs to a location at 51°53′40″N 1°28′57″E above Rough Sands where its base was intentionally flooded so that it sank to a resting place on the sandbar. At that time Rough Sands were situated in international waters. The superstructure of the vessel above the waterline remained visible from the coastline of England.

HMS Roughs was in operation within 30 minutes of being launched. The crew had been aboard during the fitting out in harbour and were well acquainted with the fort's equipment. The twin towers were divided into seven floors that provided dining and sleeping accommodation and storage areas for generators and munitions. There was a steel framework at one end supporting a landing jetty and crane which was used to hoist supplies aboard. The facility was occupied by 150-300 Royal Navy personnel throughout WWII, however at the conclusion of hostilities all original personnel were evacuated from HMS Fort Rough.

1956: Removal of full-time HMG personnel from Rough Tower

British government official entities used Rough Tower for a variety of purposes until 1956 when all full-time personnel were finally removed. Rough Tower remained identified by name on buoys placed in position by the Ministry of Defence which are maintained under an arrangement with Trinity House. Their purpose is to warn vessels of this obstacle, especially in time of fog due to the fact that busy shipping lanes criss-crossed the area with vessels going to and from the container Port of Felixstowe, Suffolk, and the Port of Harwich, Essex. UK Ordnance Survey now identify the former sea barge fort as Rough Tower on their charts.

1958: Territorial sea conventions

On April 29, 1958, the Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone was agreed upon at Geneva, Switzerland. The Convention established the right of a sovereign nation to extend its sovereign authority beyond its land and its territorial waters. The rules of this Convention defined starting points from which territorial limits should be measured as being a low water mark exposing the sea bed. The Convention also established an outer contiguous zone around a sovereign state of twelve miles (22.2 km). At the time the United Kingdom merely asserted its control to three miles (5.6 km) of territorial waters.

A second Convention of the same date addressed the question of international waters which are also known as the "high seas". While the Convention could not agree upon a maximum limit for territorial waters outside of the twelve mile (22.2 km) contiguous zone, it did establish the manner in which both territorial and international waters should be policed by sovereign powers. Within the contiguous twelve mile (22.2 km) zone, states have the right under the Convention to enforce their own customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary regulations.

Between April and October 1958 a Convention on the Contintental Shelf was also agreed at Geneva. It permitted development of natural resources such as oil and gas deposits in the sea bed adjacent to the coastline of sovereign states.

1964: Territorial waters 'Order in Council'

On September 30, 1964, the British government exercised its powers under the 1958 Geneva conventions to manage its waters in the contiguous zone beyond the existing limit three miles of territorial waters under provisions of a new Territorial Waters Order in Council. The following year yet another Convention was ratified in Strasbourg to outlaw offshore pirate radio broadcasting.

The first targets of the 1964 Order in Council and 1965 Strasbourg Convention were radio stations broadcasting from the Maunsell Army and Navy sea forts and Radio Scotland which had anchored its motorless former lightship within territorial waters. On September 21, 1966, the directors of Radio 390 were prosecuted under provisions of the 1949 Wireless Telegraphy Act which made it illegal to establish a location (a station), install transmitting equipment at that location (station), or use the transmitting equipment at that location (station), without a British broadcasting licence. Radio 390 had been transmitting from the complex of Maunsell Army towers located on Red Sands sandbar off the coast of southeast England situated within the contiguous zone.

Radio Essex court case

The Royal Navy sea barge fort on Rough Sands was never used for pirate radio broadcasting, but a similar sea barge had been used by Roy Bates to operate a low-power Radio Essex.

In 1999, according to The Mirror newspaper, Paddy Roy Bates was 77 years old and his wife Joan was recorded as being a "a 69-year-old former model". Their daughter Penny, the paper reported was 49, and "married to a solicitor". Their 45 years old son Michael Roy who lives at Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, was born on August 2, 1952 and according to the same newspaper report, he operates "a local fishing business".

In October 1965 Roy Bates had gained control of HM Fort Knock John after winning a physical fight over squatters representing the offshore station called Radio City, which at that time was broadcasting from the former British Army towers on Shivering Sands sandbar. In 1965, according to the report in The Mirror cited above, the approximate age of Roy Bates was 43, his wife Joan was approximately 35, his daughter Penny was approximately 15 and his son Michael whose birthday occurred in August, was approximately 12 years of age.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that Roy Bates appeared at Rochford Magistrates’ Court on the 30th November 1966 where he conducted his own case to answer a summons issued by the Post Office concerning his operation of Radio Essex from Fort Knock John without a licence. Roy Bates was fined. He then ordered that the name of his unlicensed station be changed to BBMS pending an appeal, but having run out of money, BBMS closed down on 25th December 1966.

Appeal of 1966 case

On 17 January 1967 the Appeal of Roy Bates was heard at Chelmsford Quarter Sessions and rejected. As a result of losing his appeal Roy Bates then attempted to move his broadcasting equipment from HM Fort Knock John to HM Fort Roughs, located on Rough Sands sandbar and at the time outside of British territorial waters. However, this sea barge fort was occupied by staff representing Ronan O'Rahilly who represented the two Radio Caroline ships which formed a British network. That fight to gain control of HM Fort Roughs lasted until September 1967.

Unlike the sea barge fort at Knock John which was inside the 3 miles territorial waters of the United Kingdom, the installation on Rough Sands was at that time outside the territorial waters of the UK. Before he could recommence broadcasts the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act came into force at midnight on Monday, August 14, 1967. This law applied to any British citizen who was either inside or outside of British territorial waters and engaged in unlicensed broadcasting from aircaft or marine installations of any kind. As a result of this Act most of the large offshore radio ships ceased their operations either just before or at midnight on Monday, August 14, 1967.

Marine Broadcasting Offences Act

The Marine Broadcasting Offences Act which came into effect after midnight on Monday, August 14, 1967, and it extended the range of the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1947 to apply to any British citizen who became involved in any aspect of unlicensed or pirate radio broadcasting. While this Act prevented Roy Bates from restarting a pirate radio station from either inside or outside of British territorial waters, the effect of this Act also had a bearing on the trial of Roy and Michael Bates under the Firearms Act in the following year.

Squatters' occupation of Rough Tower

In 1967, unlike all but one other Royal Navy WWII barge based fort installations in the North Sea, Rough Tower was outside of existing British territorial waters. The other Navy and Army forts off southeast England had been brought within territorial waters.

Although Trinity House personnel also had legal access to Rough Tower to maintain warning lights, they were physically barred from access during 1967 when personnel representing the pirate radio station Radio Caroline physically took possession as squatters. It was their intention to convert Rough Tower into a helicopter supply base with which to service their radio ship MV Mi Amigo which was at anchor nearby.

At that time, Roy Bates had been forced by two British courts of law to cease his own pirate radio station operations from a similar Royal Navy fort which was located within existing British territorial waters. Roy Bates and his associates then began attempts to physically evict the existing squatters representing Radio Caroline from Rough Tower because it was located in international waters. He was successful and on September 2, 1967, he claimed it as his own.

Because Roy Bates made his claims of sovereign occupation of Rough Tower following the Firearms Case of 1968, he obviously could not have made those claims based upon the outcome of that case before 1968. However, Roy Bates was not the first to entertain this idea in the days of offshore pirate radio broadcasting during the 1960s.

The history of contemporary claims appears to have begun with people associated with Alan Crawford who started Radio Atlanta which later became a part of the Radio Caroline network owned by Ronan O'Rahilly. Alan Crawford outlined a scheme to turn a sandbar into an artificial island using junk cars filled with concrete as a means of holding added landfill in place. A team representing Ronan O'Rahilly became the original squatters on Rough Tower before they were ejected by Roy Bates and his associates.

1968 (May): Firearms incident and court case

In May 1968 Roy Bates was accused of possessing a .22 pistol without a Firearms Certificate, and his son Michael, then 16, was charged with possessing a pistol with intent to endanger life, after two Trinity House officials complained that they had come under fire when attempting to maintain the Ministry of Defence buoys marking Rough Tower. At that time Rough Tower was outside of the three miles territorial limit. (Rough Tower is 8 miles from Harwich, Essex.)

Essex Police caught Roy Bates when he came ashore from the sea barge fort. His home was located in Westcliffe-on-Sea (near Southend-on-Sea) in Essex. The case brought against Roy Bates and his son Michael was set for hearing on October 21, 1968 before Judge Chapman at the Essex Assizes in Chelmsford. That local court system which was based in The Shire Hall at Chelmsford, no longer exists in the same form. An alleged transcript of this case has been posted by Sean Hastings on the Internet.

Of particular interest is that Judge Chapman ruled on this matter in two parts. His first ruling concerned the jurisdiction of the court over Rough Tower. He made a directed ruling to the jury on that matter on Monday, October 21, 1968 which resulted in a verdict of "not guilty".

The second part of the case, which is the part recorded by the alleged transcript, covers the question of the application of the Firearms Act 1937. On this matter Judge Chapman is alleged to have stated that: "The Firearm Act of 1937 seems to me to be clearly an Act intended to operate only within the ordinary territorial limits and also no doubt on British ships. Breaches of its provisions, even by British subjects, outside those limits are not in my judgment intended to be cogniable by the British Court."

1968: The Opinion of Justice Chapman

The Judge issued his ruling as though HM Fort Roughs was a former British Army artificial island and not a sunken Royal Navy vessel which would be subject to Admiralty jurisdiction.

In the alleged transcript of the ruling by Justice Chapman in the 1968 Firearms Case against Roy and Michael Bates, the judge offered the following opinion: "... (T)he British Parliament has power to legislate over British Subjects anywhere and over persons of any nationality on board ships flying the British Flag. I need not trouble with the latter category because no one has suggested that Roughs Tower is a ship, nor indeed was my query as to whether it was an island received with much enthusiasm."

However, Rough Tower was built on land in England as a Royal Navy barge with a superstructure of twin towers and a platform, after which it was towed by tugboat into a position above Rough Sands sandbar in the shallow waters of the North Sea. The hold of the barge was then flooded so that the barge settled on the surface of the sandbar.

It would seem that the distinction between the Maunsell British Army towers which were built on sandbars and the Maunsell Royal Navy sea barge forts which were sailed and then sunk in place, was not drawn to the attention of Justice Chapman. The Justice instructed the Jury to return a verdict of not guilty on the basis that the 1937 Firearms Act had not been extended in the same way that the 1967 Marine Broadcasting Offences Act had extended the 1947 Wireless Telegraphy Act, although he made no mention of the latter act.

The second part of the ruling of Justice Chapman concerned the application of British laws within the territorial waters and lands of the United Kingdom and British ships. The sea barge had been built for the Royal Navy and it was still marked by UK Ministry of Defence buoys, but none of this information was brought to the attention of Justice Chapman which caused him to state that "I need not trouble with the latter category because no one has suggested that Roughs Tower is a ship ..." However, it is upon this case and this opinion that Roy Bates then began to make his own claims.

1968 (November): Government reaction to the firearms case

On November 5, 1968, the attention of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Harold Wilson was drawn to the firearms case and its dismissal. The government tracked all illegal acts resulting from the era of pirate radio, especially after the death of Reginald Calvert who was shot to death by Oliver Smedley in 1966. That incident arose over rival claims to a broadcasting transmitter that had been delivered to the Radio City operation at the former British Army sea fort on Shivering Sands. It was that case which has caused the Government of Harold Wilson to force through passage of the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, even though millions of listeners tuned in to these very popular offshore radio stations. The Cabinet issued a written report (now available to the public) which stated that the government would keep an eye on Roy Bates while at the same time doing nothing that would feed him with publicity. They dismissed his actions with pejorative observations about his character.

1987: 'Territorial Sea Act'

In 1987 Rough Sands became a part of the United Kingdom under provisions of the 1987 Territorial Sea Act. Management of the coastal sea bed from the shoreline then became the property of the Crown Estate, which traces its own history back to the 1689 and the English Bill of Rights. After 1987 all activities that have taken place on Rough Tower have been subject to UK law.

Ambiguity has been created concerning the status of the people on the sunken vessel now identified by Ordnance Survey as Rough Tower, due to the fact that Crown Estate does not become involved in affairs of government, since its status is related to the status of the monarchy itself under the Act of 1689. As far as HM Government is concerned Roy Bates is a tenant in adverse possession of a former UK military installation, which happens to be based upon a sunken barge on Rough Sands. Because Crown Estate do not claim ownership of the sea barge itself, merely the land underneath the sea barge, the question of legal ownership reverts to the last legally recognized owner which is the UK Ministry of Defence as successor in interest to the UK Ministry of War that originally had the sea barge towed to its location and sunk in position. The evidence of this is marked by the placement of sea buoys around Rough Tower itself. However, because the UK Ministry of Defence has no further use for Rough Tower, it is no longer part of the recorded estate of the Ministry of Defence according to Lord Henley in reply to Simon Burns, MP. Therefore Roy Bates is merely a tenant in adverse possession who has taken no steps in a British court of law to try to establish squatter's rights due to the length of time that he has occupied Rough Tower. The question of his claimed power to register ships was settled in favor of the UK and against Roy Bates during a court hearing which took place in Washington, DC in 1990 and which was reconfirmed in 1991. Although Roy Bates knew about the case, he took no steps to represent his interests in the matter or to challenge the final outcome of the case.

1990: United States court case

In 1990 matters came to the attention of a U.S. Federal Administrative Court in Washington, D.C., where the history of claims by Roy Bates were heard. This was due to a U.S. citizen named Allan Weiner who claimed that he had established a pirate radio station called "Radio Newyork International" on board the "MV Sarah", which had been registered in the "Principality of Sealand" in order to avoid Federal Communications Commission (FCC) jurisdiction. The radio ship had previously broadcast off Jones Beach, Long Island, New York during the late 1980s and it had been raided by the US Customs, Coast Guard and FCC. Following a meeting with Michael Bates, son of Roy Bates, the station alleged that it had entered into an agreement whereby Radio Newyork International would promote the Principality of Sealand in exchange for the ship's registration. As a result of this agreement the station recommenced broadcasting from the same location. It was told by US authorities to cease transmissions or risk boarding once again. The station complied.

When the matter finally came before an FCC Administrative Court however, its published opinion derided the entire episode. After receiving a written statement on behalf of the UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, the USA federal court ruled that no such principality had ever existed because the fort was merely a former Royal Navy installation and this sunken barge was now within the territorial waters of the UK. Because Roy Bates is a British citizen and because Rough Tower was judged to be not an independent sovereign state, the court held that neither Roy Bates or his associates had any power or authority to register ships in the name of "Sealand". Upon appeal and review this court case which had ruled upon the legal status of the squatters on Rough Tower was not challenged by Roy Bates, his family or his legal representatives.

Due to the fact that the Bates family kept quiet about this USA court hearing, the American citizen Ryan Lackey was not aware of it when he entered into a contract during 2000 with Roy Bates to establish a data haven center on Rough Tower. However, his later discovery of this legal history which had taken place in his own country years before, became one of the reasons why he decided to leave the venture. In his public accusation he stated that Roy Bates had lied to him and that he would not be able seek a cost effective redress for his investment losses in the HavenCo project.

2004: Current legal status

As of November 16, 2004, UK Crown Estate, Marine Estates Department, Coastal Section claims ownership of the sea bed beneath the sea barge upon which the superstructure of Rough Tower was built, but Crown Estate do not seek rent from the squatters on board the vessel because Crown Estate claims that the Ministry of Defence is the lawful owner of the former Royal Navy sea fort. The standoff exists because the Ministry of Defence have no use at the present time for the vessel and Roy Bates has not attempted to gain legal control by taking his claim of squatter's rights into a British court of law.

In reply to both telephonic communications and a written letter of formal enquiry on behalf of Dr. Eric Gilder of the University of Sibiu, Romania, the Coastal Manager of Marine Estates Department of Crown Estate in consultation with all appropriate legal departments of the United Kingdom, issued a formal written statement on November 16, 2004:

" The tower is situated on Crown Estate seabed, our ownership of the seabed around the UK having been extended to the 12 nm limit under the Territorial Sea Act 1987. The Crown Estate is a land management body set up by statute divorced from the operation of government and we have no interest in the tower itself. The occupation of the tower and the claims of the occupants to having established a separate sovereign state is a matter for the appropriate department of Her Majesty's Government ... As the landowner we would, of course assist HMG where necessary in any action to resolve the situation but we have no responsibility for taking unilateral action and it would not be appropriate for us to do so. "

Dr. Gilder and his associates are now resuming contact they had originally entered into many years ago with the referenced "appropriate department of Her Majesty's Government" in order to finally resolve this matter.

The Crown Estate is the outgrowth of an institution that dates back to the Act of Settlement of 1688 under which the Crown, which the monarchy represents, was put under the authority of Parliament itself. Beginning with the accession of George III in 1738 the monarch began to surrender all revenue from Crown land to Parliament in return for fixed payments by the Treasury to the monarch as a part of the civil list. However, in addition to existing Crown lands derived under this arrangement, The Crown Estate has added to its portfolio through legislation such as the Territorial Sea Act 1968 which made Rough Sands a part of the United Kingdom. In 2004 the financial management of The Crown Estate and specifically Rough Sands upon which Rough Tower is located, is now under the management of the Treasury Accountant, which is an office within HM Treasury.

Since the "tower" was created as a Royal Navy sea barge on land and towed to its position by three tugboats, the owner was the former HMG Ministry of War, now known as the Ministry of Defence. However, although the Ministry of Defence warns shipping of the danger of its sunken sea craft on Rough Sands by maintaining buoys around Rough Tower, Lord Henley representing the Ministry of Defence previously wrote to Simon Burns, MP, on behalf of his constituent and associate of Dr. Gilder, that Rough Tower was no longer a part of its estate.

Therefore until the Treasury Accountant decides to evict the squatters placed on Rough Tower by Roy Bates, or until Roy Bates enters a British court of law to claim squatter's rights to Rough Tower itself (not the seabed under Rough Tower which is owned by Crown Estate), then the legal status of Roy Bates and his associates remains that of an unlawful tenant in possession.

References

• George III with reference to Crown land and its relationship to the British Parliament. Commencing with the Act of Settlement (one of the basic documents of English constitutional law, alongside Magna Carta and the Parliament Acts), the authority of the English monarchy has been placed under the authority of Parliament. Its Treasury department receives all income from Crown land and in return pays the monarch an income as part of the civil list. Management of Crown land is under the control of The Crown Estate, but financial authority for Crown land is vested in the office of the Treasury Accountant.
• Dr. Eric Gilder, University of Sibiu, Romania. Author of Mass Media Moments in the United Kingdom, the USSR and the USA. 2003 ISBN 973-851-596-6 (With particular reference to Chapter II: London: My Hometown - an adaptation of an audio-visual presentation to The International Conference "Infinite Londons", sponsored by the British Council at Sibiu, Romania during October, 2001.)

External links

• Part One of a 2003 photographic tour of Rough Tower by broadcaster and photographer Bob le Roi. The photographic essay gives a good understanding of the subject matter.
• Part Two of a 2003 photographic tour of Rough Tower by Bob le Roi This photo essay also includes a picture that shows the proximity of UK Customs craft to tower and a close-up of UK Ministry of Defence buoy with words "Rough Tower" painted upon it.
• See entry under "Sealand Fantasy" Details are included of the casino venture and the fraud case involving a project called Sealand TV to be based upon Rough Tower.
• Fürstentum Sealand German web site claiming an interest in Rough Tower.
• The story of Paul John Lilburne-Byford and his complaints to the British Government about the occupants on Rough Tower.