Copies of these papers are kept in the local libraries, now to be read on microfilm. They make fascinating reading and tell of concert parties at the Nothe, tragic deaths, tournaments and days open to the public, a late night riot in Weymouth town, Christmas celebrations and petty crime.

The first soldiers to arrive were the sappers of the Royal Engineers to build and maintain the forts and they were followed by gunners of the Royal Garrison Artillery, firstly specialists to install the vast guns and then the men to man them. At the same time infantry regiments took up residence at the Verne Citadel and annual camps on the Nothe became regular features for militia and volunteer units earmaked for the defence of the harbour should a threat be posed.