Barrier which looked as if you might walk on water from Gosport to Portsmouth

Above, in a picture believed to have been taken about 1905, we are looking across the harbour from Gosport to Portsmouth.

The ‘trackway’ across the mouth of the harbour was a barrier designed to keep out enemy ships at times of diplomatic tensions, especially submarines.

This picture showing sailors working along the barrier, may have been taken when it was first assembled and tested.

Or perhaps it was a training exercise to see how quickly it could be put together.

The lovely hand-tinted postcard shows the Gosport ferry pontoon with the old floating bridge making its way either across to Old Portsmouth or into Gosport.