This week we look at General Gordon who lost his life in the siege of Khartoum.
He was born in 1833 and was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1852.
The then Lt Colonel Gordon arrived in Gravesend in September 1865. His role was to supervise the Thames defences including the completion of Coalhouse Fort.
The foundations for the fort had been laid in 1861, but construction was not completed until around 1874.
It housed 16 rifle muzzle-loading guns. The fort was used in both world wars.
In the Second World War it was a degaussing station. Outbound ships passed over submerged sensors to detect whether the steel in their hulls had been sufficiently demagnetised to make them undetectable by German magnetic mines.
The so-called water tower on Thames was part of this degaussing station and was top secret.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here