FEW people get to see the real Foulness, a remote and windswept island just off the coast of Shoebury.

The island, owned by the Ministry of Defence since 1915, is only open to the public at certain times, because it is still an operational weapons testing base.

Bob Crump, however, knows Foulness like the back of his hand.

He has just won an award for 30 years of painstaking work to uncover the island's hidden archaeological treasures.

Bob, 69, of Armagh Road, Thorpe Bay, won the 2007 Special Contribution Award from Sanctuary, the MoD's official conservation magazine.

Once a haven for smugglers, Foulness takes its name from fulga-ness' - an old English term for "wild bird's nest" - and is a sanctuary for thousands of wading birds, such as oystercatchers, redshanks, avocets and brent geese.

In 1972, the remains of a Roman burial site were found on Foulness and, three years later, Bob and his team were called in to cast their eyes over some interesting new finds.

With the help of some Chelmsford-based archaeologists, Bob uncovered the remains of an ancient Romano-British settlement on the island.

Spurred into action by the discovery, his team soon began exploring the surrounding marshlands - now managed by a company called QinetiQ, on behalf of the MoD - for other signs of early settlers.

"We decided to look at land reclamation," Bob explains. "We found evidence dating back to the 15th century and were able to excavate two of the sea gutters (ploughed ditches created by farmers) dating back to the 17th century."

Bob also looked at the buildings on Foulness, home to the villages of Churchend and Courtsend.

More than 200 people currently live on the island and of the 22 sites the team investigated, 15 were deemed to be Grade II listed.

"We started when a building was scheduled for demolition in 1978," Bob reveals. "It was thought to be 80 or 90 years old, but an archaeological survey found it was actually built in the 17th century and was on the site of an earlier, 16th century building."

But is there one standalone discovery or achievement he is most proud of?

"The formation of the Heritage Centre," Bob says, almost immediately. "Built in 1846 and closed in 1988, it was the old school and we needed somewhere to store the artefacts we'd worked on since the 1970s."

After negotiations with QinetiQ and the MoD, the Foulness Heritage Centre opened its doors in 2003, an event which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the infamous 1953 floods which devastated much of East Anglia.

"We are so proud of it, and of the interest shown by the residents of Foulness Island," says Bob. "We tend to think of the families as the elder brethren on Foulness, and they regularly visit the centre to say how it has pulled them together."

Despite retiring from his job as a defence contractor ten years ago, Bob's dedication to Foulness hasn't wavered and his heritage work is far from done.

In fact, he has already made plans that will keep him busy for the next few years.

"There's an area on the island called the Workhouse, and we've got an old map of 1801 showing it was once the encampment of the Rochford Hundred Volunteers," he reveals.

"They were a local organisation based on Foulness, from 1798 to 1815, during the Napoleonic War, and we want to investigate that area to find out if there's any remnants of their occupation of that site."

Speaking of his award, he said: "It's a great honour. I've worked in the area since 1959, and I'm so proud of what we've got here. It's just amazing.

"I was very surprised when I was told I'd won the award because I've just been doing something I love for the past 30-odd years."

The Heritage Centre will be open to the public from 12-4pm on the first Sunday of each month, between April and October. Entrance to the island is through the Great Wakering to Landwick Gate.

Alternatively, head to the George and Dragon pub at Churchend. Call the pub on 01702 219460 for further details.