Friday Island is an island in the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 in England at Old Windsor

Old Windsor

Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire.-Location:...

, Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

. It is on the reach above Bell Weir Lock

Bell Weir Lock

Bell Weir Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England situated on the Surrey bank near Egham. It is just upstream of the M25 Runnymede Bridge which carries the M25 and A30 road across the river...

, just short of Old Windsor Lock

Old Windsor Lock

Old Windsor Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England close to Old Windsor on the side of the river towards the town. The lock marks the start of the New Cut, built in 1822 by the Thames Navigation Commissioners, which created Ham Island in the hook of the old river...

.

The small island contains a two-bedroom cottage. For thirty years this was the home of Dr Julius Grant

Julius Grant

Julius Grant was a British forensic scientist and intelligence officer.Grant made a career exposing forgeries on the basis of chemical analysis of paper, ink and other characteristics of written documents. Much of his work was for British Intelligence as illustrated in the Colin Wallace Clockwork...

, the forensic scientist who, among other detections, is noted for proving that the Hitler Diaries

Hitler Diaries

In April 1983, the West German news magazine Stern published excerpts from what purported to be the diaries of Adolf Hitler, known as the Hitler Diaries , which were subsequently revealed to be forgeries...

were forgeries. The lock keeper recalled Dr Grant saying that when he went to the island, he felt it was like going a million miles away. It was like owning half of Australia, it was so secluded.