Tank traps and a Pillbox

sneaker · Nov 4, 2007

Hi all, went up to cuffley woods near potter bar with my son today to look at the tank traps and pillbox, we tried to find an ammo store, gun emplacement , and another pillbox in the woods but to no avail.
Anyway took some pics and will go back soon.
The pillbox has been shown on here before.

Tank traps

Concrete hole next to the tank traps

Pillbox

And one inside

There is lots more around here but it's bloody finding them!!
sneaker :mrgreen:

Foxylady · Nov 4, 2007

Like those pics, Sneaker. Any idea what the concrete hole was for? It looks too small inside to be a sunken pillbox, yet appears to have embrasures. Interesting!

Cheers

Pip · Nov 6, 2007

Hi Sneaker, I've done the pillbox and ammo store....... If you stand with your back to the road, and the pillbox directly in front of you....... the ammo store is about 75 yards or so further into the trees to the left.

Out of curiosity, have you seen the pillbox and other buildings along the River Lea/train lines from Waltham Abbey towards Cheshunt?

Pip

sneaker · Nov 9, 2007

Hi Pip, cheers for that, i am going up there again soon and a friend told me where there are more pillboxes and tank traps around this area.
I will certainly look at the area you mentioned.

Sorry Foxylady i don't know what the concrete holes are for but i aim to find out. :mrgreen:

sneaker · Jan 5, 2008

Fuse store

Hi all, I passed this site again and took some pics of the fuse store that i could'nt find last time, i had to be quick as it was getting dark.

Cheers pip for directions.

Foxylady · Jan 6, 2008

Oh, excellent! It's really interesting to see because I found something very much like that, that I thought was probably an ammo store. It was near to where there had been a 6pdr anti-tank gun emergency coastal battery during the war and I found just the edge of it peeping out of the turf. You could see part of the concrete roofing and the bricks with a thin lead lining inbetween (for waterproofing, I'd assumed) and a hole through which you could see an underground room. It's great to see one in more detail.
Nice one!

krela · Jan 6, 2008

Foxylady said:
You could see part of the concrete roofing and the bricks with a thin lead lining inbetween (for waterproofing, I'd assumed) and a hole through which you could see an underground room. It's great to see one in more detail.
Nice one!

Was it almost totally buried or were there side entrances?

Foxylady · Jan 6, 2008

krela said:
Was it almost totally buried or were there side entrances?

Almost totally buried. Here's the photo. The one thing that worried me re identifying it were the modern bricks. But now I've seen Sneaker's pic, those bricks could have been used to block the entrances.

In the next pic you can see how the banks are built up either side of the path. The underground bunker isn't directly behind the plinth where the gunners were placed (which is logical if it was an ammo store

) but further along on the opposite side...somewhere near the woman on the path. I believe the hexagonal do-dah (modern built - looks 70's) is situated on the original WW2 concrete plinth.

Eventually found this pic during researching it. Actually Krela, it was you that put me onto this one! Cheers.

It shows that the gun emplacement was camouflaged by a fake house.

I meant to take a torch and a steel tape to check it out and try and get an inside photo, but I never got around to it. This has just reminded me! :mrgreen:

Cheers

krela · Jan 6, 2008

Interesting. The lead lining would lead me to believe that it might be a protected oil store, normal WW2 stores didn't have lead lining, even the ammo stores.

Foxylady · Jan 6, 2008

krela said:
Interesting. The lead lining would lead me to believe that it might be a protected oil store, normal WW2 stores didn't have lead lining, even the ammo stores.

Ah! Thanks for that info Krela. I remember we had a similar conversation about this before, but I didn't realise regards the lead lining. I must go back and do some more checking on this!

krela · Jan 6, 2008

Foxylady said:
Ah! Thanks for that info Krela. I remember we had a similar conversation about this before, but I didn't realise regards the lead lining. I must go back and do some more checking on this!

If it is an oil or water tank it will most likely have a manhole on the top.

Lightbuoy · Jan 6, 2008

Hi Sneaker,

Happy New Year to ya!

Great set of pics. Enjoyed looking through these. Ta!

Lb

sneaker · Jan 6, 2008

Re: Tank traps and a Pillbox and a Fuse store.

Hi all, this is a pic of a metal rimmed hole near the roof of the fuse store with another on the opposite side, taken from outside the bunker.

I have read that this is a dry fuse store and it is still in a very good condition, it is still dry inside allthough the walls inside are beginning to bow inwards.
The hole is the missing half brick shown in the middle, near the roof.

Ta

Cheers Lightbuoy and a happy new year to you too.

Happy new yea

Lightbuoy · Jan 6, 2008

Thanks for the extra info / pics. Any ideas what the holes were for? Ventilation perhaps?

Lb

Lightbuoy · Jan 6, 2008

Another question -the hexagonal pill box seems to be solid brick instead of reinforced concrete. Anyone know why brick was used? You'd think that it would have been quicker in concrete (as well as stronger)?
It would seem that I'm full of questions today!

Thanks in advance of any answers

Lb

krela · Jan 7, 2008

Concrete was used, the brick is one level deep and was used as shuttering (you built two brick walls a distance apart, then poured the concrete between them).

Other methods used wood and corrugated iron (and very occasionally breeze blocks) as shuttering but brick is the most common as both wood and corrugated iron was hard to come by in 1939/1940.

sneaker · Jan 13, 2008

Lightbuoy said:
Thanks for the extra info / pics. Any ideas what the holes were for? Ventilation perhaps?

Lb

Hi lightbouy,

I have looked at pillboxes uk and they reckon it is a phosphurous A/T grenade/explosive store. The ventilation holes may be there as some of the explosives may sweat!

Lightbuoy · Jan 17, 2008

krela said:
Concrete was used, the brick is one level deep and was used as shuttering (you built two brick walls a distance apart, then poured the concrete between them).

Other methods used wood and corrugated iron (and very occasionally breeze blocks) as shuttering but brick is the most common as both wood and corrugated iron was hard to come by in 1939/1940.

Ah ha! -cheers for the info K

Lb

Lightbuoy · Jan 17, 2008

sneaker said:
Hi lightbouy,

I have looked at pillboxes uk and they reckon it is a phosphurous A/T grenade/explosive store. The ventilation holes may be there as some of the explosives may sweat!

Thanks for the reply matey

Hmm -isn't phosphurous used for matches -probably wouldn't have been a good idea to smoke near these then?!! :mrgreen:

Lb

Tank traps and a Pillbox

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