WW2 gunner site in Derbyshire!

Bignickb · Jul 16, 2008

I was shown this while staying at a freinds!
It's a gunner installation in the Derbyshire hills from WW2!

The original trench marks and central point where the gun was placed are still visible.

Neosea · Jul 16, 2008

Wow! A ruck pillbox, great find, you will have to send me the location on flash earth :mrgreen:

Urban Mole · Jul 16, 2008

Excellent, Ive never seen one of those before

rockhopper · Jul 17, 2008

Its a Stanton air raid shelter, the front section has fallen over. If its in Matlock (Asker Lane) then it was for the protection of the guys manning the search light battery. Don't think its anyhting to do with guns i'm afraid.

Neosea · Jul 17, 2008

rockhopper said:
Its a Stanton air raid shelter, the front section has fallen over. If its in Matlock (Asker Lane) then it was for the protection of the guys manning the search light battery. Don't think its anyhting to do with guns i'm afraid.

A Ruck machine gun post was constructed from Stanton air raid shelter sections.

Foxylady · Jul 19, 2008

It's a nice one, whichever it is. :mrgreen:

Ah, just had another look and I see what you mean about the front part, rockhopper...and it does look as though it was buried at one time, as the Stanton Shelters were. Good find, BN.

rockhopper · Jul 20, 2008

I've been doing a bit of research on this, the link below is a pic of a Ruck Machine gun post

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Ruck_Machine_Gun_Post,_Sandiacre_(interior).JPG

note the loop holes.

English Heritage say this..

http://thesaurus.english-heritage.org.uk/thesaurus_term.asp?thes_no=1&term_no=140532

This one confirms that they are made of Stanton section however the loop holes are clearly visible which are missing on the Matlock one..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_hardened_field_defences_of_World_War_II

I drove up there yesterday and the information plaque says that its a Stanton shelter for the protection of the searchlight crew.

Make your own minds up!

Neosea · Jul 20, 2008

rockhopper said:
I've been doing a bit of research on this, the link below is a pic of a Ruck Machine gun post

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Ruck_Machine_Gun_Post,_Sandiacre_(interior).JPG

note the loop holes.

English Heritage say this..

http://thesaurus.english-heritage.org.uk/thesaurus_term.asp?thes_no=1&term_no=140532

This one confirms that they are made of Stanton section however the loop holes are clearly visible which are missing on the Matlock one..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_hardened_field_defences_of_World_War_II

I drove up there yesterday and the information plaque says that its a Stanton shelter for the protection of the searchlight crew.

Make your own minds up!

Great good info and reserch, I have not visited the site but will be doing so next time I am that way.

To confuse matters and the fact that English Heritage does not always get it right. I have seen 2 ruck pillboxes with out the 'loop holes' at the coast. These are clearly for machine guns but not for 8 men and they were not air raid shelters. Because there are so few Ruck pillboxes left, the picture of the one in the Midlands can not be taken as the design but as an example only.

graybags · Jul 21, 2008

Ruck or Stanton

Ian Sanders from www.pillboxesuk.co.uk reckons it's a Stanton.....

rockhopper · Jul 22, 2008

To be honest when i first visitied the site about five years ago i had no idea what it was. I posted my pics on sub brit and it was identified by them as a Stanton Shelter.

My pics are here www.paulcharlton.org.uk

Since then the site has been restored and there is a brass information plaque there detailing the history of the site. That also refers to it as a Stanton shelter. When you look at the site i can't see what purpose a machine gun post would serve, its very elevated and looks out over Matlock. Its not on a stop line or protecting a junction or railway bridge etc, i think sixty years ago it would have been mostly open field around there.

Bignickb · Sep 14, 2008

Whoops!

I read the plaque pic again and it was indeed a searchlight installation! My bad! I was thrown off by the wording of it when it mentions a german plane going down.
Here's a pic of it for you all to see!

Seahorse · Sep 14, 2008

Ahhhh. There's a couple of them at the old airfield at Longside I think. I thought they were for pigs!!!

I'll take a closer look when I get home again.

WW2 gunner site in Derbyshire!

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