Liverpool Roc Post & Extra's

[Rotax]

Hi chaps,
Went to stay with the inlaws this weekend, made my excuses & went for a sniff round the old Liverpool airport at Speke. Found the ROC post & a few more clues.
Outside the airport [ which is now the Marriot hotel ] was this old plane? with the old control tower in the rear of the shot, Inside the hotel the corridoors are lined with black & white pre war & war time photo's.
However in the grounds of the old airfield at the back there are one or two bits & bobs,And on the disintigrated old fence line the Roc post!
All are easly accessable on foot......

It looks like the water table rises above the rubble from time to time judging by the brown stain on its walls!

The next few pics i'm not sure what they were, so if you know let me know please!

This had some Frankenstein type switch gear in it!

The old runway meeting new.....

Damn that water table!!

This was full of bullet holes, the ironwork,brickwork everything but none of it fresh??

Its a shame about the roc post but if anyone has any clues to the other stuff please let me know, thanks for looking & happy new year!!

All the best Rotax.....

 

[Foxylady]

Hi Rotax
The pillbox (pics 22 - 27) is a Type 26 as far as I can see. The large building after that looks like a hangar and I think it's a Type C.

That hotel is brilliant...a much better idea than demolishing the control tower. The biplane out in the front is a nice touch. Nice pics.

Cheers

 

[Foxylady]

Had another look at your pics and have a couple more answers for you.
Pics 12 - 14 look like an air shelter of some kind...be good if you've got some pics of inside to determine if that's so. And pics 15 & 16 look like the remains of a blast shelter, which was an overground shelter for those who couldn't get to the underground one in time.
Hope that helps.
I love the pics of the fence posts, btw...it looks just as if they've gathered together for a gossip.

 

[Rotax]

Got some pics of inside, but only had a poor torch & a mobile phone as a camera sorry!!

 

[krela]

Heh sorry Foxy, some minor corrections here:

17 & 18 is a M&E plinth (mechanical and engineering) which usually contained electrical transformers.

The bigger building riddled with bullet holes was a gun butt. Returning pilots would have taxid their plane up to it after landing and emptied out their guns into (safer not to have live ammo in guns on the airfield)

 

[King Al]

realy cool place, did no one in the hotel bother you? I would love a walk round there

 

[Foxylady]

Cheers Krela. I didn't know what 17 & 18 was at all so couldn't even hazzard a guess...don't recall seeing one and couldn't find anything like it in my books.
I must admit I thought the larger building seemed too small to be a hangar, but it was the only thing it looked like to me! Doh!
I knew you'd know though.

 

[Rotax]

Hi King Al,
Just walk in tell em your Rotax's best bud! the'll be cool.

Also thanks so far for the info keep it comming, Can you imagine seeing the planes unloading into that shed!!! A the back on the inside of the shed almost floor to ceiling was all thick steel plate full of dents & this explaines it.....

Top stuff chaps, Rotax........

 

[King Al]

Hi King Al,
Just walk in tell em your Rotax's best bud! the'll be cool.

Hope thats true or i'm gona look a bit silly

 

[Rotax]

Mmmmm......

Rotax....

 

[Mr Sam]

shame about the ROC post

 

[smileysal]

Really like this, love old airfields and military stuff etc. The state of the undergrowth covering the ROC post kind of makes you want to chop it all back lol. (or is that just me )

Good to see pics of the old part of the airfield ajoining the new. Good to find out what the buildings were used for.

Like the look of the hotel inthe former control tower, looks like they've made a good job of it.

Cheers,

Sal

 

[Lightbuoy]

Hey Rotax, interesting report. Enjoyed looking through ya pics. Cheers!

Lb

 

[tom83]

This site is now on my to do list. Looks fantastic. Superb report

 

[jonney]

Fantastic place. I've got to agree the use of the old airport buildings for the hotel makes a nice change and is good to see. Shame about the ROC post though