WW2 Pillboxes UK

[Lightbuoy]

WW2 pillboxes at The Naze, Walton, Essex. (PART1)

Hello again,
Headed to the coast on Sunday afternoon to make the most of the sunny weather
Remembered to take me camera this time, and here are a few pics of the WW2 pillboxes which I mentioned a month or so ago.

Pillbox still ontop of cliff........

Bullet holes?!!

Ahh, this is the life!!!

Part 2 to follow shortly............

 

[Lightbuoy]

WW2 pillboxes at The Naze, Walton, Essex. (PART 2)

Onto the next ones, think that they are the same type as the first one, but due to coastal errosion, are now down on the beach at the base of the cliffs (apparantly 5m of cliff dissapears each year!)

Final part is on the way!

 

[Lightbuoy]

WW2 pillboxes at The Naze, Walton, Essex. (PART 2)

And finally onto the third one. A different style. Again I'm guessing when I say that I think this type of pillbox held a bigger gun, perhaps an anti-aircraft type?

Does anyone know why pillboxes have this ribbed detail -is it to prevent enemy bullets bouncing inside?

Hole in roof -for another gun perhaps?

That's all folks!

Lb

 

[King Al]

Wow, great you certainly have been busy. The one in the sea seems a little sad, I dont think that they ment for it to be fooded twice a day when it was built I wouldn't want to be posted there

 

[Foxylady]

Excellent pics again, LB. Liking those a lot.
'Taking the easy life' - nice one.
Cheers
Foxy

 

[krela]

Blimey, some quality pillboxes from LB today

That first coastal pillbox is one nice looking pillbox, it seems to be of a fairly unique design that I haven't personally seen before. Will have to check that out if we're ever out that way!

Yes the ribbed embrasures make incoming fire ricochet outwards rather than into the embrasure.

That larger pillbox you posted looks a little like a command bunker with embrasures to defend the back rather than a larger gunpit to me, although I could well be mistaken, do you have an OS grid ref for it so I can look it up? It could potentially be a 6pdr gun emplacement, but the supports for the roof make me think it's probably not. The hole in the roof is a vent for smoke btw, common to almost all pillboxes if you look closely enough.

The ones in the sea look like type 23 pillboxes to me, they seems to have a pentagonal pillbox with a square enclosure on one side, the enclosure being used to house a bren gun for anti-aircraft use. Again it's difficult to tell without a closer look, which from the photos would be difficult without a dinghy

 

[Lightbuoy]

Hi peeps,

Thanks a lot for your comments.
As King Al rightly points out, being posted in those beach ones would be a rather damp experience -waders would be essential kit -and snorkling gear too!

Yes Foxy, "make hay as the sun shines" as they say!
And great views from up top!

Thanks Krela -I've learnt some more new facts today!
Will try to sort out those co-ords a.s.a.p.
The tide was in when I took the pics, so next time I go, I'll try to time in with low tide (and save a tenner on a cheap inflatable!)

Thanks again to one and all -your comments & info are valued!

Lb

 

[Richard Davies]

I remember there being a few pillboxes near to Wells Next The Sea in Norfolk, one being on the edge of a pitch & putt golf course. Not sure if these have been mentioned before.

Talking of bunkers I read the story of someone who purchased a house in Ealing & was surprised when putting up shelves in their cellar that the plaster wall seemed hard to drill into.

Having a closer look they found a heavy steel door with just a thin layer of plaster on top.

After looking at the plans & deeds they contacted their estate agent & some legal advice, & the reply came as a compulsary purchase order!

Over the market value, so they sold up, but started to try & find some reason why there was some sort of secret bunker in their cellar.

Eventually they found that in WW2 the BBC set up plans for remote broadcasting stations, in case on heavy bombing of Broadcasting House or even an invasion.

I read this somewhere online, can't remember where. I don't know what happened to the house either.

 

[Foxylady]

Neat story there. Haven't heard that one before but have read some bits about remote broadcasting stations, which are interesting. I wonder why there was a compulsory order on the house, though, as it can't actually be a secret anymore.
Ta for that.
Cheers
Foxy

 

[Richard Davies]

I was wondering if they wanted to check that everythign was removed & the doorway bricked up. It was some time in the 1970s that this happened.

 

[krela]

Here's a pic I took last week of a pillbox near Axmouth suffering light mortar fire.

 

[Foxylady]

HeHe. Nice one!
Cheers
Foxy

 

[staffordshireranger]

as far as i know there is one on the hill at the droveway, pendeford,west midlands...which used to be a old airfield...and where i saw my first ghost !!

 

[Lightbuoy]

Here's a pic I took last week of a pillbox near Axmouth suffering light mortar fire.

Tut, tut, tut Krela, you been playing with fireworks again?!!!

Nice location for a pillbox -what lovely views. Is the tree closest to it real, or is it a "dummy" type, used as camoflague?

 

[King Al]

Tut, tut, tut Krela, you been playing with fireworks again

See now, I thought you had traveled through time

 

[Lightbuoy]

See now, I thought you had traveled through time

Oops! me apologies King Al for spoiling the illusion!

Lb

 

[Lightbuoy]

Afternoon all

Took a slight detour on me way to work earlier this week, as I wanted to get some pics of a pillbox that I've passed so many times in the car, but it's a busy road, so couldn't really stop. So "pedal power" was called for!

To be continued.......................

 

[Foxylady]

Those are rather nice pics, Lb. Love the one with the spider's web. Whereabouts is this?
Cheers
Foxy

 

[Lightbuoy]

The storey continues..............

Then making me way back to work, I stumbled across another one (cunningly disguised as....... a pill box!!)

And finally, here are some more anti-tank obstacles by the looks of it (next to the site of "Middle Mill")

I'm guessing again here, but would the cables be to hold the blocks together, or perhaps are anchored individually, to prevent a tank from moving just one of the blocks?
Below is a Flash Earth link to the above locations

1st pillbox (non flooded)
http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=51.89643&lon=0.913079&z=18.7&r=0&src=msl

2nd pillbox (rather damp!!!)
http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=51.896328&lon=0.909081&z=18.7&r=0&src=msl

Anti-tank blocks
http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=51.893455&lon=0.901647&z=20&r=0&src=msl

Lb

P.s. -sorry peeps, but I don't know how to get the longitude / latitudes!

 

[Lightbuoy]

Those are rather nice pics, Lb. Love the one with the spider's web. Whereabouts is this?
Cheers
Foxy

Thanks for your kind comments -as always very much appreciated. The first pillbox is located just south of Cowdray Avenue, in Colchester. It's quite close to the River Colne, and just up river from the Hythe Harbour, so I'm guessing they were put here to protect the river (Cowdray Ave. wasn't built 'till after WW2).

Cheerio,

Lb