The Department for Communities (DfC) Historic Environment Division (HED) recently published their report from the four-year project to carry out a “systematic survey of 20th century Army, Navy and Air Force defence facilities in Northern Ireland”. The report was commissioned by the HED in 2020 and the contract was awarded… Read More »NI Defence Heritage Record Survey Report 2020-2024
The legacies left behind following any conflict can be far-reaching. While we may not always have been on the conventional frontline, events in ‘our wee country’ have had a considerable impact on the landscape and our lives. Through my research, I hope to reveal the wide variety of defensive structures… Read More »What is Frontline Ulster?
After visiting the rare and remarkably preserved dual Tett Turret in the village of Docking in Norfolk, I have now made available some of the 360-degree images taken on that trip to form a virtual tour of the site. If you’re interested in the use of 360-degree images and videos… Read More »Tett Turret Virtual Tour
Tucked away in a forest on the southern coast of the Moray Firth, is the remains of 80-year-old pillbox camouflage; possibly the only example of this type left in Great Britain. The pillbox has been draped with fine galvanised wire netting, onto which camouflage materials would have been laid or… Read More »Wire netting on camouflaged pillboxes
In a memo dated 7 December 1941 from the Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces, he defines the two roles that coast artillery searchlights (C.A.S.L.) fulfil. Each role was provided with a different type of light. These are: Observation lights This type of light was provided to detect hostile vessels. They could have… Read More »Coast Artillery – Searchlight Types
Public knowledge and understanding of Second World War British pillboxes is often incomplete. Constructed in their thousands after the withdrawal from Dunkirk, their effective widespread usefulness endured only for a few months, but 8 decades later they are sometimes all that remains of a vast defensive network. In this first… Read More »A gentle introduction to pillboxes (Video)
The tunnel system known as Lord Airey’s Shelter is still owned by the Ministry of Defence, except the Tracer cave which is under the guardianship of the Gibraltar Museum. Access is tightly controlled and limited to around 20 people per year, with guided tours arranged through the museum for a… Read More »Operation Tracer, Part 2 – Exploring the tunnel
To date the primary role (…) has been against threatened attack from Spain across North Front. Owing to changes in the Situation during the past year, a seaborne attack is now considered possible. The primary role (…) has been changed to an anti-tank and anti-landingcraft one. This extract shows a… Read More »Operation Tracer, Part 1 – Gibraltar’s castle in the sky
In 1945, the Allies had narrowly won the Second World War but soon realised that a new and potentially dangerous world power was emerging. In what was to become the Cold War, Great Britain, weakened after the virtual collapse of the Empire, aligned with the United States in a war… Read More »Visit report – RAF Saxa Vord
An Irishman, employed on the underground fuel-storage tanks at Scapa, was accustomed, when in drink, to express I.R.A. sentiments of considerable violence, and investigations show that the Birmingham Police already suspected him of having organised a bomb outrage. This was alarming, for his work at Scapa gave him access to… Read More »The Irishman