Index

In the middle of 2022 I was contacted by a member of the Inverbrena Local History group in relation to my Guarding the Coast article. They were keen to use some of my research and images in their book on the history of the Strangford Division of the Coast Guard.… Read more: A history of Strangford Division of the Coast Guard

Great Britain found itself occupying Cyprus in the summer of 1878 after a political deal that saw the Mediterranean Island traded for British support against an increasingly aggressive Russian expansion across Europe. Fraught with nuance from the outset, Britain had already refused the offer of Cyprus three times previously and… Read more: A history of the early British military occupation of Troödos Mountain, Cyprus

Deep in a cavern along the Northern Defences in Gibraltar is an unassuming piece of graffiti. Written in pencil, and dated 1968, a soldier named McCULLOUGH left his name and regiment indelibly on the Gibraltar rock. The regiment was the Royal Ulster Rifles. The date is significant, because not long… Read more: A Ranger’s mark in Gibraltar

For those of you who are familiar with the beach at Murlough Bay nature reserve, you may have noticed a rather unassuming pile of rubble. Without interpretation you may have thought this had been dumped some decades ago, but it provides a convenient sitting place or playground for adventurous children.… Read more: A study of the pillbox at Murlough Beach

As an aspiring historian, perhaps more of an enthusiastic amateur, I appreciate that nothing can beat information from a primary source. The National Archives, at Kew outside London, is the national repository for official documents. The value can’t be understated; war department maps and plans, war diaries from frontline fighting… Read more: A visit to the National Archives

I am going to make a bold statement that may cause some heated discussion. All pillboxes were made of concrete. Concrete is an incredible building material, first used by the Romans and very much still in use today. As a raw material it can be transported relatively easily; it can… Read more: All pillboxes are concrete, but some are more concrete than others

Those of us with a passing interest in Northern Irish military history might be aware of the anti-landing poles along Murlough Beach, County Down. Now a shadow of their former selves, they would have likely been connected by wire entanglement, and an assortment of other irksome obstacles preventing or hindering… Read more: Anti-landing obstacles at Magilligan

These rudimentary concrete obstacles were produced to a basic pattern with many local variations and flourishes, and manufactured in their thousands. Their original intent was to delay and channel advancing enemy armour during an invasion of mainland Great Britain. Many were sold and repurposed after the war, while others have… Read more: Anti-Tank Obstacles

On 8 April 1971, a high priority order was received for three vehicles to be fitted out for use as fish and ship vans in Northern Ireland. After some deliberation, it was decided to use the Bedford J Type (J2SZ2, code No. 2660-0149) Hawson Body large van, three of which… Read more: Armoured Fish and Chip Van

In the mid-1990s trials were being undertaken at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England for a new type of airborne surveillance platform. In the days before Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) were common place in military aviation, it was thought that an airship could be used in Northern Ireland to provide surveillance… Read more: Blimp over the Border

A lesser-known British Colonial outpost, Ascension Island could be the secret lair of a Bond villain. It is a dormant volcano, approximately 88 square kilometres in size, 1,000 miles from the coast of Africa; and more often than not these days is surrounded by sharks. There is no indigenous population;… Read more: British Coastal Defences of Ascension Island

This article looks at the coastal defences of the Falkland Islands between 1914-1918 and 1939-1945.

Updated February 2023 with excerpts from the official coastal artillery training manual from 1932. Often found in coastal artillery forts, this concrete pedestal would have been home to a Depression Range Finder (D.R.F.), an instrument designed in the 1880s used to calculate the distance and bearing of enemy shipping in… Read more: Coastal Artillery – Depression Range Finding

Formed in 1853, the Antrim Artillery was a volunteer artillery unit based in Antrim, Northern Ireland. Despite being disbanded in 1919, they served in the Boer War and during the First World War manned the forts at Kilroot and Grey Point, defending Belfast Lough. I’ve been a collector of militaria… Read more: Collecting the Antrim Artillery

The detention camp at Kokkinotrimithia, 2km west of the Cypriot capitol of Nicosia, was constructed by British Forces in 1955 for the internment of supporters of the armed struggle to liberate the country from British governance. The camp housed both those convicted of fighting for the EOKA (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion… Read more: Cypriot Internment of the 1950s

The introduction of the AP rifle launched grenade came after the lethal IRA ambush at Derryard just after 1600 hrs on 13 December 1989. This prompted an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) to be issued; returning the Luchaire 40mm Rifle Grenade. Along the southern border of Northern Ireland, just north of… Read more: Derryard aftermath; the introduction of the rifle grenade into Northern Ireland

After years of taking what appear to be random images of old buildings and features, most of which consisted of WW2 defences, I thought I should really try to ‘professionalise’ some of these images, with one of my driving forces in taking them being to record the sites as they deteriorate.… Read more: DIY Photographic Marker

The use of radio technology transformed the air war during the Second World War. In a short space of time RADAR was born and fine tuned to detect and track approaching enemy aircraft, radio direct finding (RDF) was used to detect illicit communications, ships and submarines as well as tracking… Read more: Downhill Radio Navigation Site

The ability to construct quick but effective fortifications in the field has historically fallen to the soldiers of the Royal Engineers. This dirty and backbreaking work may not be precise, but it is based very soundly on experience and scientific experimentation. During the 19th and 20th centuries, as weaponry and… Read more: Field Fortifications: How thick was thick enough?

The problem with not having a single platform that best collates the information and photographs I have collected over the years is trying to establish a solution that best shares this information in a user-friendly manner. The map below has been populated with the albums I currently have on Flickr… Read more: Flickr Album Locations

Between 1969 and 2007, both the British Army and civilian population were under attack. It was a dynamic conflict, both in terms of geography and threat, during which there would not necessarily be a winner, just a lesser loser. And there were three sides; republicans, loyalists and the security forces,… Read more: Fortifications of Operation Banner

The Garmin Foretrex 601 is a long overdue upgrade to the Foretrex Series. This small wrist mounted device offers GPS, GLONASS and Galileo support for accurate and reliable GPS positioning, coupled with barometric elevation tracking, sunrise / set and tide almanac built in. Powered by two AAA batteries it can provide… Read more: Garmin Foretrex 601

As part of my research into the 36 Maintenance Unit Snodland, I visited a site close to the location of this unit during WW2. While this was only a preliminary visit, on a site which is inherently difficult to gain access to and off the beaten track; there was a gem… Read more: Glimpse into the Past

I purchased the DJI Mini 3 Pro in the autumn of 2022 and it has impressed me every time I take off. I managed to snap this shot of Grey Point Fort as the sun was setting on a cold, damp late December evening. The Fort itself has been closed… Read more: Grey Point Fort

The British Isles and Ireland are island nations dependant on their domination of the coastline and waters surrounding them. With estimates of upwards of 11,000 miles and 1,700 miles respectively, the task of providing protection for and communication around these vast coastlines is a problem that has been attempted numerous… Read more: Guarding the Coast

25 unskilled labourers, 6 carpenters, 4 steel fixers, 2 concrete workers, 1 mixer driver, 1 superintending officer One of the privileges of collecting contemporary military manuals (see the full list of publications in my library here), is that every now and again I stumble across a snippet of information that… Read more: How long did it take to build a pillbox?

This article aims to bring together a number of sources of information I have in order to demonstrate the extent of requisitions undertaken by the army, typically for short duration, in support of surges in violence but also for the accommodation of the newly formed Ulster Defence Regiment in the 1970s.

A rare military site dating back to the height of the First World War remains virtually untouched on an exposed headland at Burray Ness, on the Isle of Burray, south of Orkney Mainland. Constructed at some stage between 1914 – 1918 (most likely in around 1915 when the scale of… Read more: Interpreting Burray Ness

A site visit and photographic report on the history and current condition of Kilroot Battery, a 1910 coastal artillery battery on the western coast of Belfast Lough. The fort was in use until 1956 when the coastal artillery units were disbanded, and during the Second World War, it saw expansion… Read more: Kilroot Coastal Artillery Battery

Situated on a rocky headland, Lenan Head Fort (sometimes spelt Leenan) is a British built coastal artillery battery from the late 19th Century. Standing isolated for over 120 years, the Victorian site was only in use for less than 40 years, but stood proudly on the cusp of the Atlantic… Read more: Lenan Head Fort

I first published this article in 2018 when I had spent some time in Kent and after walking the River Medway around Maidstone realised that a large proportion of the Second World War pillboxes still remained. There is no interpretation with this article, it is purely a record of each… Read more: Lower Medway Pillboxes

Military boundary stones, not to be confused with Ordnance Survey datum points, are somewhat of an enigma. Historically they delineate boundaries of military sites, however, their use is not consistent – some sites have them, others do not, and as for design, there are many different styles. Their use appears… Read more: Military Stones

In order to separate crowds of protesters and offer some protection to security forces and members of the opposite community, a series of mobile sight screens were introduced; constructed out of hessian and timber and mounted on the side of a 4-ton truck, imaged above. The resulting screens were 16… Read more: Mobile Screens

On Tuesday 03 May 2016 I took a walk into Chattenden Woods, on the Hoo Peninsula, Kent. I had heard that Nightingales often congregate here, and as such the site is of national importance for these now rare songbirds. I was lucky to hear their song throughout the evening, and… Read more: Nightingale Song

Located on what is now Steeple Road PSNI Training Centre, was a 440 bed camp of the North Irish Horse. Very little is evident today of what was vacated over 100 years ago, but the site boundary is almost identical to what the reserve cavalry soldiers would recognise from their… Read more: North Irish Horse Camp, Antrim

It may sound somewhat unassuming, but Oil Berth 3, sitting at the entrance to Musgrave Channel in Belfast Port, was once at the centre of a fascinating piece of Northern Irish history. In 1969, with the escalation of the IRA campaign, the Army deployed on Operation BANNER. This surge of troops… Read more: Oil Berth 3

Marked on a map of the Belfast Lough defences from the early 20th Century, Orlock Port War Signal Station (PWSS) would have acted as the gatekeeper for shipping wishing to enter the Lough and sail onward to Belfast. During peacetime the PWSS was staffed by men from the Coastguard, Donaghadee… Read more: Orlock Port War Signal Station

Having conducted some research in the Royal Engineer Bomb Disposal (BD) archives at Carver Barracks, I came across a fascinating report covering the neutralising of a WW2 German Type GC parachute mine at Burghley Road, London, by Major G.R. Fletcher MBE, Royal Engineers. When I started to read the report… Read more: Parachute Mine Defused in London, October 1969

Ballykinlar (also Ballykinler) Camp started life as a firing range for the 5th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles as they trained for the war in South Africa, fighting the Boers. At the time they were garrisoned in Downpatrick, 8 miles away, and the coastal land at Ballykinlar offered good real estate… Read more: Postcards from Ballykinlar

The purpose built Pre-Officer Cadet Training Unit at Wrotham Camp was reputed to be at one stage the largest training establishments in the world with up to 10,000 cadets on site at one time. The first intake into Wrotham was in August 1942 and the camp continued training potential Officers… Read more: Pre-OCTU Wrotham Camp

The image above is a 1918 photograph of a Dechets barrack hut constructed by the Tarrant Company in France utilising recycled wood from boxes and crates (IWM Q6769 A hut made of old boxes and crates by women carpenters working at the Tarrant Hut Workshops, June 1918). The purpose of… Read more: Prefabricated Military Accommodation Part I – Early 20th Century

With any conflict comes a risk to national infrastructure by terrorist organisations as a means to exert power and create panic and unrest among the population in the name of their cause. Long before the official start of Operation Banner in 1969, local Government and security forces (SF) were concerned… Read more: Protecting Northern Ireland’s Infrastructure

One rainy afternoon in lockdown, I thought I would do some research on finding evidence for the WW2 radar sites that were once dotted around Northern Ireland. Finding photographic evidence of what were once secret installations is still quite tricky almost 80 years on! I have been fortunate enough to… Read more: Radar in Northern Ireland 1939 – 1945

Dissected by the M22 motorway at Randalstown, an army camp capable of housing more than 5,000 British and Irish soldiers in preparation for the trenches of France once sat, with little trace remaining today. With 65 million untrained men called up to fight in WW1, a problem arose in how… Read more: Randalstown Camp

Rosscorr Viaduct in Fermanagh was constructed in 1922 out of precast concrete, but was blown up 50 years later, but not as a result of terrorist action. The damaged portion of the roadway was demolished by the Royal Engineers in the 1970s to prevent the route being used as an… Read more: Rosscorr Viaduct

On 21 July I published a video documenting the current state of the operations site at the old RAF Saxa Vord radar station. Within the first 3 weeks, the video has attracted 24,000 views and gained my channel over 500 new subscribers. What has been most heartening has been the… Read more: Saxa Vord video success!

The start of the twentieth century was a post-industrial technological arms race, and the traces left behind are like a timeline of pioneering developments in an attempt to outsmart our adversaries. Two of those boundary breaking technologies were wireless telegraphy, and aviation. The story of Radio Direction Finding, or RDF,… Read more: Second World War Aircraft Direction Finding Part I – Background

In the second part of this article I will pull together information and images from across a number of sources in an attempt to interpret some of the cryptic remains from what I believe to be HFDF sites across the country. Siting the Stations Great care was taken in May… Read more: Second World War Aircraft Direction Finding Part II – Locating the Sites

The 1930s and 1940s saw huge advances in the development of radio and radar technologies, with one of the most sophisticated networks of Radio Direction Finding (RDF) being deployed in the form of Chain Home stations around the coast of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Running concurrently with the development… Read more: Second World War Microwave Experiments

Originally, I believed this site was an Air Traffic Control (ATC) Exchange or Repeater Station. Since then I have learned that the site was a microwave radio link connecting Northern Ireland with mainland Great Britain, via a corresponding site at Enoch Hill, near Stranraer in Scotland. I originally visited twice… Read more: Site Visit – Ballygomartin Radio Station

Baxter Block as it was later known was an iconic accommodation cluster within Ballykinlar (Ballykinler) Camp in Country Down. This portion of the accommodation had a long and colourful history, first being relocated from The Curragh camp in order to house the newly raised 36th (Ulster) Division, and later to… Read more: Site Visit – Baxter Block, Ballykinlar

Situated in the leafy suburbs of South Belfast, Belvoir Park Hospital has lain empty since 2006 when the remaining healthcare operations moved to the City Hospital. Belvoir opened 100 years earlier in 1906 as the Purdysburn Fever Hospital and had a long and fruitful history being the site of Northern Irelands… Read more: Site Visit – Belvoir Park Hospital

Situated firmly in East Berlin sat a secret and prohibited district, left off maps, and surrounded by high walls, barbed wired and armed guards. Inside lay a facility that bred paranoia on the part of the guards, and fear and terror on the part of the prisoners. Their houses raided… Read more: Site Visit – Berlin-Hohenschoenhausen

Acquired by Campbell College in 1925 as their preparatory school, a house at Cabin Hill dates back to 1786, although the main house standing today was built in 1860 and extended in 1902. Having seen a rich and vibrant history as a fine house and latter school, Cabin Hill now… Read more: Site Visit – Cabin Hill, Belfast

A photographic visit.

The barracks and army ordnance buildings of Clancy Barracks are located on the south side of the River Liffy in Dublin. Constructed in around 1798 and originally known as Islandbridge (Island Bridge) Barracks, the site was renamed in 1942 after Peader Clancy killed during the War of Independence in 1920.… Read more: Site Visit – Clancy Barracks, Dublin

After being built in 1845, Crumlin Road Gaol, later to be named HM Prison Crumlin Road, was operational for 151 years until its closure in 1996. Through its rich and troubled life, it saw the incarceration of many notable personalities, including some of the country’s politicians during the many years of… Read more: Site Visit – Crumlin Road Gaol

The Defence Area (Number 14) at Cuckmere Haven is still a fascinating place to explore; even 76 years after construction almost all the defences still exist and the landscape is relatively unchanged. Identified in the German plans for Operation Sea Lion, the flood basin running inland from Cuckmere Haven would… Read more: Site Visit – Defence Area 14, Cuckmere Haven

Divis KP or Divis Key Point as it was known, was a remote communications station situated on the bleak Divis Mountain to the west of Belfast overlooking the City. Due to the highly sensitive nature of the site little is publicly known about it, however as part of the normalisation… Read more: Site Visit – Divis Key Point

[huge_it_maps id=”4″] Meaning ‘Fort of the Heather,’ Dunree Fort is now a national museum in Donegal. Originally a fort was erected on the cliffs in 1798 to guard against French invasion. The much expanded site today consists of 4 distinct areas of interest; the original fort which is now a museum… Read more: Site Visit – Dunree Fort, County Donegal

A collection of photographs that were taken on a tour by the Land Trust in 2007.

Finishing its wartime role in January 1946, and taken over in 1947 by the Government Communication Headquarters, the station at Ginahirk was one of 3 listening stations around the UK built in 1942 to intercept enemy wireless communications in conjunction with the code-breakers at Bletchley Park. Closed as a listening… Read more: Site Visit – Gilnahirk Y Station

Grain Tower Battery was constructed between 1879 and 1855 of granite in an Martello tower style. Unique by virtue that it was constructed off shore on a mud-spit in the River Medway, and only accessible by foot along a (muddy) brick causeway at low tide. The fort was initially armed… Read more: Site Visit – Grain Tower Battery

As the war in Europe intensified and the struggle for the protection of Britain grew, so did the need for the storage of more and more ammunition. Storage predictions proved difficult, and soon the new but limited RAF underground storage sites became overwhelmed and the introduction of Air Ammunition Parks… Read more: Site Visit – Ide Hill Ammunition Park

Situated on a rocky headland, Lenan Head Fort (sometimes spelt Leenan) is a British built coastal artillery battery from the late 19th Century. Standing isolated for over 120 years, the Victorian site was only in use for less than 40 years, but stood proudly on the cusp of the Atlantic protecting the deep-water… Read more: Site Visit – Lenan Head Fort, County Donegal

Sitting within the Medway District, the anti-aircraft emplacement at Lodge Hill is seen as having national significance, and as such was scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 (reference) in 2012, and it is believed that this site, and its ‘sister’ site at Beacon Hill are the… Read more: Site Visit – Lodge Hill Anti-Aircraft Site

The origins of a camp at Magilligan are difficult to ascertain, as I haven’t discovered any definitive records relating to the initial construction of the camp. A number of clues exist in the early Ordnance Survey maps of the area and in the local landscape that helps in charting the… Read more: Site Visit – Magilligan Point

A total of three sea forts under the control of the Army were constructed in 1941/42 to protect the vital shipping lane and air corridor along the River Thames which had suffered greatly from magnetic sea mines dropped by German aircraft. Devised and named after their creator Guy Maunsell, the… Read more: Site Visit – Maunsell Sea Forts

Just west of RAF West Malling is a dispersed ammunition site dating from WW2. Still owned by the MOD, the forested site is a dry training area (ie; no live ammunition is fired, blank only) frequently used by Cadet and Army Reserve units. There is an active helipad on site,… Read more: Site Visit – Mereworth Woods Ammunition Depot

Situated approximately 1.5km East of the world famous Giants Causeway, Portmoon (Port Moon) is traditionally known for its historic Salmon fishing house. The site sits on Benbane Head in the town land of Carrowreagh. Remnants of this industry remain in the area in the form of the tin roofed fishermans… Read more: Site Visit – Portmoon Anti-Tank Range

[huge_it_maps id=”9″] A photographic tour of the remaining defences.

A photographic visit.

Inside the old mill (circa 1835) on the Redhall (Red Hall) estate just outside Ballycarry lie a remarkable secret from WW2. During the war, as huge swathes of American troops descended on Northern Ireland, large volumes of accommodation was taken over to accommodate the new visitors. One of these buildings… Read more: Site Visit – Redhall Mill, Ballycarry

In the hills above Belfast on Divis is a disused 600 yard military firing range, constructed in 1943 most likely to accommodate training for the high numbers of American troops in the country. A copy of the standing orders still exist, giving an overview of the classification and type of… Read more: Site Visit – Rifle Range, Divis

On the hills approximately 6 miles to the north east of Derry/Londonderry is the small but abandoned signal station at Killylane. Constructed during the Second World War, the site was used for around 20 years as a Royal Navy shore-to-ship radio communication station communicating with naval vessels operating across the… Read more: Site Visit – Signal Station, Killylane

Slough Fort (so named due to its proximity to Slough hamlet to the north west) was built between 1861 and 1867 to combat a ever growing threat from the French who were bolstering their coastal defences and naval fleets. One of many stone built forts built along the Kent coastline,… Read more: Site Visit – Slough Fort, Allhallows

After coming across reference to a Snodland Air Ammunition Park in relation to WW2 ammunition storage, I was intrigued. I am familiar with most of the sites in the area, but had never before come across a large site which would have been suitable for ammunition storage on such a… Read more: Site Visit – Snodland Ammunition Park

On a rather damp and dreary day in January 2018, I took myself and a friend off to the Ulster Folk Museum, Cultra, near Holywood. The living history museum tells the story of life in early 20th Century Ireland through a unique collection of every day buildings which have been… Read more: Site Visit – Ulster Folk Museum

A camp under the control of the Royal Engineers has existed on this unassuming patch of land since the 1860s, making use of the River Medway as a bridging obstacle between Wouldham and Halling. The camp was extensively used for almost exactly 100 years, and over time some permanent structures… Read more: Site Visit – Wouldham Bridging Camp

One of many Forest Service forests across Northern Ireland, Randalstown Forest was gifted by the Shanes Castle Estate in 1934. It is open to the public and can be openly visited and explored. What many of the visitors to the forest may not appreciate, is that hiding among the relatively… Read more: Site Visit Part I – Randalstown Forest, First World War Rifle Range

The pillbox is synonymous with the Second World War. Thousands were constructed across the United Kingdom (and Ireland) to defend high-value areas or as part of a National defensive line. Many of them still remain and conjure up the romantic notion of local boys and men bearing arms to defend… Read more: Site Visit Part II – Randalstown Forest, Second World War Defences

In July 1971 a unique unit was born into the British Army, in particular 39 Airportable Brigade under the command of Brigadier Frank Kitson (September 1970 – April 1972). Brigadier Kitson has a wealth of experience in counterinsurgency operations, and politically his appointment to 39 Bde was welcomed. Known as the… Read more: The Birth of the Military Reaction Force (MRF)

In 1972 Brigadier Sir Ian Jardine had the task of writing a history of the Northern Ireland emergency including an annex on equipment development. The document below is the content of this annex, dated 22 May 1972, and undersigned by the Assistant Chief of the General Staff (Operation Requirements) or… Read more: The Development of Internal Security Equipment for Northern Ireland (1972)

The contentious issue of the Irish border is not a new one. In secret documents uncovered at the National Archives at Kew, one page in particular highlights measures that were considered and dismissed by military planners. A ‘cordon sanitaire’ a mile or so wide along the Border. Illegal for those… Read more: The Hard Border

In 1942 the Second World War was taking on a new, global element. December 1941 saw the attacks on Pearl Harbour that drew the Americans into frontline conflict, while units from Northern Ireland were engaged in Burma, North Africa, Leros, Sicily and Italy. It was written soon after the war… Read more: The most secret ARDS plan; fighting to the end

Always keen to try new technologies, I have recently ventured into the world of 360° cameras. I have experimented in the past with the iPhone and Google Streetview app to capture 360° images, but in March 2022 purchased my first dedicated camera. I took this camera on a road trip… Read more: The use of 360° video and images in recording historic sites

Address Magpie Hall Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 5XJ Google Maps Fort Luton on Google Maps Website www.fortluton.co.uk Facebook Fort Luton Facebook Page Opening Times Work days for volunteers every Saturday between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. Public open days advertised on social media. Date of Visit 29 September 2018 Facilities… Read more: Visit Report – Fort Luton

Address The Fort, Helen’s Bay, Bangor BT19 1PU Google Maps Grey Point Fort on Google Maps Website Visit Northern Ireland WebsiteRadio Society Website Facebook Grey Point Fort Amateur Radio Society Facebook Page Opening Times Weekends 10:00 am to 4:00 pm (unconfirmed) Date of Visits 3 September 201711 May 200813 June… Read more: Visit Report – Grey Point Fort

There are many elements of operations in Northern Ireland that will remain secret, and rightly so. But as time moves on historians, academics and enthusiastic amateurs will slowly uncover details which I am sure all but a select few would have had exposure. As the saying goes “a little knowledge… Read more: Was there a secret intercept station at Divis?