Pillbox characterisation is nuanced. The adopted naming convention often refers to these hardened field defences from the Second World War to the drawing number issued by the War Office (WO) Directorate for Fortifications and Works (DFW); for example Type 22 or Type 26. The DFW branch responsible for defence design… Read More »A prefabricated anti-tank pillbox – worthy of its own name?
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
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
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?
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
[huge_it_maps id=”9″] A photographic tour of the remaining defences.
A collection of photographs that were taken on a tour by the Land Trust in 2007.
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