Whilst on holiday near Bamburgh in Northumbria I came across this sad example of the decay of historic monuments . This is what is left of a WW2 concrete pillbox which has been washed out by the action of the sea and time from the sand dunes - the dog is for scale .
A better preserved example on a local golf course . Corrugated iron sheeting has been used as shuttering when pouring the concrete to build the pillbox . It's sad when these pieces of history disappear , it is hoped the sites and structures have been recorded by somebody as they are as important as many grander structures in telling history .
The worlds largest dice !? - author and dog for scale , think they might be to prevent coastal erosion .
found this on the internet
I wouldn’t argue with the bloke who owns those dice. If he says it’s a plus one for clubmen charging harquebusiers it’s a plus one.
ReplyDeleteYes re-roll the dice takes on a new significance.
DeleteI originally come from further along the coast (Beadnell) where there were at least two concrete blockhouses which were deliberately destroyed by the local council about 40 years ago. They were on the dunes and erosion had led to them toppling over, which the council deemed unsafe.
ReplyDeleteThere was a hexagonal pillbox inland near to a quarry and local right of way to the beach.
Near the long Nanny stream there used to be concrete foundations from another structure.
As a lad I did make drawings of one of the blockhouses (long since lost sadly) and asked my grandfather about them (WW1 veteran - Royal Engineers who had been in the local home guard). I seem to remember the structure near the stream had been a gun emplacement of some kind.
The large concrete blocks may be repurposed beach obstacles - we had quite a few at Beadnell always described as "tank traps". I think the intention was to block likely exit points from the beach as that's where they usually appear.
Neil
Thanks for the info , we stayed at Beadnell , it's a beautiful area with numerous pillboxes etc , If I lived nearer I would love to record them all for posterity .
DeleteFascinating photos, the dice are particularly interesting.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't want to see their D20's !
DeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what they have to roll to evade erosion?
Double 6 ! ?
DeleteYour photos are always thought-provoking Tony! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure , glad people enjoy them .
DeleteThere was a nationwide project a couple of decades ago, The Defence of Britain project, which aimed to record structures such as these. So much was lost to the sea, even during the span of WW2, let alone the following decades. Equally, apparently, the Royal Engineers used to practice demolition on fortifications like these or the remains of AAA batteries. Some of the remains are even more ephemeral than these - an example was a short length of curly wire (like a pigs tail) protruding from a village wall, to which the Home Guard would attach a wire line in order to stop German cyclists (I think the lane was too narrow for them to have to worry about anything larger !)
ReplyDeleteThat's very interesting , I've never heard of this project , I must look into it more .
DeleteSome of such pillboxes etc are actually on the Scheduled Ancient Monuments register, so at least some should be preserved. If you're interested, indeed the Defence of Britain project is probably worth looking up. Looks like they have an online database. Fortress Study Group, too?
ReplyDeleteYes thought they might be scheduled , have added a link to Defence of Britain project .
DeleteI must say that your dog does look like a proud defender of these shores perched up there on the concrete!
ReplyDeleteAs a kid in the 60s I can remember playing on the beach at Camber Sands and digging up pieces of rusty barbed wire, it seemed normal at the time. In retrospect I wonder if they had cleared all the mines?
He can be obliging now and again (usually for a treat) , I would hope they cleared the mines - suspect we would have heard different !
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