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WWII fortifications along the East Anglian coast

Along the East Anglian coastline, as elsewhere in the British Isles, a number of WWII coastal anti-invasion defences remain more or less intact. Between Felixstowe and The Wash, a large number of these were hastily constructed in 1940, necessitated by the imminent invasion by Nazi Germany (Operation Sealion). Out of an estimated 28,000 only just over 6,000 survive.
Many are hidden from view; others have now become part of the landscape, some put to other uses.
The defences take various forms, the most commonly seen is the pillbox, (sometimes called a blockhouse) these themselves come in many forms: usually having four, five or six facets. The most common being the hexagonal shape with a blast wall protecting the entrance. The embrasures differ too, from small to large and varying in number in each wall. Occasionally a narrow slit along the whole of the wall facing the invader is the only opening although these are usually observation posts. Other defences can also still be found, tank-traps, great square concrete blocks, and some pyramidal called dragon’s teeth were in the 1950s a common sight on the side of a strategic road. Most if not all these have been removed. The Royal Observer Corps had many installations too, some looking quite like pillboxes but with a completely different operational role.
Today they are nothing more than permanent monuments and a silent tribute to the courage and tenacity of the British people during the uncertainty of the early 1940s when Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany.
See also LinkExternal link and LinkExternal link
by Adrian S Pye

Created: Mon, 1 Nov 2010, Updated: Wed, 26 Aug 2015


252 images use this description. Preview sample shown below:

TM2736 : Heavy Anti-Aircraft Emplacement by Adrian S Pye
TM5594 : Sockets for an anti-tank barrier by Adrian S Pye
TM5495 : World War Two Defences - Lowestoft by Ashley Dace
TM2831 : Coastal searchlight emplacement by Adrian S Pye
TM5388 : HAA Battery Observation Post at Pakefield by Adrian S Pye
TM2831 : Landguard Right Battery by Adrian S Pye
TM3338 : Two dozen tank-trap blocks at Bawdsey by Adrian S Pye
TM5295 : Pillbox at Oulton Broad by Adrian S Pye
TM5594 : Mined roadway by Adrian S Pye
TM5383 : Type F22 pillbox south-east of Beach Farm, Benacre by Evelyn Simak
TM4574 : Table in the Vickers heavy machine gun post by Adrian S Pye
TM2831 : The holdfast for one of the 6 pounder guns at Darell's Battery by Adrian S Pye
TM5496 : A Suffolk Square pillbox by Adrian S Pye
TM4986 : WW2 type FW3/22 pillbox by Adrian S Pye
TM2832 : The Landguard Left Battery by Adrian S Pye
TM4874 : Battery Observation Post by Adrian S Pye
TM5082 : Pillbox in Wrentham by Adrian S Pye
TM2736 : Heavy Anti-Aircraft Emplacement by Adrian S Pye
TM5496 : Pillbox in the cliff at Corton by Adrian S Pye
TM5383 : Two pillboxes in a row south of Beach Farm, Benacre by Evelyn Simak
TM5385 : Heavy machine gun pillbox on Kessingland beach by Adrian S Pye
TM4986 : WW2 type FW3/22 pillbox by Adrian S Pye
TM4759 : Anti-tank blocks as a garden feature by Adrian S Pye
TM3338 : Type FW3/22 pillbox at Bawdsey marshes by Adrian S Pye
TM5280 : Bottom end of a soakaway at Easton Bavents by Adrian S Pye

... and 227 more images.

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