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Report - - Various pillboxes and defences..2013-2020 | Military Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Various pillboxes and defences..2013-2020

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Mikeymutt🐶

28DL Regular User
Regular User
I know pillboxes ain't interesting to everyone, but I personally love these little lumps of concrete. And I hate always following the crowd and like to do my own thing anyway. This is how I started exploring by hunting out world war infrastructure. I spotted that people explore derelict buildings when researching stuff, and that they post them online, it then went from there really. But I still like to go out and photograph stuff like this. Pillboxes are hid up everywhere, in towns, villages, airfields, the coast, anywhere there could have been a threat of invasion. Normally on strategic points like railways, rivers and canals. They usually formed a defence line, with tank blocks, trenches, road blocks etc. First used mainly during the First World War when England realised that there was a severe threat of invasion. With the outbreak of the Second World War pillboxes were rapidly constructed with the threat of invasion a scary reality. There was several different types, from the average type twenty two to large machine gun emplacements. Local material was sourced to build them so although standard builds, they varied with materials from around the country. Twenty eight thousand were built during the war today about six to seven thousand survive. Farmers were paid a set amount to cover cost of removal. Often they pocketed the money and just left them. Now often walked past by people nowadays forgetting the important role these played in the defence of this country. Here a selection of some I have seen over the years.

First up is a pillbox and tank blocks on the river Bure, Aylsham in Norfolk. This was prob used to stop troops coming up the river. As their is a large house and mill near I would imagine that was part of the plan..

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In Burnham Upon Crouch in Essex is this minefield control tower. I remember the walk which was over two hours each way. This control tower was used to guard the estuary to prevent the Germans landing at Burnham on the river crouch. It also acted as an observation tower. It has an impressive amount of gun apertures. It's one of only two, the other one is in Oban in Scotland.

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A more modern variant of the pillbox. This is a cold war pillbox at RAF Coltishall. It seem to be made of pre cast concrete. There are several in the airfield, including one near the main gates.

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A double levelled one near the old Beccles airfield.

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On the Acle straight is two pillboxes either side of the road. These are of world war one origin and unlike most they were not round. These two still have the original metal shutters on them. These are located just before you enter Great Yarmouth.

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To the far side of RAF Coltishall is this small site. It's the former original radar site that not many know about. The pill box is hidden up nearly. On the site sits a few buildings and lots of concrete lumps that were the mast plinths.

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A pillbox hidden discreetly in the side of the house in Acle, Norfolk.

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On the Essex coast near Bawsey is a world war one pillbox. A nice round one and hence why they got that name. Sitting behind is an observation tower..

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A pillbox in Norfolk on the side of the road. This was used as defence of Little Snoring airfield.

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A random one in a field near Thetford.

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A mushroom pillbox at RAF Warboys in Cambridgeshire. These are quite a rare site now. This was based right near the BHQ right near the main runway..this pillbox would give you virtually a 360 degree field of view. And a rail which a gun would be mounted upon.

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A rather tall pillbox at RAF Bodney in Norfolk. This one was located near the BHQ and tower.

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A round pill pic from the first world war on the Norfolk coast.

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Another rare pillbox in Earith, Cambridgeshire. An Allan-Williams turret built of steel. These are few and far between.

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Another Allan-Williams turret at the north weald redoubt in Essex..

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Continued..
 
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Mikeymutt🐶

28DL Regular User
Regular User
A standard type twenty two. This is located on the perimeter of the former RAF Swannington in Norfolk.

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A pillbox near the railway line and little canal in Norfolk up near Swaffham. The canal is the only one in Norfolk and served the mills along the stretch.
It's been nicely decorated by the house who's garden it now falls in.

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One of two in Aylsham Norfolk. These were used to defend the railway and station here.

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This is a super rare one for Norfolk. A pillbox constructed of Hessian sacks and filled with concrete. This is situated in Aylsham, Norfolk. It's built on the edge of a mill that has been converted. The mill was operated by the ministry of agriculture during the war. I have heard this has been torn down now. The woman had a crap attitude to me and about the pillbox so no surprise really. Shame as it is the only one of its type in Norfolk.

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Another rare find what took me some time to locate. A set of hairpins, thirty six of them in total. They are located on a bridge either side of it. It's nice to see so many in good condition.

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A pillbox at beacon hill fort in Suffolk. There was many here gaurding the gun pits on site.

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This one is located on the Norfolk coast near Trinningham. A few metres up the road is the remains of an old radar site. On the other side is still an active large golf ball. This is still connected to RAF Neatishead. Nice to see the gun mount still on top.


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In Tilty in Essex was a series of pillboxes of varying designs all with in a short distance. This was part of the stop line.

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One was built on a shed near a mill. Never seen anything like it before. Unless the shed was built later around it.

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A spigot mortar base. These were common things and are normally sunken with a brick pit around them.

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A pill box at happisburgh to protect the gun battery that was on the cliff edge.
Strange this one that the gun apertures were facing inland rather than to the sea.

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One on the small ship yard between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. It's had a small hut built on top of it.

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Another located near the bomb stores at RAF Watton.

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Another more modern circular one at the RAF Neatishead radar station.

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A lone one near Fakenham, Norfolk.

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And another of the several pillboxes at Happisburgh, Norfolk. Prob the most photographed pillbox here.

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FalloutShelter

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Love these! Ever since I was a kid I was fascinated by them. The one integrated into the house is great, I appreciate the diversity you've got here. I can tell a lot of time and effort went into compiling these. On my recent trip abroad I found that the coastline was littered with pillboxes (called casamatta in Italian - meaning "crazy house"). Apparently they were designed so they would look like a gun turret from above. I only photographed one as they were all the same. Do I have your permission to post two pics of one in this thread? I don't know what else to do with the two photos and it seems relevant.
 

Mikeymutt🐶

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Love these! Ever since I was a kid I was fascinated by them. The one integrated into the house is great, I appreciate the diversity you've got here. I can tell a lot of time and effort went into compiling these. On my recent trip abroad I found that the coastline was littered with pillboxes (called casamatta in Italian - meaning "crazy house"). Apparently they were designed so they would look like a gun turret from above. I only photographed one as they were all the same. Do I have your permission to post two pics of one in this thread? I don't know what else to do with the two photos and it seems relevant.
Thank you very much, that's very kind of you. I think I know the pillboxes you mean. But yeah feel free to post them to this report, be interesting to see what you found.
 

FalloutShelter

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
I wish I had taken pics of some of the other ones I saw but they weren't accessible. I'm not sure what was built on top of this one. From this spot I could see two others along the coast and they had the classic "turret" shaped tops, this was the odd one out.

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Wastelandr

Goes where the Buddleia grows
Regular User
Wicked range of pillboxes there and some really unusual ones. You can do the most hardcore explore out there, but you still gotta have love for the humble pillbox - a starting point for many of us I'm sure
 

Mikeymutt🐶

28DL Regular User
Regular User
I wish I had taken pics of some of the other ones I saw but they weren't accessible. I'm not sure what was built on top of this one. From this spot I could see two others along the coast and they had the classic "turret" shaped tops, this was the odd one out.

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They are nice. I have seen them type before. But think it was another country.
 

Mikeymutt🐶

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Wicked range of pillboxes there and some really unusual ones. You can do the most hardcore explore out there, but you still gotta have love for the humble pillbox - a starting point for many of us I'm sure
I still enjoy what people call the humble stuff. It's all very enjoyable to me. I just find pillboxes interesting.
 

MK83

Wife and husband
28DL Full Member
Great set of pics, the variety of designs is interesting. I don't think exploring should be measured by how hardcore it is, if your interested in something then that should be reason enough! I personally love pillboxes.
 

Bikin Glynn

28DL Regular User
Regular User
very conclusive. I like the tower one, no access in that I assume?
the one overrun with trees is also epic.

Its great to see the reuse of these, there is one down south in someones garden they have as a summer house with patio on top, Ill see if I can find streetview of it
 
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