World War II – Modern Mooch

The last post on the concrete coast was from Filey

Now we’re heading south to Bridlington and beyond.

Where we find another dense cluster of sea defences, some but not all extant.

After the south coast, both East Anglia and the Yorkshire Coastline were identified as vulnerable to invasion. Bridlington Bay, was and ideal location for an invasion; flat sandy beaches for amphibious landing crafts, above the foreshore flat landscapes perfect for tanks and gliders to land, an isolated small population with only the residence of Bridlington close by and finally the control of an established port at Bridlington, once it was under German control. According to the Defence of Britain Survey undertaken in the Late 90’s, Northern Command had some of the best defend beaches in the country, this includes Bridlington.

Citizan

eDoB

Here there are forces, past and present, at work shaping the landscape and the manmade addenda.

The remorseless waves, wind and rain eroding the coastal clay and contorted concrete.

Anti-tank blocks line the foreshore here; with deep foundation they are meant to be so immovable that tanks cannot go through them and rather have to go over them, exposing the weakly armour undersides of the tanks, which can then be fired at. The anti-tank blocks are arranged in batches of both parallel and perpendicular to the sea, which helps to divide up the beach and channel enemies towards the pillboxes and into fire.

Citizan

Once more unto the beach, dear friends, once more, or close the wall up with our English dead.

Having visited Cayton Bay last year I ventured forth last week, to Filey and beyond.

The shore toward Hunmanby Gap when faced with the threat of invasion, was home to a plethora of coastal defences, formed from raw concrete between the years 1941 and 1942, along with attendant armed forces.

Map – eDoB online

Pill boxes, anti-landing trenches, anti-tank obstacles, beach lights, coastal batteries, flame fourgasses, gun emplacements and machine gun posts were clustered along the coast.

The majority have subsequently been removed, a few are extant – slipping from their cliff-top positions, as the soft clays have been eroded.

Their remains are now skewed and diminished by the weather and the North Sea’s formidable waves, taking on striking sculptural forms, embedded in the shifting sands.

During May 1940 the branch of the Directorate of Fortifications and Works – FW3, at the War Office was set up under the Directorship of Major-General G.B.O. Taylor. Its purpose was to provide specific pillbox designs to be constructed throughout the countryside at defensive locations.

During June and July 1940 saw the FW3 branch issue seven basic designs. However, often, once in the field, the local construction companies modified these under the direction of the area commands.

The FW3 pillbox design concept was to provide a simple fieldwork standard that could be constructed very quickly. Most designs consisted of or incorporated some of the following features:

Minimum of Bullet/Splinter Proof protection
No attempt was made to provide living accommodation
Some designs were enhanced to Shell Proof standard
Simple Blast Walls to protect open entrances
External flat side walls with rectangular or polygonal shape

The use of common designs with standard sizes for doors, loopholes and flat sides made it easier to mass produce items for concrete shuttering and hence the speed of construction. However, with the general countrywide lack of material it was often necessary to use bricks as the shuttering. This often fools the casual observer into believing that the whole structure is constructed of brick. Closer examination often reveals the integral reinforced concrete back-bone.

Pill Box Study Group