Another visit to Sutton Heath today to continue mapping anti-landing trenches. Finished the first lot I have come across. Again as the maps show, the grid pattern is clearly visible, although unlike others I have mapped so far these are also laid out in a dash-dash-dash pattern instead of a continual linear length (see map showing close up of a section of trenches). Another good look around after, found more trenches to map at a later date and one 303 cartridge, but no other earthworks. Given that this was a major training area comparable to Westleton/Dunwich, either all works were cleared after the war (some of the anti-landing trenches have clearly been in-filled to a degree), I'm looking in the wrong place (you can walk for miles around Westleton without finding any earthworks) or perhaps the main training area was on areas subsequently ploughed up after the war. In my opinion this just adds to the importance of the surviving earth works at Westleton, a unique insight into WW2 Field Engineering!
As the title suggests, just a lazy post today, a few pics of CRE Colchester design pillboxes in the Sudbury area to round of the thread on this May visit. Also one pic of concrete road block cylinders now being used as part of river bank defences. This is the first time I have come across this type of road block in Suffolk although I suspect it was probably used quite widely on this Stop Line, perhaps I will come across more examples / references in time. These pictures do show a timeless landscape - traditional floodplain meadows still used for grazing, with the Second World War clearly marking its presence. Lets just hope both the pillboxes and grazing meadows will be preserved.
Comments
Post a Comment