WW1 and WW2 Defences - Suffolk and beyond

Had a look at the remains of two pillboxes this weekend on Dingle Marshes, Dunwich. The remains are of two 'Suffolk Square' type pillboxes and in 1940 were the left hand boundary of 'B' Company, 2/4th South Lancashire Regt. Dunwich would have been a key locality to defend as here was an exit from the beach (along with Walberswick further to the north) that any German troops landing in the area would need to seize. To the north of Dunwich the low lying marshes had been flooded as an anti-tank obstacle and to the south Dunwich cliffs provided a natural anti-tank obstacle. The 'front line' at Dunwich in 1940 was defended by three sections of 'B' Coy with medium machine gun support from the 2nd Battalion Princess Louise's Kensington Regt. The remains of the pillboxes would suggest they were sunk into the ground at almost embrasure level. They have been reinforced and the local resource, shingle, is clearly evident in their construction. I am not sure wh...

Another visit to Shingle Street recently, to take another look at some concrete road ways which I think are military. On my last visit to TNA I came across a document  which may explain their purpose - for shingle extraction. There was an increasing need for ballast in 1943/44 due to the construction of new aerodromes for USAAF bombers and fighters and also for repairs to existing runways. The Air Ministry had been drawing ballast from Shingle Street to meet this priority work and in July 1944 wanted to open up further pits. This required opening up a gap in a minefield in the vicinity of the tank blocks between the two most northerly Martello Towers (the blocks still survive). Eastern Command carried out a recce of the beach and concluded it would be necessary to clear all five minefields in the area before shingle extraction could continue as further shingle extraction would result in disturbance of the minefields. It was estimated that it would take one platoon of Field Co...