World War Two: Evidence of damage/stuff left over now.

[so called]

When I was a kid back in the 60's the old lady across the road asked myself and two of my brothers to clear her overgrown garden of brambb´le and the like.

It was a big job but the reward was this was going to be our bonfire for 5th November.
As we completed the job, she asked if we could also clear her garden shed out, warning that we should be careful with the bayonets and to let her know if we find her husbands pistol .

Firsts world war uniforms donned, we had a great time bayonet fighting.
Dad confiscated the ammunition we had found but alas, no pistol

The old lady had said to keep the bayonets but my big brother then claimed them

Good bonfire though.

[yellowjack]

don'tbesilly said:

yellowjack said:

DannyScene said:

Morningside said:

I know where there is a hidden pill box but for some odd reason it is all bricked up. Any ideas? Old chemicals?

I'd be tempted to go down and knock a few bricks out, see what you can see inside if it looks OK remove the rest or enough to squeeze through

The desire to see what no one had seen since it was bricked up would be too great for me to ignore

(just like the Victorian era 'fort' at the top of Box Hill in Surrey).

Do you mean the fort at the top of Reigate Hill?

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356395283...

No, I didn't mean Reigate Fort, as I wasn't previously aware of it. The one at Box hill is similar, and seems to have been built at the same time. It's located on the same side of the road as the cafe and visitor centre, behind the NT members-only car park. There were about a dozen of them, built as "mobilisation centres" rather than fighting forts, to form a protective ring around the southern route into London, used to store weapons, ammunition and digging equipment to mobilise volunteer militia in the event of invasion from the near continent (specifically the French).

Seen as "folly" now, much as the the Palmerston Fort network around Royal Navy bases is, they played their part in the defense of the realm as surely as any location where firing took place.

Thanks for all those Reigate links, though. Stuff that wasn't at the forefront of my mind, but might well be worth a visit. I love military history, and it's always nice to find out that there's another little museum you'd never heard of, and is not so far for a trip out.

[mcelliott]

Another bunker on our west coast...

[MJG280]

On a much smaller scale these Anderson shelters in Dunfermline have survived remarkably well. I remember them as a kid. My mother lived in the first floor flat when they were erceted and covered with sandbags. Built because there was a linen factory nearby. I would have thought that the walls of the house were better protection.

[PhillippeDuLait]

Someone mentioned this site a few pages back: http://www.thirdreichruins.com
It has been around for years and I really wish it had more higher resolution pictures. Despite that, you can lose hours just browsing the then and now pictures. I recommend it to anyone that has at least a passing interest in the history of WW2.

[Dr Jekyll]

Paratroopers and their aircraft, both left over from D day.

[page3]

A couple of weeks ago I went for walk in the local woods and came across a clearing, which turned out to be caused by a WW2 bomber crashing there.

The plane had been damaged over Germany and have made it all the way back, only to crash a few miles from their landing site. All crew killed.

Quite sad really.

[danllama]

Bloody hell, you have to wonder why they didn't bail out. The only thing my mind can come up with is they had wounded on board and refused to abandon them.

[Adz The Rat]

There is a Chieftain tank on a roundabout in Leyland, apparently they were built here?

[StuntmanMike]

Next to Shornemead Fort ( near Gravesend ) there used to be a Sherman tank, it was in a field full of bomb craters minus turret and engine, last time I saw it it had a swans nest inside.
I don't live in the area but did a shutdown on Kingsnorth power station in the 80's, the whole area was fascinating from a WW2 relic point of view, ( piss beer though ) spent many hours cycling around the area.

[Dr Jekyll]

Adz The Rat said:

There is a Chieftain tank on a roundabout in Leyland, apparently they were built here?

Hardly WW2 though.

[Storer]

The tank is a Churchill and is a product of WW2.

Leyland were constructors of tanks during the war.

[Dr Jekyll]

Storer said:

The tank is a Churchill and is a product of WW2.

Leyland were constructors of tanks during the war.

Thought it looked a bit squared off for a Chieftain.

[wildcat45]

Dr Jekyll said:

Paratroopers and their aircraft, both left over from D day.

Wow!

Makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up at the same time forming a humbling lump in your throat. A haunting yet happy image. Thanks for posting it:

[Nick M]

I've been a regular visitor to Le Mans for the 24 hours, and had heard of a monument to an aircrew who crashed in 1944 near the circuit.

I did some research and thought I knew where it was, and while I saw the sign on the road directing you to it you can't access it when the race is on. But we happened to be in the area on holiday later in the summer, so I went looking for it, and this is what I found:

IMG_2183 by Ethel of Buzzez, on Flickr

IMG_2182 by Ethel of Buzzez, on Flickr


While not war related, it's only about a mile from where the Wright brothers first powered flight in Europe took place, which is just up the road on the site of the horse racing track.

[Adz The Rat]

Dr Jekyll said:

Thought it looked a bit squared off for a Chieftain.

Apologies, its a while since Ive read the plaque there. i knew it was WW2 though

[16VJay]

Adz The Rat said:

Apologies, its a while since Ive read the plaque there. i knew it was WW2 though

It's not a Churchill, there's a pic of a Churchill on page 18. Looks like a Centurion to me which were very nearly WWII, three prototypes reached Germany just as the war ended.

[don'tbesilly]

yellowjack said:

don'tbesilly said:

yellowjack said:

DannyScene said:

Morningside said:

I know where there is a hidden pill box but for some odd reason it is all bricked up. Any ideas? Old chemicals?

I'd be tempted to go down and knock a few bricks out, see what you can see inside if it looks OK remove the rest or enough to squeeze through

The desire to see what no one had seen since it was bricked up would be too great for me to ignore

(just like the Victorian era 'fort' at the top of Box Hill in Surrey).

Do you mean the fort at the top of Reigate Hill?

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356395283...

No, I didn't mean Reigate Fort, as I wasn't previously aware of it. The one at Box hill is similar, and seems to have been built at the same time. It's located on the same side of the road as the cafe and visitor centre, behind the NT members-only car park. There were about a dozen of them, built as "mobilisation centres" rather than fighting forts, to form a protective ring around the southern route into London, used to store weapons, ammunition and digging equipment to mobilise volunteer militia in the event of invasion from the near continent (specifically the French).

Seen as "folly" now, much as the the Palmerston Fort network around Royal Navy bases is, they played their part in the defense of the realm as surely as any location where firing took place.

Thanks for all those Reigate links, though. Stuff that wasn't at the forefront of my mind, but might well be worth a visit. I love military history, and it's always nice to find out that there's another little museum you'd never heard of, and is not so far for a trip out.

Well there you go.
We both learnt something new!

Thanks for the heads up, I had no idea about the Fort at Box Hill, amazing really as family had a caravan at Box Hill for years, and I've lived in the area for most of my life.

Good link here: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMGCY

[don'tbesilly]

fatboy18 said:

My Uncle lived at the base of the quarry on Reigate hill in the 1960s when he bought the house it came with the quarry too! There were tunnels in the quarry (which may have been used by the military for ammo storage) but sadly due to many trespassers onto the property grounds and fear of the tunnels being unsafe, he had the entrances blown up! He sold the house in the late 1970s
There is a private road between the Esso garage and the pub half way down reigate hill, Montgomery had a house there, friend of mine did some plastering work there, he told me they still have a map room in the house preserved as his office?

One of the entrances to Montgomery's HQ was in the woods located at the base of the hill, the access was down the private road pinpointed in the google maps link below.

Sadly all entry points were blocked up many years ago, probably for all the reasons you mentioned above.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/51%C2%B015'06....

[Storer]

Adz The Rat said:

There is a Chieftain tank on a roundabout in Leyland, apparently they were built here?

It is difficult to see but I now think it is not a Churchill which looks like this:-



A Chieftain like this:-



A Centurion:-



I think it is this



A Cromwell Cruiser.

Unless you know differently or fancy a trip to Leyland to check!


Paul