Article about: packin9, They were not used as observation posts, they are Pillbox's. They usually come in pairs, the one in Adrians photo is a bren gun Pillbox, the other one, that would be nearby, would b
packin9, They were not used as observation posts, they are Pillbox's. They usually come in pairs, the one in Adrians photo is a bren gun Pillbox, the other one, that would be nearby, would be for an anti-tank gun, which would be a larger Pillbox.
Attached is a photo of how a Bren would be fixed inside the Pillbox.
I will start a new thread soon on some of the Pillbox's where I live, which used to be part of the GHQ defense line, which had these Pillbox's every 50 or so yards
Regards to all Simon.
packin9, They were not used as observation posts, they are Pillbox's. They usually come in pairs, the one in Adrians photo is a bren gun Pillbox, the other one, that would be nearby, would be for an anti-tank gun, which would be a larger Pillbox.
Attached is a photo of how a Bren would be fixed inside the Pillbox.
I will start a new thread soon on some of the Pillbox's where I live, which used to be part of the GHQ defense line, which had these Pillbox's every 50 or so yards
Regards to all Simon.
Thanks for the info shadowwolf. Nice example of the Bren being set up. Did you set it up and is it yours? If you did, I'd bet people who saw you must have thought the Germans were attacking again! Ron
Ron, Bren's not mine, the Mrs says "can't have guns in the house". Found the photo on the web and included it in a talk I did at a local school about what it was like in the area during the war. Showed the kids some pictures so they could make sense of all the old buildings and defenses round my home town. I live 25 miles outside London, the whole area had defenses everywhere. I will get round to putting a thread together about what it was like on the Homefront in this area, as there was so much going on in WW2 round here. The SAS trained about a mile and a half up the road. Opposite my house was an ammo dump during the war, about 30 feet away. German prisoners of war put our drains in on our street in 1947, my mates dad remembers them eating their lunch on the green which is 100 yards away from my house. I could carry on with this for ages, so I will put a thread together with photos
Regards to all, Simon.
Sorry for hi-jacking the thread, the area around me is completely buzzing with pill boxes, bunkers and defences of all types if you know where to look heres a few out of a hundred odd different pillboxes
Danny, How about a new thread entitled something like 'War time defenses in my home town"? I have loads of info and pictures that I could get a thread going with.
Regards to all, Simon.
The amount of pictures I have is absolutely crazy to be honest I'd like to keep some of the locations to myself as I'm getting a lot of finds around one of them Its a good idea though, I'd upload some of my pictures and add information
Hi there! We have a pillbox in Edgworth just north of Bolton! Concrete, Hexagonal with observation slits in the side yet it is in a completely irrelevant place in a dip. Even if it has slipped down the incline a bit it hasnt done in the 34 years or so iI have known of it! Maybe it was higher up the hill before and used to observe air traffic etc on liverpool raids etc. It certainly looks all forlorn sat surrounded by sheep!
all the best!
flak666, it was probably positioned to cover something important, such as a road junction, bend in a river, bridge, water works, industrial site, etc ?
Regards to all, Simon.
Ron, Bren's not mine, the Mrs says "can't have guns in the house". Found the photo on the web and included it in a talk I did at a local school about what it was like in the area during the war. Showed the kids some pictures so they could make sense of all the old buildings and defenses round my home town. I live 25 miles outside London, the whole area had defenses everywhere. I will get round to putting a thread together about what it was like on the Homefront in this area, as there was so much going on in WW2 round here. The SAS trained about a mile and a half up the road. Opposite my house was an ammo dump during the war, about 30 feet away. German prisoners of war put our drains in on our street in 1947, my mates dad remembers them eating their lunch on the green which is 100 yards away from my house. I could carry on with this for ages, so I will put a thread together with photos
Regards to all, Simon.
Thanks for the info Shadow. It's good you get to talk to the school kids about their local history etc. Hope you tooth feels better! Ron
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