Monument record TQ 54 SW 369 - The site of Second World War searchlight battery no. BH01 124 at Speldhurst.

The site of a Second World War searchlight battery, this was known as searchlight battery no. BH01 124 located at Speldhurst at TQ 535400. It was manned by 337 Searchlight Regiment RA whose Battery Headquarters were located at Gaza Barracks, Hildenborough. It was operational by September 1941. (1)

Searchlight sites typically comprised a small ring-ditch to provide the crew with shelter during an air raid, a predictor emplacement for calculating the height and range of targets, a light anti-aircraft machine gun pit, a generator and hutted accommodation for the crew. During the Second World War searchlights were manned by the Royal Artillery and were under the control of the Army's Anti-Aircraft Command. (2)

It is unclear how this site relates to the nearby Diver battery. It is presumably a forerunner.

<1> CBA Twentieth Century Fortifications in England Supporting paper AA/1 Searchlight Sites in WWII A sample List (Bibliographic reference). SKE15307.

<2> Lowry (ed), 1995, 20th century defences in Britain : an introductory guide (Bibliographic reference). SKE56150.