Monument record MWX51484 - Possible Second World War anti aircraft gun emplacement

The possible gun emplacement or anti-aircraft battery consists of a semi-circular bank centred at TR 0881 2680. The bank extends across an area measuring 19m south-west to north-east, and 10m south-east to north-west. The bank is located at the centre of what appears to be a partial enclosure of anti-invasion scaffolding of the type more usually seen on beaches. The curvilinear line of scaffolding extends around the northern, western, and southern sides of the possible gun emplacement. At its southern end, this scaffolding joins a line of scaffolding extending across the golf course parallel to the seafront (Monument Number 1535064). This forms the front of the enclosure presumably intended to defend the possible gun emplacement. Neither the bank nor the scaffolding are visible on the previous aerial photographs of 1940. By the time of the vertical aerial photograph of 1946, the scaffolding appears to have been removed, although the bank is still visible as an extant earthwork. By the time of the aerial photograph of 1968, the bank is no longer visible in any form (1-4).

<1> 1940, NMR RAF/26J/UK/1440 805 15-AUG-1940 (Photograph). SWX23848.

<2> RAF, 1942, NMR RAF/AC81 174-5 26-AUG-1942 (Photograph). SWX23894.

<3> RAF, 1946, NMR RAF/106G/UK/1439 3024-5 30-APR-1946 (Photograph). SWX23809.

<4> 1968, NMR MAL/68067 87-8 14-OCT-1968 (Photograph). SWX23775.