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Monument record TQ 67 SE 1150 - Shornemead Second World War Emergency Battery
Summary
A Second World War Emergency Battery comprising two 5.5-in. guns emplaced on earthen mounds next to each other in concrete-roofed gun houses. These formed part of the Thames river defences. The battery was bulit in 1941, decommissioned by 1945 and demolished c. 1976. The guns fired from a pedestal mounting through a wide opening in either gun house. There were adjacent magazines and war shelters for the gun detachments.The battery was established around 1895 with two 6-pounder quick-firing guns mounted to cover a projected minefield adjacent to the battery at Shornemead Fort. The heavy guns were removed before the First World War. In the Second World War the quick-fire emplacements were overbuilt by two emplacements for 5.5-inch breech-loading naval guns when it was reopened as an emergency battery.The battery was located to the east of Shornemead Fort which housed the WW2 Battery Command post and Minewatcher's post. The emergency battery, Shornemead Fort and and associated pillboxes, searchlights and the embarkation hard used during the D Day landings (Operation Overlord) were protected by extensive barbed wire entanglments divided into cells around each part of the battery complex.
Location
| Grid reference | Centred TQ 6944 7475 (116m by 163m) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | TQ67SE |
| County | KENT |
| District | GRAVESHAM, KENT |
| Civil Parish | SHORNE, GRAVESHAM, KENT |
Map
Type and Period (1)
Full Description
<1> RAF, 1945, RAF 26K/UK/1455 6555 14-MAR-1945 (Photograph). SKE56109.
<2> RAF, 11/10/46, Aerial photograph of Shorne Marshes (Photograph). Ske13916.
<3> Council for British Archaeology, 01/01/96, Twentieth Century Fortifications in England - Vol. VI.1-VI.2 Coastal Artillery, 1900-56 (Bibliographic reference). Ske13915.
<4> Council for British Archaeology, 01/01/96, Twentieth Century Fortifications in England - Vol. VI.1-VI.2 Coastal Artillery, 1900-56 (Bibliographic reference). SKE13915.
<5> RAF, 11/10/46, Aerial photograph of Shorne Marshes (Photograph). SKE13916.
Sources/Archives (5)
- <1> SKE56109 Photograph: RAF. 1945. RAF 26K/UK/1455 6555 14-MAR-1945. RAF 26K/UK/1455 6555 14-MAR-1945.
- <2> SKE13916 Photograph: RAF. 11/10/46. Aerial photograph of Shorne Marshes.
- <3> SKE13915 Bibliographic reference: Council for British Archaeology. 01/01/96. Twentieth Century Fortifications in England - Vol. VI.1-VI.2 Coastal Artillery, 1900-56.
- <4> SKE13915 Bibliographic reference: Council for British Archaeology. 01/01/96. Twentieth Century Fortifications in England - Vol. VI.1-VI.2 Coastal Artillery, 1900-56.
- <5> SKE13916 Photograph: RAF. 11/10/46. Aerial photograph of Shorne Marshes.
Finds (0)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (1)
- Non-Intrusive Event: English Heritage: Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project NMP (EKE20812)
Record last edited
May 22 2024 11:54AM