Summary

A type FW3/22 pillbox.

Full description

1996: A low level aerial photograph taken in 1948 shows a type FW3/22 pillbox standing at the back of the beach opposite the end of Haven Avenue. The entrance is on the N face and it appears to have a protective skirt of concrete. By 1960 the promenade had been built across the site of the pillbox. <1> <2> <3>

July 2006: Something of the life of this pillbox can now be determined. A ground-level photograph taken in 1942 shows it on top of the cliff, camouflaged beneath a wooden, open-sided ‘tea room’ or ‘bungalow’ structure. <4> An aerial photograph dated July 1946 shows this structure on the cliff edge. <5> A second ground-level photograph shows the pillbox, an FW3/22 with protective ‘skirt’, now minus its camouflage, teetering on the edge. The caption states that it fell over shortly afterwards. The date is given as 1947. <6>

<1> RAF, 1948, 58-89-5079 (AP). SEX61263.

<2> Wills, H, 1985, Pillboxes, p.28 (DESC TEXT). SEX31431.

<3> Hunting Surveys Limited, 1960, Run 19-085 (AP). SEX61264.

<4> Kennell, R, 2003, The Story of Holland-on-Sea during the Second World War, photo, p.25, 1942, via TDC (DESC TEXT). SEX67860.

<5> RAF, 1946, 106G-UK 1673-4052, July 1946 (AP). SEX61266.

<6> Kennell, R, 2003, The Story of Holland-on-Sea during the Second World War, photo, p.27, 1947, via TDC (DESC TEXT). SEX67860.

Monument Types

• PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/22) (WWII, Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)

Associated Events

• WWII Coastal Defences - Fred Nash visits 1996-1997 (Ref: Nash ESSEX Dec 1996-Jan 1997)
• Field visits by Fred Nash in July 2006 to record WWII sites in Clacton (Ref: Nash TEN Jul 2006)

Sources and further reading

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