Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery Bristol B7 |
Hob Uid: 1471663 | |
Location : City of Bristol Non Civil Parish
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Grid Ref : ST6075568014 |
Summary : Site of a Second World war heavy anti aircraft battery at Hengrove, Whitchurch. It mounted four 3.7-inch mobile guns with GL radar in 1941, converted to static guns in 1942 with GL Mark II radar, and with an additional mobile 3.7-inch gun in 1943. It was manned by 349 Battery of the 76th Royal Artillery Regiment in 1941, and by 265 Battery of 59th Royal Artillery Regiment in June 1942. However, in October 1942 it was manned by the Home Guard. In 1946 it was retained as a Nucleus Force Battery Headquarters Off-Site. A member of the public has reported that some insallations relating to the battery may have still been extant at least in the 1960s. |
More information : Site of a Second World war heavy anti aircraft battery at Hengrove, Whitchurch. It mounted four 3.7-inch mobile guns with GL radar in 1941, converted to static guns in 1942 with GL Mark II radar, and with an additional mobile 3.7-inch gun in 1943. It was manned by 349 Battery of the 76th Royal Artillery Regiment in 1941, and by 265 Battery of 59th Royal Artillery Regiment in June 1942. However, in October 1942 it was manned by the Home Guard. In 1946 it was retained as a Nucleus Force Battery Headquarters Off-Site. (1)
In 2011 a member of the public reported that in the 1960s some emplacements possibly relating to the battery were extant at least into the 1960s; these were situated in the area between Ridgeway lane and Priddy Close. (2)
There were only 2 gun emplacements on the site on which I use to play (as a boy); these were situated approximately at what is now Allerton Cresent. The area around Allerton Cresent in 1955 were just fields. In one of the fields between Ridgeway Lane and Whitchurch Lane there were 2 open circular structures built of Breeze Block with sloping earth banks and nearby a low rectangular brick built structure with a thick concrete roof. It is quite possible that there were 2 more Anti Aircraft guns as Source 2 says between Ridgeway Lane and Priddy Close, but these were removed when the Prefab Houses were built. (3) |